Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga
by devilrose87
Summary: Pokemon FireRed/Leaf Green, in the style of Pokemon: Legends in Hoenn. Follows the adventures of the FR/LG girl, named Ashley for the story. Along her way she will encounter new friends and enemies alike in her quest to become...a pokemon photographer!
1. Chapter 1: Leaf Green

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter One**

**Leaf Green**

"The number of new trainers registered in the pokemon league has more than doubled in the past week. This is attributed to the recent announcement by the Elite 4's champion that he would be resigning. No trainers were available to take the champion's place, so the Elite 4 have issued a challenge to all trainers. The next trainer to successfully acquire all eight Kanto league badges and defeat the Elite 4 will become the next Champion!"

The news broadcast was enough for just about eligible boy and girl in Pallet Town to leave home and become a trainer. Included among them was the teenage girl lying on her bed watching the news broadcast. Tomorrow would be her turn to get her first pokemon from Professor Oak. The girl wasn't interested in challenging the Elite 4, however. She wanted to become a pokemon photographer.

"Ashley, are you still up?" Ashley's mother, Catherine, was standing in the doorway of Ashley's bedroom.

"Its past midnight...you should get some sleep so you'll be up in time to get your pokemon tomorrow..."

"I can't sleep, I'm just too excited." Ashley replied, smiling.

Ashley was a fourteen year old girl, a good four years past old enough to become a trainer. She had been putting it off year after year, but since everyone seemed to be leaving Pallet Town all of a sudden she decided it was her time to go as well. She also had to be at least thirteen years of age to send in photos to the Kanto Times.

She was a slender girl with well toned legs, she made a habit to go for a walk every morning in preparation for becoming a trainer. She had a modest bust for her age, though her most notable feature was her hair. Her brown hair was very long, falling to her waist in the back while only being shoulder-length on the sides. Her hair colour matched her eyes as well. As Ashley was ready for bed, she was barefoot and wearing her blue pajamas.

"Well you'll have to manage then." Her mother stated irritably. "You won't even make it to Viridian if you don't get to sleep soon."

"Fine..." Ashley sighed in defeat, sitting up on her bed and turning off her tv with the remote. Her mother switched off the lights in Ashley's room before going to her room to go to sleep herself.

"Well, a girl does need her beauty sleep." Ashley crawled under the sheets and almost instantly fell asleep.

* * *

"Ashley, get up already!" Ashley woke up startled hearing her mother holler to her. She glanced over at the clock on her nightstand and saw that it was a few minutes past nine in the morning. She was supposed to be at Professor Oak's laboratory by nine.

"Guess I'm late..." Ashley muttered sleepily, rubbing her eyes. She wasn't too concerned about it though. She already packed all her stuff the night before anyway.

"Oh well." Ashley yawned. "I doubt I'm the first person to ever be late getting their first pokemon. The only other trainers getting pokemon today are Gary and Red anyway."

Gary, Red, and Ashley had been friends since they were kids. That seemed to change as they got older though. Gary became more of a jerk and Red kept mostly to himself. Ashley believed she was the only one who hadn't drastically changed, although that wasn't true at all. When she was young, Ashley didn't really care about her appearance and would even go playing in the dirt with her friends. Now, however...

"EEK! My hair is a total mess!" Ashley shrieked as she got a look at herself in her dresser mirror. She had a particularly bad case of bed head, and quickly took a brush from her dresser to fix the problem. She had packed a brush in her travel bag as well.

Once her hair problem had been taken care of, Ashley quickly changed out of her pajamas and into the outfit she had picked out the night before. She was very meticulous in choosing what to wear since she was going to be wearing the same outfit almost all the time.

The outfit she chose consisted of a light blue tanktop with a black trim, a short red skirt that would hang down just past her thighs, a pair of long light blue socks and white running shoes with a red strap, and topped it all off with a white hat with a red pokeball emblem on the top. Around her waist she also wore a typical black belt worn by trainers with six clips for pokeballs. Her travel bag, which looked much like a really large purse with a lot of pockets, also had a special clip on it for the pokedex she'd receive.

Once Ashley was finished changing, she looked herself over in the mirror. Thinking something was missing, she remembered her watch and strapped it around her wrist.

"There! Good to go!" Ashley picked up her travel bag and slung it over her shoulder, then went downstairs to meet her mother in the kitchen.

"Well what do you think?" Ashley asked her mother, gesturing to her outfit.

"I take it you didn't have a shorter skirt?" Her mother asked jokingly, clearly in disapproval of Ashley's outfit.

"Typical answer..." Ashley said with a 'hmph'. "What would you know about fashion anyway?"

"Fashion? You're going on a journey across Kanto and through the wilderness, not out clubbing with your friends." Her mother stated firmly. She walked over to the table to set out a plate with two slices of toast, two fried eggs, and six strips of bacon. There was already a bowl of cereal, a tall glass of orange juice, and several multivitamins laid out. Ashley's eyes went wide when she finally noticed the meal set out for her.

"Mom! I can't eat all that!" She whined.

"Well with all the trouble I went through to make it all you had better eat it missy." Her mother shot back.

"Why did you make so much food anyway? I was just going to have a bowl of cereal and go..."

"Because I can't trust you to watch what you eat when you're on the road. Speaking of which, I want you to take a bottle of multivitamins with you and take them everyday to make up for the nutrition you probably won't be getting."

"Mom..."

Ashley quickly ate the large meal her mother set out for her, starting with the cereal so it wouldn't get soggy. Her mother stood over her the entire time, making sure she ate every bite of it including the vitamins. As per her mother's orders, she also packed a bottle of them.

The items stuffed into Ashley's travel bag included soap, a towel, pokemon food, an empty TM case, her trainer's license, a cellphone, and a camera with extra film. Everything she thought she might be needing at least until she got to Viridian. Like most trainers, her plan was to make sure she had what she'd need to go from town to town.

Once Ashley had finished eating, she said goodbye to her mother and her mother wished her good luck before she left the house. Ashley walked from her place to Professor Oak's laboratory, which was down the street. When she arrived at the lab, one of Professor Oak's aides was waiting outside for her.

"Ah, Ashley...its about time you showed up. The professor has been waiting for you." The aide stated indignantly.

"Sorry..." Ashley apologized. The aide said nothing else, but lead Ashley into the lab.

A narrow corridor went through the inside of the lab. Branching off from the corridor were many large laboratories filled with various machines as well as many computers. At the end of the hall was a fairly large office, which was where the aide took her too. Professor Oak was in the office, typing away on his computer when Ashley entered. The aide bowed respectfully to Oak and quickly left.

"Ah, good! I was worried you weren't going to show! Ash and Gary were both already here to get their pokemon and left already. Though I suppose you're not all that late, and I do have one pokemon remaining." Professor Oak got up from his computer and walked across the room to a small table with a pokeball on it, then motioned for Ashley to follow.

_"Ash?"_ She wondered as she walked over to the table. _"Oh right, Red's real name. I've been calling him Red for so long I forgot..."_

"This is my last pokemon." Professor Oak stated, gesturing to the pokeball on the table. "Bulbasaur."

"Bulbasaur's the grass type, right?" Ashley asked. Professor Oak nodded.

"Indeed it is, I see you've done your homework. My grandson, Gary, took Squirtle and Ash took..."

"Charmander?" Ashley asked, cutting Professor Oak off.

"Yes, Charmander..." Oak coughed to clear his throat. "Anyway, this Bulbasaur is your's. You may get acquainted with it while I set everything up. Of course, I'll need to see your trainer id."

Ashley took out her id card then handed it to Professor Oak. The professor quickly scanned her trainer id in a machine setup on the end of the table, then set it to register Bublasaur as her pokemon. Ashley, meanwhile, took Bulbasaur's pokeball from the table and turned around to release it where there'd be more space.

"Bulbasaur, come on out!" Ashley pressed the button on Bulbasaur's pokeball then lightly tossed it to the floor. The pokeball split open down the middle and a red beam shot out onto the floor, forming into a short blue-ish green pokemon with a bulb on its back. Bulbasaur gave a yawn as it was finally released from its pokeball, then looked up at its trainer.

"Hey Bulbasaur! My name's Ashley!" Ashley greeted her pokemon enthusiastically.

"-Oh wonderful.-" Bulbasaur grumbled. "-I get the only girl trainer to come by today. Judging by the look of her I'd say she couldn't battle to save a life. Lucky me.-"

"Sounds like you two are friends already." Professor Oak commented, approaching Ashley with a red pokedex in one hand and five pokeballs in the other.

"-Friends...right...-" Bulbasaur rolled its eyes.

"This is a pokedex." Professor Oak explained to Ashley, handing her the small red device. "It will automatically record information on any pokemon you see or catch. It can also tell you what techniques your own pokemon knows and has many other functions. Its an indispensible tool for any pokemon trainer."

Ashley took the pokdex from Professor Oak and attached it to the clip on her travel bag's strap.

"Now, this is just a personal request, however I would like it if you could catch as many pokemon as possible to fill the pages of that pokedex. I asked the same of both Ash and my grandson. Ash told me he only planned to catch pokemon he intended to raise. I can understand that completely."

"Don't worry about a thing, professor! I'll help you fill this pokedex!" Ashley said reassuringly.

"Thank you, Ashley. Also, you may take these..." Professor Oak held out the five empty pokeballs for her. Ashley quickly clipped each to her belt, even though there were no pokemon in them.

"-I don't much care for this Ashley girl.-" Bulbasaur stated stiffly, although no one could understand it. "-I'll definitely make sure she helps you out though, Professor Oak.-"

"So is that all I need then?" Ashley asked the professor.

"Well, you might be wanting this back..." Professor Oak held out Ashley's trainer license to her.

"Oh...right..." Ashley replied sheepishly, taking her card back.

* * *

After receiving her Bulbasaur from Professor Oak, Ashley left the lab and continued north out of Pallet Town towards Viridian City. Bulbasaur walked alongside her, still being kept out of its pokeball by Ashley.

"-You know, most trainers keep their pokemon in pokeballs.-" Bulbasaur commented idly as the two of them continued north through Route 1.

"-Speaking of typical trainers, you seem to be a bit old to just be getting your first pokemon...-"

"Look! Pidgey!" Ashley spotted a flock of Pidgey nearby pecking at the ground. Ashley got down on the ground and quietly crawled closer to them through the tall grass.

"-Ah, silly me. Humans are stupid and don't understand a word we say. Forgot about that.-" Bulbasaur grumbled to itself before following Ashley.

"This is the perfect opportunity for me to take some pictures!" Ashley whispered excitedly. She reached into her travel bag to take out her camera. The camera had a wide view finder and used film that would instantly print out the pictures she took.

"-What?! You should be catching them in a pokeball! Not on film!-"

"Bulbasaur, be quiet!" Ashley whispered to it. "You'll scare the Pidgey!"

"-Scare the Pidgey?! Why I oughta...-" Bulbasaur remembered the empty pokeballs attached to Ashley's belt and suddenly had an idea.

_"Well if she's not going to catch a Pidgey then I think I will!" _Bulbasaur thought to himself, extending its vines towards Ashley's belt and carefully plucking a pokeball without making a sound. Ashley was trying to line up a good shot to take a picture of the Pidgey and remained unaware of Bulbasaur's activities.

_"Got it!"_ Bulbasaur pulled the pokeball back, placing it on the top of its bulb for safe keeping.

"Perfect!" Ashley whispered to herself as she was finally satisfied she had the shot lined up perfectly. She clicked a button on her camera to take the picture. Almost simultaneously, she could hear the startled cries of the Pidgey and the flapping of wings as they tried to escape.

"-Oh no you don't!-" Bulbasaur extended its two vines again, reaching to grab one of the Pidgeys as they all tried to fly away. One of its vines wrapped around each of the Pidgey's wings and Bulbasaur slammed the small bird into the ground.

"What IS he doing?" Ashley wondered, taking her newly printed picture out of her camera. At first it was nothing but black film so she watched it for a moment as the picture began to develop. Meanwhile, Bulbasaur was still locked in combat with the wild Pidgey. Its opponent was having trouble fighting back, though, with Bulbasaur's vines wrapped around its wings.

"-Let go of me!-" The Pidgey demanded.

"-Not a chance!-" Bulbasaur launched a Leech Seed from the bulb on its back, carrying the pokeball along with it. Both the seed and the pokeball struck Pidgey simultaneously. The seed latched itself onto the Pidgey, but then fell off as the pokeball opened up and fired a red beam into Pidgey. The Pidgey was converted into the energy beam and pulled inside the pokeball.

As the pokeball began shaking on the ground, the result of Pidgey's attempts to escape, the picture Ashley took fully developed. The picture showed the group of Pidgeys, six in total, starting to take off as Bulbasaur dashed towards them.

"BULBASAUR! You ruined my picture!" Ashley shouted angrily, not noticing the click from the pokeball as it locked shut with the wild Pidgey inside.

"-Ruined your picture?! I just caught you a-ack!-" Bulbasaur wasn't watching Ashley, and as he turned around to face her his face was met by Ashley's foot, knocking it on its back. Bulbasaur got up and glared at its trainer.

"-The heck was that for?!-" Bulbasaur growled at her.

"Thats for ruining my shot!" Ashley scolded Bulbasaur before picking up the pokeball now containing the wild Pidgey. She held up the pokeball and pointed it at the ground, then pressed the button on the front of it. The pokeball split open, releasing a red beam of energy that formed into the captured Pidgey. The Pidgey looked around cautiously, spotting Ashley but then fixing its gaze on Bulbasaur.

"-You're just lucky you got the drop on me.-" Pidgey said to Bulbasaur.

"-Like I'd need luck or the element of surprise to beat a lousy Pidgey.-" Bulbasaur shot back.

"Are you ok?" Ashley asked Pidgey, interrupting the pokemon's bickering before they could even start.

"-Well, I suppose all things considered I'm doing fine.-" Pidgey replied, nodding to Ashley since it knew she wouldn't understand it.

"Good, because otherwise SOMEONE would have gotten another kick!" Ashley said to Pidgey, though speaking loudly for Bulbasaur to hear as well.

"-Yeah, your welcome for catching you that Pidgey by the way.-" Bulbasaur shot back. "-I swear of all the trainers I could have been stuck with you are by FAR the worse.-"

"-She doesn't seem that bad to me.-" Pidgey said to Bulbasaur, shrugging with its wings.

"Just whats your problem anyway?" Ashley asked Bulbasaur, glaring at him.

"-My problem? It might be that pokedex you're supposed to...why the heck am I explaining this to you? You can't even understand me...-" Bulbasaur reached out with one of its vines to point to the pokedex clipped to Ashley's bag strap.

"Thats what all this is about?" Bulbasaur nodded. "Hmph...well I haven't forgotten about Professor Oak. I can catch pokemon after I take pictures of them."

"-I can already see you two get along just great.-" Pidgey commented sarcastically.

"-Can it, bird brain...-" Bulbasaur grumbled.

"Alright Pidgey, you can return to your pokeball now." Ashley stated calmly, holding up Pidgey's pokeball. She pressed the button on the front of it and the pokeball split open, firing a red beam towards Pidgey and recalling it inside.

"Come on, lets go Bulbasaur...maybe we'll find a Rattata or something to catch to satisfy you for a while..."

"-Rattata are definitely not on my menu. Oh wait, you meant catch one so I wouldn't bother you about catching pokemon. Which you should be doing for your own sake as well as Professor Oak's. As powerful as I am you won't get through the gyms with just me alone...-" Bulbasaur's comments went unnoticed, not that it was really expecting a response of any sort from Ashley.

* * *

After a bit over half an hour of walking, with no sign of any Rattata, the trainer and pokemon duo reached the outskirts of Viridian City.

"Viridian City...its been so long since I've been here! This is the first time I actually walked all the way here." Ashley commented as she glanced around the city. "I guess since I'm a trainer now the pokecenter should be my first stop."

"-How does one travel without walking? Surely one would not use a 'car' as they are merely a myth!-" Bulbasaur commented sarcastically. At that moment a red sports car drove down the street before them, driving through a puddle directly in front of Bulbasaur and splashing the grass pokemon with water.

"HEY! YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST SLOWED DOWN!" Ashley called out after the driver, despite the water missing her completely.

"-Ah...the irony...-" Bulbasaur muttered.

As planned, Ashley made a quick trip to the city's pokecenter to heal her pokemon. She had to put Bulbasaur in its pokeball briefly when she handed her pokemon over to the pokecenter staff, but when she got it back she quickly released it again. Bulbasaur still didn't really understand why Ashley was intent on keeping it out of its pokeball, especially since the two of them didn't seem to get along so well.

After healing her two pokemon at the pokecenter, Ashley headed west of Viridian to the route that lead up to the Indigo Plateau. Home of the Elite Four. Of course, Ashley had no intention of going there. She was just looking for pokemon.

"You know, I'm not entirely sure what pokemon show up around here..." Ashley commented idly, looking around the grassy plain around her. There were a few clusters of trees and a steep hill nearby.

"-Probably just more Pidgey and Rattata. In other words, a waste of our time.-"

"Ah! A Spearow! And its all alone!" Ashley pointed out excitedly as she noticed a Spearow hiding in the grass further ahead. She kneeled down and got out her camera, focusing the lens to zoom in. Bulbasaur rolled its eyes in disgust.

"You know, I've heard Spearow and their evolved form are stronger than Pidgeys and their evolved forms..." Ashley commented as she lined up the shot.

"-Great. Catch it and toss out that Pidgey then.-"

Ashley finally got the shot lined up and the camera focused just right and took the picture. When the picture printed off, though, she found she had a picture of the Spearow as it was flying away.

"Stupid Spearow..." Ashley grumbled, crumpling up the picture and tossing it into the grass.

"Guess I'll have to keep looking..."

Ashley wandered further into the route, sticking a bit closer to the trees now. She didn't have to go much further, though, before noticing three pig-like monkeys with brown fur hanging around in a large tree.

"Aha! Here we go!" Ashley quickly set up, kneeling down on the grass to line up a shot of the Mankeys.

"-More pictures...-" Bulbasaur rolled its eyes. "-Hey, here's an idea. Catch the pokemon...THEN take pictures of it!-"

"This time I've got you..." Ashley quickly snapped a picture of the Mankey, the flash from the camera capturing their attention. The three of them started jumping up and down on the tree branches while screeching and yelling while Ashley's picture printed out.

"Whats with those three?" Ashley wondered, taking out her pokedex to check them out. "I'm not even sure what pokemon they are honestly..."

"Mankey, the pig monkey pokemon." The pokedex read out. "Extremely quick to anger. It could be docile one moment, then thrashing around the next instant."

"That doesn't sound good..." Ashley whimpered. Bulbasaur tapped her on the shoulder with a vine.

"-Catch one, damn it...-"

"Let me guess, you want me to catch one?" Ashley muttered. Bulbasaur nodded in response.

"Fine then...but first we need to separate one of them from the other two."

"-Easy enough...-" Bulbasaur extended its vines towards the tree and wrapped around one of the Mankey's legs. It pulled the pokemon out of the tree then let go, letting the pokemon fall to the ground. The other two Mankeys stopped jumping around and looked at their friend, who now laid on the ground in a daze. The fallen Mankey quickly jumped up on its feet and glared at Bulbasaur and Ashley angrily.

"I don't think its too happy!" Ashley began backing away slowly, but Bulbasaur stood its ground.

"-Well how would you feel if you just got pulled out of your tree?-" Bulbasaur commented, extending its vines towards the pokemon to whack it in the face. The Mankey stumbled backwards as it was struck, falling back against the trunk of the tree. It quickly recovered though and began charging towards Bulbasaur.

"-About as intelligent as a...well...Mankey.-" Bulbasaur fired a seed out of the bulb on its back, hitting Mankey directly on the nose with it. The pokemon stopped in its tracks for a moment, looking at the seed curiously. It screeched in pain when the seed sprouted vines that latched onto it and began draining its energy.

"I guess this would be a good time to try a pokeball..." Ashley took an empty pokeball from her belt and gave it a hard toss at the wild Mankey. The pokeball struck the pokemon in the head and captured it inside. The pokeball began shaking for a moment, before it clicked and confirmed a successful capture.

"Alright! We caught another pokemon!" Ashley scooped up the pokeball and clipped it back onto her belt.

"-WE? Excuse me, but I did all the work.-" Bulbasaur growled. "-What are you so excited for this time anyway? You KICKED ME last time 'we' caught a pokemon...-"

"Hmph...there's just no pleasing-OW!" Ashley found herself being hit in the back of the head with a nut. When she turned around to see who attacked her, she got another nut in the face. The remaining two Mankeys weren't too happy that their friend was caught and were throwing nuts at her now.

"STUPID MANKEYS!" Ashley called out to them as she retreated from the trees. Bulbasaur followed behind, walking slowly since the Mankeys were only really targetting Ashley.

"That was pathetic..." Ashley looked up towards the sound of the voice and saw her old childhood friend, Gary, standing nearby. Gary was a brown-haired boy the same age as Ashley, wearing a black shirt and a pair of purple jeans. He was also the grandson of Professor Oak from Pallet Town.

"Gary..." Ashley growled through gritted teeth.

"Chased off by a pair of wild Mankey with nuts..." Gary taunted her.

"Oh yeah?! Well I'd like to see you catch one!" Ashley growled back.

"Hmph..." Gary drew a pokeball, approaching the tree where the two Mankey were still perched.

"-My money's on Gary.-" Bulbasaur commented, sitting back on its hind legs to watch. It had more faith in Gary, a trainer he hardly knew, than Ashley as far as catching pokemon went.

"Spearow, go!" Gary called out, releasing a small red and brown feathered bird to battle.

"Spearow, attack one of those Mankey with Peck!" Spearow quickly flew up into the tree towards the Mankey. The two of them threw nuts at Spearow but the bird remained undetered. Spearow flew into one of the Mankey and struck it with its beak, the force of the impact knocking it off the branch and to the ground below. The remaining Mankey quickly fled into another tree when it realized it was alone.

"That should do it." Gary took an empty pokeball from his pocket and lobbed it at the wild Mankey as it was getting up off the ground. The pokeball struck the Mankey and pulled it inside. It rolled around on the ground for a moment before locking shut, sealing the Mankey inside. Without a word, Gary recalled his Spearow and calmly approached the pokeball to pick it up.

"Hmph...too easy." Gary stated as he placed the pokeball on his belt and turned to Ashley, four pokeballs now clipped to his belt.

"A wild Mankey is nothing to catch...not that I actually plan to use it." Gary stated stiffly.

"Show off..." Ashley muttered. "Well if you're so great a trainer then why don't you prove it in a battle!"

"Maybe I will!" Gary shot back, already reaching for his first pokeball. "We'll use two pokemon each."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to interrupt your battle kids..." Ashley and Gary bothed looked to the side to see a yellow-haired man wearing black sunglasses. He wore a pair of brown khaki shorts, a white shirt, brown vest, and a wide brimmed hat. On the right side of his vest were the letters 'GH' in gold and the number five. Standing next to him was an electric dog-like pokemon called Jolteon wearing a strange collar around its neck.

"According to my data, you two recently received pokemon from Professor Oak..." The yellow-haired man stated in a deep accent.

"So what if we did?" Gary asked indignantly.

"I'll be relieving you of those pokemon, kids. A Bulbasaur and a Squirtle would fetch a pretty price on the black market."

"There's no way I'm handing over Bulbasaur!" Ashley growled defiantly.

"-I don't like Ashley much, but I like the sound of that even less.-" Bulbasaur added.

"You don't seem to realize who you're dealing with, kids." The man stated, laughing quietly. "The name's Shocks, Grand Hunter number five."

_"The Grand Hunters?"_ Ashley thought. _"I heard of them...they're as bad as Team Rocket, only they work in smaller numbers and are very skilled trainers. They steal and poach rare pokemon to sell to other criminals on the black market. The last group of officers trying to track down their leader turned up dead and their pokemon missing. Only the highest members have their own pokemon, the rest use slave collars like the one on that Jolteon."_

"Even if you are one of the Grand Hunters there's no way I'm giving up Squirtle!" Gary shot back, reaching for a pokeball.

"Heh...if you honestly think you can take down my Jolteon, just go ahead and try it..." Shocks folded his arms and chuckled to himself. "Jolteon, just dodge whatever comes your way for now. These kids couldn't hurt you if they tried."

"Oh yeah? Bulbasaur, Leech Seed!" Bulbasaur fired a seed from the bulb on its back. Jolteon didn't move from its spot, though, and instead opted to destroy the seed with a short blast of electricity. The charred remains of the seed fell to the ground.

"Attacking a pokemon straight out when its focusing solely on defense won't work." Gary chided Ashley. "That Mankey I just caught seems to know an attack to remedy that though. Mankey, go! Use Taunt!"

Gary released the newly caught Mankey from its pokeball. The monkey pokemon hesitated for a moment when it appeared, as if unsure of whether or not it should obey its new trainer, but in the end it started hollering at Jolteon and jumping around.

"-Comeon!Comeon! You gonna stand there all day or are you going to fight?-" Mankey's taunting seemed to go unnoticed by Shocks's Jolteon though. Shocks just snickered.

"Even if you taunt it, Jolteon will only do what I tell it to do. But since you want it to attack so badly..." Shocks snickered again. "Jolteon, use Thunderbolt on Mankey!"

Jolteon's fur stood on end and sparked with electricity. The charge gathered and a powerful lightning bolt was fired at Mankey. Mankey tried to get out of the way but the attack was too fast for it. Electricity coursed through the pokemon's body as the attack hit it and Mankey was instantly out, collapsing to the ground with smoke rising from its charred body.

"Bulbasaur, Vine Whip!"

"Jolteon, dodge it and use Thunderbolt again." Bulbasaur reached out towards Jolteon with a pair of vines to attack, but the electric pokemon easily evaded the attack and fired another bolt of electricity at Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur cried out in pain as the Thunderbolt struck and electricity flowed through its body. Bulbasaur slumped forward as the electricity finally faded, nearly collapsing but catching itself as the last moment and struggling back to its feet.

"Still standing...I'm impressed..." Shocks grinned widely. "That just means it'll be worth even more."

"-Damn...that things strong...-" Bulbasaur muttered. "-Well I'm still not going down...without a fight...-"

"You're not taking my Bulbasaur!" Ashley stepped in front of Bulbasaur defensively.

"Squirtle was given to me by my grandfather, there's no way I'm handing it over..." Gary also stated his defiance, recalling the fallen Mankey.

"Have it your way, kids. Taking those pokemon from your cold, dead hands will be much easier." Ashley's eyes went wide with fear as she realized he intended to kill her and Gary. There was nowhere for either trainer to run.

"Dragonite, Brick Break!" A beige pokemon looking a lot like a dragon out of a children's cartoon came barreling down out of the sky towards Jolteon before Shocks even had a chance to issue an attack. The Dragonite slammed its fist into Jolteon with crushing power, hammering Jolteon into the ground then hopping back to put itself between the Grand Hunter and the trainers.

"Damn it! Retreat!" Shocks quickly dropped a small black ball that released a cloud of smoke, concealing himself and Jolteon within.

"Dragonite, don't let them escape! Twister!" Dragonite began flapping its tiny wings, whipping up a visible vortex around the cloud of smoke. The smoke was sucked up by the Twister attack and sent up into the air. When the smoke was cleared, however, Shocks and Jolteon seemed to be gone.

"Damn it...he got away..." Ashley and Gary finally turned around to see who had saved them. Standing behind them was a red haired man with a cape draped about him. Both trainers immediately recognized him.

"Lance!" Ashley and Gary both shouted in surprise.

"Are you two alright?" The dragon trainer asked them. Noticing the condition Ashley's Bulbasaur was in he fished a small potion bottle filled with a green liquid from his pocket and tossed it to Ashley.

"Use that on your Bulbasaur." Lance instructed her. "Its a full restore. It'll sting a bit but Bulbasaur will be back in fighting shape."

"Not to sound ungrateful, but what are you doing out here anyway?" Gary asked Lance as Ashley applied the full restore to Bulbasaur. After a few quick squirts Bulbasaur seemed to regain its energy and was fully restored.

"-Damn, I feel as good as new!-" Bulbasaur looked up at the Dragonite standing in front of him. "-Hey, you! Care to go a round?-"

"-You wouldn't last five seconds...-" Dragonite replied, its voice dull as if bored.

"When I heard there were three new trainers leaving Pallet Town I thought I'd patrol the area." Lance explained. "I had a feeling the so-called 'Grand' Hunters would try something like stealing pokemon from new trainers."

"Well I'm glad you showed up when you did! I thought we were goners for sure!" Ashley said to Lance. "Thanks for the full restore too..."

"You two should keep an eye out for the Grand Hunters." Lance cautioned them. "Their pokemon, although enslaved, are well trained. They only keep the strongest for themselves."

"Right, whatever..." Gary grumbled, reaching for a pokeball and turning to Ashley. "Now weren't we about to battle?"

"What?! How can you think about that after nearly getting killed?!" Ashley asked in surprise.

"-Honestly, I'm with this guy.-" Bulbasaur commented. "-I need a real battle! All the battles I've had so far were either too hard or too easy!-"

"Actually I wouldn't mind watching you two battle." Lance commented, a slight smirk forming on his lips. "I'm always curious to see the new competition, so to speak."

"-Oh please...-" Lance's Dragonite rolled its eyes. "-They'll be just like any other trainer...no skill at all.-"

"-I don't know about that.-" Bulbasaur commented in response. "-Gary's the grandson of Professor Oak, I'm sure he has some talent for battling unlike this pathetic trainer I got paired with.-"

"Fine..." Ashley muttered, drawing a pokeball. "Two pokemon each?"

"Two pokemon each." Gary replied, nodding affirmitively as he also reached for a pokeball.

"Go, Pidgey!" Both trainers called out simultaneously, each releasing a Pidgey as their first pokemon. Dragonite quickly flew past the two trainers to stand next to Lance on the sidelines.

"They're both starting with the same pokemon." Lance commented to Dragonite. "This should be an interesting match, we'll certainly see which trainer has more skill here."

"-Oh, I'm sure it will...-" Dragonite commented idly. "-I'd watch, but I'm pretty sure this here grass is growing...-"

"Pidgey, use Air Cutter!" Ashley commanded. Her Pidgey quickly brought its wings together, creating a v-shaped blade of air and firing it at its opponent.

"Pidgey, counter with Steel Wing." The wings of Gary's Pidgey took on a metallic appearance. The pokemon then raised one of its wings to block the incoming Air-Cutter attack.

"Is that the best you've got, Ashley?" Gary taunted her. Ashley gritted her teeth, silently fuming. "Pidgey, attack now!"

"Pidgey, fly up a bit and use Gust!" Ashley's Pidgey quickly flapped its wings to fly off the ground a few feet and began flapping harder to create gusts of wind as its opponent drew closer with its wings still ready for a Steel Wing attack. Gary's Pidgey ended up eating a beak full of dirt, however, as the Gust attack forced it into the ground.

"Now land and use Air-Cutter!" Pidgey quickly landed in front of Gary's Pidgey and launched an Air-Cutter at pointblank range as the pokemon was trying to get back on its feet. The blade of air slashed across the side of Gary's Pidgey and sent it rolling back a few feet.

"Whats the matter, Gary? Don't look so smug now!" Ashley taunted, now having the upper hand.

"Grr...Pidgey, don't let that loser beat you! Tackle attack!" Gary commanded his Pidgey.

"Pidgey, Tackle attack!" Ashley likewise commanded.

_"Seems to be a heated rivalry between these two already..."_ Lance thought to himself, observing the trainers. _"Rivalry among trainers is always a good thing. It means having someone who forces you to give it your best and constantly pushes you to become a better trainer."_

The two Pidgeys took off towards each other, seemingly on a collision course. Ashley was watching closely, however, as she had other plans.

"Pidgey, now! Up!" Ashley's Pidgey angled upwards at the last second, soaring straight up into the air as Gary's Pidgey flew underneath it. Ashley's Pidgey continued to climb while Gary's was trying to regain its bearings.

"Pidgey, up! After that coward and use Steel Wing again!" Gary's Pidgey spread its wings, which again took on a metallic appearance as it took off into the air after its opponent. Ashley was waiting for this, however.

"Now, down again! Air Cutter!" Ashley's Pidgey dove down again, facing its rival as it brought its wings together to fire off another Air Cutter attack. The attack struck Gary's Pidgey head on and sent it spiraling down towards the ground again. Ashley's Pidgey was quickly catching up to it in its dive however.

"Now lets finish this!" Ashley began, pointing her finger towards Gary's Pidgey. "Tackle attack!"

Ashley's Pidgey quickly caught up with its falling opponent and slammed into it with a Tackle attack, pushing into Gary's Pidgey to send it into the ground faster and pulling up at the last second so it wouldn't crash as well. Gary's Pidgey hit the ground with a tremendous impact for such a small bird and the dazed expression on its face showed that it was knocked out by the impact. Gary gritted his teeth as he begrudgingly recalled his pokemon.

_"Ok, maybe I was wrong about this kid..."_ Bulbasaur thought. _"She actually handled herself pretty good...not that I'll ever admit that to anyone.."_

"Seems this battle's been decided..." Lance quietly said to himself with a smirk. "The more skilled trainer has come out of the battle victorious and with barely a scratch."

"-Well she was a bit more interesting than the grass I guess...-" Dragonite said, giving a loud yawn.

"You shouldn't be so relaxed, my friend." Lance said to his Dragonite, chuckling mildly. "You may find yourself losing to one of these trainers someday."

"-I don't think I'd mind the loss.-" Dragonite replied with a shrug. "-A good challenge would be nice for a change...-"

"Well looks like my next pokemon's just going to have to make up for lost ground..." Gary commented bitterly, taking out another pokeball. "Squirtle, come on out!"

Gary held out the pokeball as he pressed the button on the front of it, releasing a blue turtle pokemon with an orange shell to battle. It was Squirtle, the pokemon he had received from Professor Oak.

"Alright, Pidgey, you can sit this one out!" Ashley said to her pokemon, not bothering to recall it. Pidgey got the message though and flew over to land next to Ashley. "Bulbasaur, this ones all your's!"

"-Alright, you better put up a good fight pal.-" Bulbasaur said to Squirtle as he took up position for battle.

"-Hmph. Try not to lose too badly.-" Squirtle shot back, surprising Bulbasaur with his attitude.

_"Geez...its as if Squirtle's become a bit like his trainer..."_ Bulbasaur thought to itself. _"Well that won't happen to me, no way am I going to become like Ashley."_ Bulbasaur shuddered at the thought.

"Squirtle, start off with Yawn!"

"Bulbasaur, Leech Seed!"

Bulbasaur fired a seed from its back while Squirtle breathed out a cloud of white gas. Almost simultaneously, the seed reached Squirtle and sprouted vines to latch onto its stomach and the gas reached Bulbasaur and was inadvertedly breathed in.

_"Yawn? What does that attack do?"_ Ashley wondered, taking out her pokedex to check. _"So its a delayed sleep technique...Bulbasaur should still have time for one more attack though!"_

"Bulbasaur, use Bullet Seed!"

"Squirtle, Withdraw!" Gary's squirtle immediately withdraw its head, arms, and legs into its shell to protect itself from the incoming attack. Bulbasaur spat out seeds like a popgun, three in total, each hitting Squirtle and bouncing off its shell. Shortly after firing the attack Bulbasaur fell asleep and Squirtle came out of its shell again.

_"Bulbasaur may be asleep now..."_ Ashley thought. _"But Leech Seed will still keep draining Squirtle's energy, and it won't be able to hurt Bulbasaur much with its water attacks. Even less since the energy drained from Squirtle will heal Bulbasaur. This pokedex really comes in handy!"_

"Now hit it with a Tackle attack while its asleep!" Gary commanded. Squirtle rushed forward and slammed into Bulbasaur with a Tackle, knocking the grass pokemon onto its back. Surprisingly, though, this failed to wake it up.

"Tackle it again!" Squirtle once again slammed its body into Bulbasaur, this second attack causing him to land upright as well as finally waking Bulbasaur up.

"-Ok, I'm just slightly mad now.-" Bulbasaur muttered, staring down Squirtle.

"Bulbasaur, attack Squirtle with Vine Whip!" Bulbasaur gladly extended a pair of vines from the base of his bulb, striking Squirtle in the chest with both of them and knocking him to the ground. Squirtle slowly got back to its feet, appearing to be quite exhausted by this point. For a moment it still seemed capable of continuing, but the Leech Seed sapped its remaining strength and Squirtle collapsed. Gary scoffed as he recalled his Squirtle.

"You just got lucky, thats all." Gary grumbled. "I'm out of here."

"Alright, we did it! We won our first trainer battle!" Ashley shouted in excitement, jumping for joy while her Pidgey chimed in.

"-Tch, that was nothing...-" Bulbasaur muttered. Gary ingored Ashley's cheering as he slowly walked towards Viridian City.

"Well congratilations, Ashley." Lance said to her, interrupting her celebrations. "I look forward to one day seeing you at the plateau."

"Huh?" Ashley blinked and paused for a moment. "Thanks but...I'm not planning on challenging the Elite Four..."

"I see..." Lance replied remorsefully. "A shame, someone with your talent could go quite far I'm sure. In any case, I should be off. It was a pleasure meeting you, Ashley."

Lance hopped on Dragonite's back. He gave a final wave to Ashley before Dragonite took off northwest towards the Indigo Plateau.

"Well I guess I'm finished here then..." Ashley said to herself. "Back to Viridian City, then to the forest next."

_"Ashley doesn't plan on challenging the Elite Four?"_ Bulbasaur thought to itself, frowning slightly. _"Well we'll just see about that..."_

* * *

Author's Notes: Though I don't make an overly big deal for 'levels', I do assign and keep track of them as a general gauge of how strong the pokemon in question is and what techniques it should have available/whether or not it can evolve. Of course, I won't have the pokemon evolve just because they meet the level requirements. Anyway, reason I'm saying this is I have the pokemon's levels starting at 10 instead of 5 to make early battles more interesting. Gave them a few special attacks too.

Oh, this should probably be obvious, but Ashley FR/LG girl. Name's origins should be fairly obvious. Ages are relatively high (for new pokemon trainers) cause the official art makes the characters look fairly mature, so it seemed appropriate. The male FR/LG character's actual name, in this story, is Ash though he prefers to go by Red. The 'color names' just don't seem very fitting, though Red works well enough in my opinion. Ash is just a commonly accepted name (likely due to the anime), same for Gary.

Their personalities are based more on the games though, not that Red actually made an appearance yet. Originally, Red was going to make a brief appearance in this chapter but it just didn't seem to add up so I left it out. Red will be making appearances in later chapters though.

Much later in the story, this will start to tie in with Pokemon: Legends in Hoenn as was hinted in that fic.

Edit: Changed Ashley's Mother's name to "Catherine". Her name was mentioned so briefly in this chapter I actually forgot I gave her one and ended up using Catherine later in the story. Whoops...


	2. Chapter 2: Thunder Yellow?

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Two**

**Thunder Yellow?**

"So the more Mankey gets hurt in battle the stronger that technique gets...that could be good for turning a battle around..." Ashley read her pokedex out loud to herself while walking through Viridian forest, taking the time to familiarize herself with the pokemon she caught as well as the techniques they know. While doing so, she wasn't paying much attention to what was ahead of her and looked up from her pokedex just as she walked into a tree.

_"Most pokemon probably would have steered their trainer in the right direction in a situation like this."_ Bulbasaur thought to itself, still following Ashley outside its pokeball and finding amusement in its trainer's clumsiness. _"Then again, I'm hardly most pokemon."_

"I should pay more attention to where I'm going I guess..." Ashley said to herself, putting her pokedex away. "SOMEONE could have warned me though..."

"-Could have, but didn't.-" Bulbasaur replied cheekily.

"Huh? Whats that?" Ashley wondered, noticing something in a small clearing past the tree she just hit. "Is that...cheese?" Ashley moved into the clearing to take a closer look at what seemed to be a plate of swiss cheese sitting on the ground.

"-Call me crazy, but I think this setup has 'trap' written all over it.-" Bulbasaur stated, sitting back to watch his trainer once again get into trouble. Sure enough, as Ashley moved closer to the cheese she hit an unseen tripwire that caused a net hidden below her feet to raise up. She was wrapped up in the net and hoisted off the ground.

"HEY! This isn't funny!" Ashley called out to no one, struggling with the net. "Bulbasaur, get me down from here!"

"-Whats the magic word?-" Bulbasaur taunted her, knowing full well Ashley couldn't understand what he was saying.

"Please?" Another girl's voice answered instead. Bulbasaur blinked in surprise and looked back to see who it was.

Standing behind Bulbasaur was a girl who looked old enough to be a trainer yet still noticeably younger than Ashley. Her hair was a shade of blonde that looked more like yellow and was tied back into a long ponytail. Her hands were folded behind her back and she was smiling at Bulbasaur, her green eyes looking down at him.

For an outfit, the girl was wearing a simple yellow tunic over a black long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black pants. She had a black sash tied around her waist that looked like it could hold pokeballs and a pair of purple boots on her feet. The girl certainly looked more ready for an adventure than Ashley did, even though she didn't appear to have any pokeballs with her.

"-Uh...sure...-" Bulbasaur stammered, not sure whether the girl understood him or if her request was merely a coincidence. Bulbasaur quickly turned around and fired a single well-aimed Bullet Seed that cut through the rope holding Ashley up and sent her plummeting to the ground.

"Oww..." Ashley muttered, rubbing her backside. "Couldn't you let me down slower?" Ashley turned to address Bulbasaur but found herself facing the girl instead, who was holding out a hand to help her up.

"Sorry about that! That was kinda my trap..." The girl said apologetically, still smiling. "I'm trying to catch a Pikachu!"

"Catch a Pikachu? That'll never work!" Ashley said to her, getting back to her feet. "Pikachu are way too smart for that..."

"I know..." The girl replied with a sigh. "I've been trying for over a year now!"

"What? Why?!" Ashley asked in surprise.

"Well when I turned ten and got my trainer's license I decided I wanted my first pokemon to be a Pikachu." The girl explained. "I'm no good at catching pokemon though and I don't even have a pokemon of my own to help me..."

"Well why would you waste so much time trying to catch one like this then?" Ashley asked her. "I mean, couldn't you get someone else to catch one for you?"

"I...never thought of that actually." The girl replied, blushing in embarassment.

"Well today's your lucky day, because I'm going to catch one for you!" Ashley said to her, grinning widely. "Catching a Pikachu will be a piece of cake!"

"-Ashley? Catch a pokemon?-" Bulbasaur snorted, rolling his eyes. "-Thats charitable.-"

"Really?! Thank you, thank you, thank you Ashley!" The girl replied excitedly, wrapping her arms tightly around a surprised Ashley.

"Wait, I didn't even tell you my name..." Ashley stammered in confusion.

"Oh, your Bulbasaur just said your name..." The girl explained, releasing Ashley. "By the way, my name's Rina!"

"You can understand pokemon?!" Ashley and Bulbasaur both shouted in union.

"Yep! I've been able to understand pokemon as long as I can remember." Rina replied to the two. "I hope to become a pokemon researcher someday and use my ability to further that goal!"

"-Well I suppose thats more noble than a photographer at least.-" Bulbasaur commented, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, so are you a photographer then?" Rina asked Ashley curiously. "I guess that makes sense, you don't really look like a trainer..."

"Hmph! Whats that supposed to mean?" Ashley shot back, glaring at Rina.

"N-nothing!" Rina replied, taking a step back and holding her arms in front of her defensively. "You just don't look like you're dressed for an adventure!"

"You sound just like my mother..." Ashley muttered. "Lets just go find you a Pikachu already..." Ashley said to Rina before stomping off further into the forest.

"She's scary when she's angry..." Rina quietly said to Bulbasaur.

"-Only because you're human.-" Bulbasaur replied before starting off after Ashley.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Rina called out, running to catch up with the two.

* * *

"...So, yeah, not much interesting to say about me really." Ashley said, ending her description of herself and her life to Rina as they continued through the forest. "I only left home because everyone else my age did. I'm not interested in challenging the Elite Four though. What about you?"

"Oh...well...umm..." Rina rubbed the back of her head, not sure how to respond. "Well I'm from Pewter City..." She began. "Brock, the gym leader, kinda looks after me there though I live by myself..."

"Huh? So where are your parents then?" Ashley asked. Bulbasaur struck her in the back of the head with his vine for it. "Ow! Bulbasaur!" Ashley growled, rubbing the back of her head and casting a glare at her pokemon.

"-Isn't it obvious?-" Bulbasaur growled back. "-Her parents are...-"

"They're gone..." Rina replied quietly, interrupting Bulbasaur. "My parents were investigators assigned to track down the leader of the Grand Hunters. They were getting close, apparently too close. They were found dead...their pokemon missing, probably enslaved and sold on the black market..."

"Oh..." Ashley said solemnly. "I'm sorry, I had no idea..."

"Its ok..." Rina replied, shaking her head slightly. "My parents wouldn't want me to be sad...not for them anyway..."

"What do you mean 'not for them'?" Ashley asked curiously.

"My parents loved pokemon above everything, and they taught me to love pokemon too..." Rina explained. "Thats why they were going after the Grand Hunters. What they're doing is wrong!"

"I ran into one of them outside Viridian City..." Ashley said quietly. "He tried to take Bulbasaur...he was even planning to kill me and Gary...I'm just lucky Lance showed up when he did or I'd probably be a goner..."

"-Yeah, that would have been a tragedy.-" Bulbasaur commented, grinning to itself.

"Wow! THE Lance?" Rina asked in surprise. "You ARE lucky! He's a member of the Elite 4 and a trainer of dragon pokemon. He was friends with my father and kinda took me in when my parents died, though he hasn't really had time to look after me. Thats why its always been Brock..."

_"She really has it rough..."_ Ashley thought. _"How can she be so upbeat like that? The poor girl must have gone insane or something..."_

"So why go through so much trouble for a Pikachu?" Ashley asked her, changing the subject. "I mean, if you just went to Pallet Town and got a pokemon from Professor Oak you could be a pretty strong trainer by now. Maybe even ask Brock or Lance for help getting your first pokemon..."

"I want a Pikachu though!" Rina replied, smiling brightly. "I've wanted one ever since I was little. I didn't want to bother Brock though because he's busy enough already, and Lance has been divided between the league and trying to track down members of the Grand Hunters."

"Yeah, he'll probably be especially busy once all those new trainers start getting badges and look to become the new champion..." Ashley added in agreement.

"Yeah, too bad..." Rina sighed. "I was so hoping he'd catch those hunters but they always run from strong trainers like Lance. They only pick on trainers they think they can beat."

"Like a trainer who's just starting out..." Ashley commented bitterly.

"By the way, you and your Bulbasaur don't really get along do you?" Rina asked curiously.

"What makes you think that?" Ashley asked in confusion. "Did he say something about me?"

"-Oh believe me, I've been saying plenty about you.-" Bulbasaur commented dryly. "-I just happen to have someone listening to me now.-"

"Umm...something like that..." Rina said cautiously, not wanting to invoke Ashley's anger again.

"Well he better not be saying anything about my..." Ashley was cut off as a large net dropped onto the group followed by the thud of four pieces of wood hitting the ground, tied to the net and acting as weights.

"What the?! Rina is this another one of your traps?!" Ashley demanded, yelling at the younger girl.

"N-no! I didn't set up any traps here!" Rina replied timidly. "Besides, I always use cheese for bait!"

"Then who's trap is it?!" Ashley demanded again. She got her answer as two young boys and a girl, all looking just barely old enough to be a trainer, came out through the bushes brandishing nets and yelling in excitement. They all looked dismayed when they saw Ashley, Rina, and Bulbasaur.

"You're not bug pokemon..." One of the boys commented.

"WELL WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CLUE?!" Ashley shouted angrily.

"Wow...she's really scary when she's mad..." Rina commented quietly.

"S-sorry..." Another boy replied timidly. The three of them quickly removed the pieces of wood holding the net down and pulled the net off the group.

"Whats with people in this forest using traps to catch pokemon anyway!?" Ashley demanded of the three kids once they got the net off her.

"We don't know how to catch pokemon..." The girl among the three replied. Ashley slapped her palm against her forehead.

"Doesn't ANYONE around here know how to catch pokemon?!" Ashley asked no one in particular. Only Rina took notice of Bulbasaur raising his vine. "Hmph, I'm just going to have to teach you all then..."

With that, Ashley stomped off through the trees. The group of bugcatchers shrugged and followed behind her, and Rina and Bulbasaur took up the rear.

"-I suppose this will be the part where I do all the work, then you throw the little ball and get all the credit.-" Bulbasaur grumbled to itself.

"That pokemon will do!" Ashley suddenly declared, the group stopping in their tracks and looking ahead to see the pokemon Ashley was pointing to. Lying against a nearby tree was a yellow cocoon-like pokemon known as Kakuna.

"Umm...wouldn't that be pretty easy to catch though?" Rina asked her. "Its just a Kakuna..."

"I'm sure it can still fight back!" Ashley replied quickly. "Bulbasaur, lets go!" Bulbasaur slowly walked past the group, stopping to stand in front of Ashley.

"-Lets get this over with.-" Bulbasaur growled as it got into position to battle Kakuna. "-A pokemon like Kakuna will just be a waste of my time...-"

"Alright, Bulbasaur! Vine Whip!" Ashley called out the attack, and Bulbasaur responded by extending two vines from the base of its bulb. The vines shot out, both lashing against Kakuna's body. In response to the attack, Kakuna started to glow.

"Ashley, look out!" Rina called out to her. "Its evolving into a Beedrill!"

"That'll just make things more interesting then!" Ashley replied, a smirk forming on her lips. "Bulbasaur, get read with a Leech Seed and hit it when it hatches!"

Ashley and Bulbasaur watched with anticipation as the Kakuna began to hatch, and the three bug catchers looked on in amazement. A split formed down the middle of the Kakuna's body, and two cone-shaped stingers emerged. Soon, a fully developed Beedrill pulled itself free of the Kakuna and shed its cacoon shell.

Bulbasaur, having prepared for this, launched a seed from its bulb and hit the Beedrill in the adomen. The seed sprouted tiny vines and latched onto the newly hatched bug pokemon.

"Oh shoot! I should have taken a picture!" Ashley said in dismay, snapping her fingers. "Getting a picture of a Beedrill as it hatched would have been great!"

"-HEY! How about focusing more on the battle!-" Bulbasaur shouted to Ashley as the Beedrill flew towards it. Beedrill aimed its main stinger at Bulbasaur as it moved in to attack. Bulbasaur tried to use its vines to move up out of the way of the attack, but Beedrill was too quick and went up with it to strike Bulbasaur in the underbelly with its stinger.

"-YEOWCH!-" Bulbasaur cried out in pain, the force of the impact knocking it back towards the tree the Kakuna was resting against before. Bulbasaur quickly got back on its feet and glared at Beedrill. The effects of the bug's attack on Bulbasaur were felt only briefly, the energy drained from Beedrill by Leech Seed quickly restored Bulbasaur to full strength from the minor attack.

"Oh right...Bulbasaur, Bullet Seed! Aim for its face!" Bulbasaur fired two green seeds, striking Beedrill with one of the seeds in the face and the other hitting hit a bit lower. The blow to the face seemed as though it stunned Beedrill briefly.

"Now, Tackle it!" Bulbasaur quickly dashed forward, jumping towards Beedrill and hitting it in the chest. Bulbasaur brought Beedrill to the ground and tried to hold it there by staying on top of it, but Beedrill began swiping at him with its foreleg-stingers in a Fury Attack and knocked Bulbasaur off of it.

_"That Fury Attack won't do much to Bulbasaur..."_ Ashley thought, smiling to herself. _"And Leech Seed keeps draining Beedrill's strength, so we just have to keep this up..."_

Beedrill charged towards Bulbasaur again, stinger positioned to hit Bulbasaur with a Poison Sting attack. Ashley already had a pretty good idea of what to do though.

"Bulbasaur, quick! Jump and use Vine Whip!" Bulbausar jumped up over Beedrill, wrapping its vines around it as the bug pokemon flew under Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur then used its vines to throw Beedrill straight forward. Beedrill found itself unable to stop and crashed into the tree it had been leaning against as a Kakuna. Bulbasaur immediately fixed its gaze on Beedrill when it landed. Beedrill was in a daze when it pulled back from the tree, and obviously getting weak.

"Now's my chance..." Ashley grabbed one of the pokeballs given to her by Professor Oak and threw it at Beedrill. The pokeball hit Beedrill and pulled it inside, then fell to the ground under the tree. The pokeball shook for several tense moments before making an audible click, locking Beedrill inside. Ashley quickly rushed over to pick up the pokeball.

"And thats how you catch a pokemon!" Ashley declared, holding up the pokeball for everyone to see. "Weaken it with your own pokemon, then catch it with a pokeball." The group gathered stared blankly for a moment before the bug catchers came to their own conclusions.

"Lets go find a defenseless Metapod and catch that!" One of them shouted. The other two agreed, and the three of them ran off in search of a Metapod to catch.

"But you still need to...weaken it..." Ashley stared in silence for a moment before giving an exasperated sigh.

"-I still don't hear any recognition for that.-" Bulbasaur grumbled.

"That was a really great battle, Ashley! You too, Bulbasaur!" Rina said, applauding the two. "You're good at battling!"

"-Correction, I'm good.-" Bulbasaur replied, holding its head high. "-I did all the actual work afterall.-"

"But it was Ashley who told you what to do and when." Rina said to him, smiling and folding her hands behind her back.

"I feel like I'm completely out of the loop here..." Ashley said, looking between the two. "Anyway...lets go find that Pikachu now!"

"Right!" Rina agreed excitedly. Ashley, Rina, and Bulbasaur once again started off on their trek through the forest in search of a wild Pikachu.

* * *

"Ugh! I'm beginning to wonder if there's even any Pikachu's around here!" Ashley growled in frustration.

"-The Pallet Town trainers couldn't have caught them all could they?-" Bulbasaur wondered aloud. "-Tch. Figures. All after an easy electric type...-"

"Its hopeless...I'm never going to get a Pikachu now..." Rina sniffed sadly, but tried to put a smile on her face as she addressed Ashley. "Thanks for your help, even if we couldn't find one..."

"HEY! We're not quitting just yet!" Ashley shouted back, startling Rina. "We're not leaving this forest until we've either found a Pikachu or we've proven without a doubt that there aren't any, now keep looking!"

"Y-y-yes mam!" Rina stammered in response.

"-Sheesh...if only you had this much dedication for catching your own pokemon...-" Bulbasaur grumbled. "-You know, without even giving it much thought, I can name at least three species you've skipped catching now...-"

The three of them started walking again, their eyes scanning the forest around them for any signs of a Pikachu. Eventually, Bulbasaur came to a stop as it caught sight of a yellow flash of movement out of the corner of its eyes.

"-I think I spotted one...-" Bulbasaur whispered before taking off into the bushes.

"Bulbasaur! You get back here right now!" Ashley called out after it. Bulbasaur did come back out from the bushes, only now it was dragging a Pikachu behind it in its vines.

"-Hey, look what I found.-" Bulbasaur brought the Pikachu over its head, plopping it down on the ground in front of it and holding it down with its vines. The wild Pikachu continually squirmed to try to break free.

"Oh WOW! Its a Pikachu! You've really found a..." Rina paused for a moment then glared at Bulbasaur. "BULBASAUR! Stop being so mean to it!" She cried out, flailing her arms.

"-Hey, I have to restrain it somehow.-" Bulbasaur replied with a shrug. "-Anyway, if you're planning on catching this thing hurry up before it actually decides to use its tiny brain and...-"

Before Bulbasaur could finish, a second Pikachu dropped down from the trees and smashed Bulbasaur on the head with its seemingly metallic tail. Its tail returned to normal as it did a backflip off Bulbasaur and landed on the ground further down the path. The attack dazed Bulbasaur, loosening his grip on the first Pikachu and allowing it to run off into the bushes to escape.

"-Good...night...mommy...-" Bulbasaur grunted in a daze before falling forward on its face, knocked out by the Pikachu's attack.

"That was an Iron Tail attack!" Ashley shouted in surprise, quickly turning to face the wild Pikachu. "It knocked Bulbasaur out in one attack too...just whats your problem anyway?!" Ashley angrily demanded.

"-My problem?-" The wild Pikachu replied sourly with a determined expression on its face. "-You humans have hunted my kind nearly to extinction. We used to live peacefully in this forest until you came along and started shoving them all in those pokeballs. That won't happen anymore, I won't let another Pikachu be caught!-"

"Umm...I think we might have hit a stumbling block..." Rina said nervously as she backed away from the angry Pikachu. Ashley, not knowing what it said, wasn't at all intimidated.

"No way! This one isn't running, so we'll just catch it!" Ashley held up Bulbasaur's pokeball to recall it, since Bulbasaur was clearly knocked out by the attack. She held up another pokeball, smirking to herself as she released the pokemon from inside it. "Alright, Mankey! This ones your's! Go!" The pokeball split open as Ashley pressed the button on it, releasing Mankey to confront the wild Pikachu.

"-Go ahead and bring out your pokemon against me, I'll crush them!-" The wild Pikachu cried out, sparks emitting from the red electric sacs on its cheeks before firing out a bolt of electricity. Mankey cried out, its eyes bulging as the bolt struck it and electricity flowed through it. Its charred body then fell to the ground in an unconcious

"EEK! Mankey!" Ashley cried out in surprise as Mankey fell in one attack. _"Can a wild Pikachu really be that strong?"_ Ashley wondered as she recalled Mankey. _"I don't think I even stand a chance, but I don't want to give up..."_ Ashley looked back, seeing the shocked expression on Rina's face.

_"Then again, maybe she wouldn't mind if I let this one slide. She looks scared..."_

"-I'll be keeping a close eye on you two...-" The wild Pikachu warned them, running off into the forest again.

"How could a wild Pikachu be that strong?!" Ashley yelled in frustration once Pikachu was out of sight.

"It said it'd be keeping an eye on us..." Rina said to her in a disheatened tone. "I don't think its going to let us catch a Pikachu..."

"Maybe I can't get you a Pikachu today...but someday..." Ashley turned to Rina, a grim look of determination on her face. "Even if I have to train my pokemon to be able to fight that wild Pikachu..."

"But...why?" Rina asked her in surprise. "Why would you go through so much trouble for me? We just met!"

"All those trainers coming through here lately were probably from Pallet Town..." Ashley replied, clenching a fist. "I don't think its right that you waited around for a year just for all those newbie trainers to ruin your chances of getting the one pokemon you've had your heart set on for so long. It makes me feel even worse to know that many of them were probably friends of mine..."

_"Ashley..."_ Rina had to fight back tears, she was moved by Ashley's speech. _"I didn't do anything to deserve this kindness from you...is this what its like to have a friend?"_ Rina thought quietly for a moment, she smiled brightly as she quickly got up and grabbed Ashley's hand.

"Come on! We have to hurry to Pewter! I want to show you my place and introduce you to Brock!" Before Ashley even had a chance to respond, Rina was dragging her through the forest towards Pewter City.

"H-hey! Slow down a bit! Pewter City isn't going anywhere!" Ashley said to her, trying to hold her back. It was no use though, Rina's sudden burst of energy was too much for Ashley and she was helplessly pulled along by the eccentric girl.

Rina did eventually stop, but not because Ashley asked her to. Wandering onto the path in front of them was a pokemon that resembled a Pikachu, only slightly smaller. Its body especially was smaller in comparison to its head. It had a black ring around its neck and its small tail was black at the tip as well. The pokemon looked as though it had been crying. Noticing the two trainers, it immediately turned to face them.

"-My...my mommy...-" The small pokemon whimpered. "-I can't find my mommy...-"

"I bet another trainer caught her..." Rina whispered so the pokemon wouldn't hear her. She slowly approached it and kneeled in front of it. "How long has your mommy been gone for?" She asked it.

"-I...I don't know...-" It replied, then began waving its arms frantically. "-Mommy always comes home when its dark out and brings me food b-but last night...she didn't!-"

_"Thats an odd looking Pikachu..."_ Ashley thought, taking out a pokedex to check it out.

"Pichu, the tiny mouse pokemon." The pokedex read out. "It is not yet skilled at storing electricity. It may send out a jolt if amused or startled."

Rina carefully took the wild Pichu in her arms, holding it against her gently and rubbing its back. "Its ok...I'm sure your mother is fine..." Rina said to her soothingly. "Poor thing...you probably haven't eaten in a while now, I bet you're hungry huh?" Rina held up Pichu to look it in the eye and the pokemon slowly nodded.

"I have some pokemon food you could try..." Rina set Pichu down on the ground then reached into her pocket, taking out a few pellets of pokemon food then placing them on the ground. Pichu sniffed at them curiously, then popped one in its mouth and quickly ate it.

"-Mmm! Kinda yummy!-" Pichu happily gobbled down the remaining few pellets.

"You know...your mommy was probably caught by another trainer..." Rina said to Pichu. She looked at Rina curiously, not quite understanding. "If you want to come with me though I'd gladly take care of you. Who knows? We may even meet her someday!"

"-Ok!-" Pichu hardly gave it even a moment's thought before leaping up into Rina's arms. Rina giggled happily, hugging Pichu tightly against her. Pichu's cheeks sparked briefly as it was barely able to contain its excitement.

"You two look so cute together..." Ashley commented after having been watching the two quietly. She took her camera from her backpack then held it up to take a picture of the two. "Say cheese, you two!" Rina and Pichu looked into the camera, both of them smiling brightly.

"Cheese!" Rina and Pichu said in unison. Ashley quickly snapped the picture then waited for it to print out. It was a perfect shot.

"Hmm...we need a nickname for you!" Rina suddenly declared to Pichu. "How about...Pippi?"

"-Pippi?-" Pichu thought it over and smiled happily. "-Ok! I'm Pippi then!-"

"Ok! Pippi it is!" Rina agreed. "Hey, Ashley! Lets get going already! I have two new friends to introduce to Brock now!" Rina placed her new Pichu, Pippi, on her shoulder then ran off towards Pewter.

"Hey! Wait up!" Ashley called out, chasing after them. Once Rina and Ashley were out of sight, a Pikachu dropped down out of the trees.

"-I'll let this one slide.-" Pikachu said to itself. "-That Pichu needed someone to take care of it anyway...-" Pikachu shrugged, then walked down the path in the opposite direction.

* * *

Author's Notes: Rina is loosely based off Yellow from the manga, mostly in her appearance. She's a lot more childish at times than Yellow though, and doesn't fall asleep (I think that was because of Yellow's special abilities), among other differences. Rina's ability to understand pokemon speech was something to make her stand out a bit, and was based on her ability to read their minds in the manga. I actually read the manga after planning some of this out, but knew what she was like from reading bios on Serebii. The name Rina means 'joy' in Hebrew apparently, which was why I chose that name.

Another thing I'd like to mention is the main reason Rina got a Pichu instead of a Pikachu is because originally I intended for Ashley to catch a Pikachu (not the one that overpowered her pokemon, Ashley's Pikachu was going to be a troublemaker/prankster). Rina's Pichu would only evolve to a Pikachu, but Ashley's would evolve into a Raichu. I decided I needed to start cutting down on how many pokemon I had characters catch (as well as Pikachu appearances in general), though, and decided the second Pikachu was unnecessary. The unevolved Pichu stuck, however, and the main reason for that will likely be seen in chapter 4/5.


	3. Chapter 3: Changing Directions

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Three**

**Changing Directions**

Ashley and Rina arrived in Pewter City near the middle of the afternoon. Their first stop, like for any trainer, was the city's pokecenter. Ashley handed over her pokemon to be healed, and Rina handed over her newly caught Pichu for a checkup as well. Ashley's pokemon were returned to her, fully restored, and Rina's Pichu was determined to be fully healthy after an examination. Both girls released their pokemon when they received them.

"-Ooooh I swear! The next Pikachu I see is getting vine whipped so hard they'll...-" Bulbasaur began, but then noticed the Pichu. "-Ok, who's the new kid?-"

"-Hiya! I'm Pippi!-" Pippi the Pichu replied, waving her tiny hand happily.

"-How nice, she even gets a nickname...-" Bulbasaur grumbled, looking up at Ashley. "-Where's my nickname, wench?-"

"Umm...I think Bulbasaur wants a nickname..." Rina hesitantly said to Ashley.

"A nickname huh?" Ashley tapped her index finger against her chin and thought for a moment. "Aha! How about Rose then?"

"-Bleh! If thats the best she can come up with, nevermind...-" Bulbasaur grumbled. "-I'm a guy, damn it...-"

"He... uh... said nevermind..." Rina once again informed Ashley. "Anyway! Lets get going!"

"Right!" Ashley quickly agreed. "I want to drop off some pictures at the Kanto Times first though."

_"Well it looks like we're in Pewter City now..."_ Bulbasaur thought, following Ashley, Rina, and Pippi out of the pokecenter. _"In that case, time for me to challenge Brock..."_ Once they were outside the pokecenter, Bulbasaur took off running.

"Bulbasaur! Get back here!" Ashley called out after him. The girls all gave chase, with the exception of Pippi. The young Pichu seemed confused at first, watching as everyone took off running. Thinking it to be a game, she soon took off as well, smiling gleefully as she charged past Ashley and Rina.

"-Heyyyyyyy! Wait for me!-" Pippi called out eagerly, soon catching up with Bulbasair and jumping up on its bulb. The sudden weight brought Bulbasaur to a halt.

"-Hey! Get off!-" Bulbasaur cried out, desparately trying to shake Pippi off of it before Rina and Ashley caught up with them. Bulbasaur didn't put much distance between them, however. Though it was able to throw the Pichu off of it, it was too late. Ashley and Rina had caught up with it, and Ashley was blocking its path and holding a pokeball.

"Bulbasaur whats gotten into you?!" Ashley questioned him fiercely.

"-Damn it! Get out of my way!-" Bulbasaur angrily demanded, glaring up at the girl and not backing down an inch from her. "-I'm challenging Brock whether you like it or not!-"

"We're going to see Brock anyway..." Rina quietly stated. Bulbasaur's jaw dropped and he quickly turned to Rina.

"-Say WHAT?! No one told me this!-"

"I just did!" Rina replied, smiling brightly. This seemed to take all the steam out of Bulbasaur's rage, only managing to mutter quietly in frustration.

"-I'm confused...-" Pippi stated, quietly observing Bulbasaur.

"What was that all about...?" Ashley asked Rina.

"Bulbasaur wants to challenge the gym leader, Brock." Rina explained to her. "He didn't know we were going to visit him anyway. He seemed pretty anxious though..."

"-Well duh!-" Bulbasaur added in angrily. "-Of all the trainers I ended up getting paired up with the one that doesn't want to challenge the Elite Four!-" Rina thought this over for a moment while Ashley looked at her expectantly.

"Ashley...why don't you just challenge the gym leaders anyway?" Rina suggested, smiling as she continued. "Its not like its going to hurt your progress as a photographer any, and I bet it'll make all your pokemon happy and not just Bulbasaur!"

"Well..." Ashley sighed, staring off into the distance while thinking it over. She nodded slightly as she came to a decision. "Alright...I'll think about it I guess. If we challenge Brock and beat him I'll challenge the rest of the gym leaders as well."

"Great! I can't wait to see you and Brock battle!" Rina replied happily. Bulbasaur was also grinning, but said nothing, thinking only about how it knew its victory against Brock was assured.

"Well first we're going to the Kanto times, remember?"

"Oh right..." Rina rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. Rina picked up Pippi and placed her on her shoulder before the three of them started on their way again.

* * *

After about ten minutes of walking, the group arrived at the Kanto Times office. Ashley went in alone and handed over her pictures to one of the publishers when she met with him. He went through them all, one by one, tossing them to the side as they were all rejected. Ashley felt her heart sink as each of her pictures were rejected, but the man finally stopped when he came to the last picture.

"Hm...this one is actually pretty good. We could use it for our trainer of the day section if we could get a brief interview with her." The picture the publisher was referring to was the most recent picture she had taken, the picture of Rina and her newly caught Pichu.

"You want that one?" Ashley asked, blinking in surprise. "But...but what about the rest?" The publisher sighed in frustration.

"Look, miss..." He began, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands over his stomach. "Anyone could bring in pictures like that. There's nothing special about a picture of a flock of Pidgey, or a bunch of Mankey. If you want to get a picture in our paper it needs to be something...I don't know...special, or rare. Like a picture of a legendary pokemon, or pictures of pokemon engaging in rarely-seen behaviours, that kind of thing..."

"Oh..." Ashley replied dejectedly. She brightened up a bit when she remembered what he said about the picture of Rina. "So wait...if I could get that girl in here for an interview you could take that last one?"

"Sure could." Ashley bolted out of the office almost as soon as he had replied, returning moments later dragging in a reluctant Rina with Pippi on her shoulder.

"A-Ashley! Whats all this about?!" Rina cried out in confusion. Ashley finally let go of her as she was brought to stand in front of the publishers desk. Rina greeted him timidly. "Umm...h-hi?"

"Ah! You're the girl from the photo! A pleasure to meet you!" The publisher smiled and stood up, extending his hand to Rina.

"Um...thanks..." Rina replied, timidly shaking the man's hand. Pippi suddenly jumped down off Rina's shoulder and onto the man's desk. Pippi growled, and sparks danced across its cheeks causing her to cry out in pain. She jumped back up on Rina's shoulder, hugging her face and sobbing quietly.

"-Rina! I shocked myself!-" Pippi sobbed into Rina's face. Rina reached over with her opposite hand and patted Pippi on the head.

"Its ok Pippi, just calm down and you'll be fine...it'll just happen again if you get too excited like that." Pippi stopped sobbing and nodded quietly, though there were still tears welling up in the corner of her eyes. Rina carefully wiped Pippi's eyes with her hands.

"Wow...Rina really cares about Pippi..." Ashley thought as she watched the two.

"Well now, I can see you and your Pichu really are close!" The man behind the desk commented. "Would you mind if I asked you a few questions for our trainer of the day section?"

"Oh, thats what this is for?" Rina blinked in surprise, then smiled as she nodded affirmatively. "Sure! Ask away!"

"Ok then, first question. Where did you meet Pichu?"

"We met in Viridian Forest." Rina replied with a nod. Pichu looked on curiously from Rina's shoulder, taking an interest in the interview.

"Next question, how long have you two known each other?"

"Umm..." Rina put her finger to her lip, staring off at the ceiling for a moment as she thought about it. "An hour or two I guess..." She eventually replied. The publisher stared at her blankly for a moment.

"Ok...then..." The man coughed to clear his throat. "Alright, last question. On a scale of one to ten, how well would you say you get along with your Pichu?"

"Definitely 10!" Rina replied quickly with a noticeably enthusiasm in her voice. Pichu cheered loudly in agreement. The man chuckled lightly as he wrote down Rina's answers.

"Alright, thats all. Thank you for your time." The man reached into his desk, producing two white envelopes. He handed one each to Rina and Ashley. "There you go, five hundred each for the interview and the picture. You'll probably see it in the paper soon."

"Thank you!" Both girls replied, receiving their envelopes and leaving the building. Just outside, Bulbasaur was waiting impatiently for them.

"-Now what the heck was that all about? We're losing precious battle time here!-" Bulbasaur demanded of the three once they were outside.

"Five hundred...well if nothing else, thats two pokeballs with a hundred leftover." Ashley said, ignoring Bulbasaur. She took her bag in hand and opened it to place the envelope inside.

"They wanted to interview me." Rina replied to Bulbasaur, giggling quietly.

"-Yeah! That was fun!-" Pippi added in, hopping up and down on Rina's shoulder. "-He was asking about how we're such good friends!-"

"-Yeah. Sure. Whatever. Can we go already!-" Bulbasaur growled loudly.

"Well sounds like someone is getting a bit impatient." Ashley said, rolling her eyes. "Guess we better go over to Brock's gym before Bulbasaur manages to evolve into a fire-type..."

"-Oh, haha. So the wench can make a joke.-" Bulbasaur grumbled quietly. With their business at the Kanto Times finished the group headed off to the Pewter City gym.

* * *

"I'm here to challenge the gym leader!" Ashley declared dramatically as she flung open the gym doors.

"That wasn't necessary..." Rina said to her, looking down to hide her embarassment.

"Hmph! Well thats how they do it on tv!" Ashley replied, folding her arms.

"Do you know her, Rina?" Brock asked, peering at the two from the other side of the gym. Or at least, he looked like he was peering at them. Brock was a brown-haired teen, looking to be about Ashley's age, wearing a black shirt with an orange stripe and a pair of green pants. He was sitting on the other side of the gym, on the gym leader's platform, and stood up when Ashley and Rina entered the gym.

"Hi Brock!" Rina called out to him, smiling brightly and waving to him. "This is Ashley, her and Bulbasaur want to battle you. She helped me catch a Pichu too!" Rina took Pippy from her shoulder and held her up for Brock to see.

"-Hiya!-" Pippy called out happily, waving to Brock.

"Actually I kinda just tried to catch a Pikachu and failed..." Ashley admitted quietly.

"-Blah blah blah! Less talking more battling!-" Bulbasaur growled.

"Well, you have my gratitude for being so kind to Rina." Brock said to Ashley. "If you want to battle me, then I accept! Don't think I'll go easy on you though. My rock-hard pokemon will withstand any attack you throw at them!"

"Well we'll see about that!" Ashley called back, running to the trainer's spot marked out on the floor with Bulbasaur beside her. Rina went over to a bench near the wall of the gym to sit down and watch the match. Brock's battlefield consisted of a rock terrain built into the gym floor. The entire ground of the battlefield was made of rock with stalagmites and boulders jutting up from the field.

"This will be a two on two battle." Brock said to her, taking a pokeball in his hand. "My first pokemon will be Geodude!" Brock released Geodude from its pokeball and onto the battlefield. Geodude appeared on the rocky ground, its rocky body nothing more than two arms directly attached to its head.

"In that case, I'll start off with Mankey!" Ashley replied, taking Mankey's pokeball from her belt. "Mankey, go!" Ashley released Mankey and the monkey-like fighting pokemon appeared in front of her on the battlefield. It hopped around and cried out loudly.

"-H-hey! What gives?!-" Bulbasaur growled at Ashley.

"Brock's known for having a strong Onix." Ashley informed Bulbasaur, a smile crossing her lips. "Onix is a ground and rock type, meaning you have twice the advantage against it. So I'm holding you back to fight it once Geodude's out of the way."

"-...Alright then. At least I get to fight the big one.-" Bulbasaur grumbled.

_"Plus this gives me a chance to figure out Brock's battle style..."_ Ashley thought to herself. "Ok, Mankey! Go! Low Kick!" Mankey cried out loudly and rushed forward in a mad dash towards Geodude.

"Geodude, slow it down with Rock Throw!" Geodude threw its hands out, sending out a pile of small rocks towards Mankey. Mankey furiously clawed them aside and moved in to attack, delivering a kick at what would be considered Geodude's chin. Geodude rolled back once, landing upside down, then flipped back up again.

"Geodude, get out of there! Use Dig, then Tackle!" Geodude began quickly clawing at the ground, easily digging it up in chunks and digging its way under the battlefield.

"Mankey, careful! It could come up anywhere now!" Ashley warned it. Mankey turned to her and started hopping around and squealing.

"-IknowIknowIknow!-" It called back furiously. Its head darted back and forth, peering all around the battlefield. Geodude eventually dug up out of a stalagmite behind Mankey and used the rock to throw itself towards Mankey with a tackle attack. Mankey turned around just as Geodude was attacking and was struck in the face by the attack. Mankey cried out as it was sent rolling across the ground until it landed on its back. It didn't waste time lying around, though, and was quickly back up on its feet.

"You know, this is actually the first time I watched Brock battle..." Rina said to Pippi with a smile on her face. "I can see why he's a gym leader, he's really good! His Geodude doesn't look like it was slowed down by Mankey's Low Kick attack at all!"

"-Yeah! This is exciting!-" Pippi cried out, excitedly nodding to Rina. She yelped in surprise when sparks shot out of the electric sacs on her cheeks.

"Mankey, use Low Kick again!" Mankey got up and started running towards Brock's Geodude to attack it again.

_"Low Kick isn't doing much to Brock's Geodude, despite the type advantage."_ Ashley thought to herself, though a smile crossed her lips. _"But the more damage Mankey takes..."_

"Geodude, stop it with Rock Tomb!" Geodude slammed its fists into the ground, causing a pillar of rocks to come up around Mankey like a mouth and close down around it. Mankey seemed trapped for a moment but gave a scream of primal rage and burst through the rock nearest Geodude, leaping out at it and landing another kick on the lower half of Geodude's face. Once again, the attack seemed to have little effect on Geodude.

"I don't think Ashley can win this battle..." Rina quietly said to Rina. "Not with Mankey at least, it has the type advantage but it's attacks aren't doing much to Brock's Geodude. Brock's pokemon are really tough..."

"-Bulbasaur can beat him though!-" Pippi replied enthusiastically. "-Bulbasaur is really strong!-"

"Maybe..." Rina wasn't really convinced, especially having witnessed Bulbasaur's defeat at the hands of a wild Pikachu.

"Geodude, Tackle attack!" Geodude propped itself up on its hands then flung its body at Mankey again, knocking it back and sending it tumbling to the ground. Mankey growled and quickly jumped back to its feet. It didn't make a loud fuss this time, it was beginning to show signs of fatigue.

"Seems like your Mankey can't hold its own in battle." Brock said to Ashley. "Though it has the type advantage, it lacks an attack strong enough to even dent my Geodude."

"Thats where you're wrong! I wasn't relying on Low Kick to begin with!" Ashley replied with a smirk. Brock looked on curiously. "Mankey! Now! Reversal!" Brock gasped in surprise as Mankey let out a primal scream of rage, its injuries pushing it to increase its strength for an attack.

"Geodude, quick! Defense Curl!" Geodude quickly curled up into a ball as Mankey charged towards it, slamming Geodude with its hands outstretched. The impact from the attack sent Geodude flying into a nearby stalagmite like a cannonball, smashing it on impact. For a moment, it seemed as though Mankey had won, though when the dust settled Geodude appeared to be still barely concious.

"Geodude, Dig!" Geoduded forced itself to dig at the stalagmite in its weakened state to dig into the ground and disappear beneath the gym.

"No way! It can still fight back?!" Ashley cried out in surprise.

"Wow! Brock's Geodude is really tough!" Rina commented. "To take a Reversal attack head on like that!"

"-Yeah! I thought his pokemon was done for sure!-" Pippy added in agreement.

The ground beneath Mankey's feet ruptured as Geodude popped out, knocking Mankey back and sending it sprawling to the ground while Geodude safely came to a stop on flat ground. When Mankey hit the ground it collapsed onto its back, having been knocked unconcious by the attack. Ashley reluctantly recalled Mankey.

"You shouldn't bank the outcome of an entire match on an attack like Reversal." Brock advised Ashley. "While you made a pretty good dent in my Geodude with it, its an attack best used as a last resort instead of your main strategy."

_"For a second there I thought maybe Ashley knew what she was doing..."_ Rina thought, giggling quietly to herself.

"Umm...heh...good point..." Ashley replied, grinning sheepishly. She then smiled and began to look determined again. "Alright, Bulbasaur! Its your turn now! Get in there!" Bublasaur nodded quickly and ran out in front of Ashley, taking up its position on the battlefield as it prepared to fight.

"Geodude, quick! Dig!" Brock called out. Geoduded quickly began digging its way under the ground.

"Bulbasaur, grab it with Vine Whip!" Bulbasaur ran towards Geodude while stretching out its vines, extending them towards Geodude as it disappeared below the ground. It reached into the hole and, after probing for a short time, pulled out Geodude wrapped in its vines.

"Now! Toss it and use Vine Whip!" Bublasaur tossed Geodude into the air then struck one of its vines across Geodude's body, sending it crashing into the ground and knocking it unconcious. Brock raised Geodude's pokeball.

"Pretty quick thinking there. Lets see if it'll help you against my next pokemon." Brock took his only remaining pokeball from his belt. "Onix! Go!" Brock held up the pokeball and released Onix. Almost immediately, the giant rock snake appeared on Brock's side of the battlefield. Its massive body took up a lot of space, and Bulbasaur grinned when it saw the size of its opponent.

"-Sweet...now THIS is what I'm talking about!-" Bulbasaur said, voicing its satisfaction.

"-You seem quite pleased...-" Onix began, then roared menacingly at Bulbasaur. "-For someone about to be squished!-"

"-Th-that thing is scary!-" Pippi cried out, hiding behind Rina.

"Don't worry! Its not going to hurt you!" Rina assured Pippi, but then looked out at Bulbasaur with a bit of concern. "I hope Bulbasaur will be ok though..."

"Bulbasaur, lets start this off with Leech Seed!" Ashley called out. Bulbasaur responded by crouching down to aim its bulb at Onix, firing a small seed towards it. The seed struck Onix in the head and latched onto the rock-type pokemon with tiny vines. Brock stood by and did nothing as Bulbasaur attacked.

"Onix, use Dig then follow it up with a Bind attack!" Onix began spinning its head around like a drill then smashed into the ground headfirst, drilling its way into the rocky floor. Its body began to spin likewise, propelling itself into the ground.

"Bulbasaur, be careful!" Ashley warned him. "That Onix could come up anywhere!"

"-You said the exact same thing to Mankey!-" Bulbasaur shot back while turning to face its trainer. "-It was a pointless statement then and its a pointless statement now!-"

Onix burst out of the ground from behind Bulbasaur and almost instantly it circled around the grass pokemon. Bulbasaur tried to jump up on Onix to get out of its grasp, but Onix grabbed it with its body and wrapped tightly around Bulbasaur. Only Bulbasaur's head was still visible from Onix's body being coiled around it. Onix then began to squeeze tightly and Bulbsaur cried out in pain as it was crushed.

"Why would he use Bind?" Ashley wondered to herself. "With Leech Seed on it, Onix will be drained of its energy faster than it can crush..." Ashley suddenly noticed why Brock had made such a seemingly reckless move, the seed was gone.

_"Thats it then!"_ She realized. _"Brock had Onix use Dig first so it could knock the seed off!"_

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip! You need to get out of there!" Ashley called out to her pokemon. Bublasaur grunted with the effort of trying to extend its vines while being bound by Onix, but it was no use. Bulbasaur just couldn't get its vines free.

"You're not the first to challenge my gym with a Bulbasaur." Brock informed Ashley. "Many first time trainers come through here with their Squirtles and Bulbasaurs, and from my battles with them I've learned how to deal with their techniques. With your Bulbasaur bound like that, it won't be able to use its Vine Whip technique. Even if your Bulbasaur happens to know Razor Leaf it won't be able to use that either. Its over..."

"Thats what you think!" Ashley replied with a smirk. "My Bulbasaur has a bit more in its arsenal than Leech Seed and Vine Whip! Bulbasaur, show him! Attack Onix with Bullet Seed!"

Bulbasaur opened its mouth and fired a barrage of four seeds, hitting Onix in the face with all four of them. Onix growled in pain as the seeds struck it and loosened its grip on Bulbasaur enough for him to gets its vines free. Bulbasaur extended its vines to wrap around Onix's body just below its head, then pulled itself free of Onix's grip and swung out onto the gym floor before retracting its vines.

"-Wow! I thought Bulbasaur was gonna lose for sure!-" Pippi gleefullly shouted."-Go Bulbasaur! Show that big bully whose boss!-"

_"I'm still not sure if Bulbasaur can make a comeback..."_ Rina thought, watching the match intently. _"Not unless Ashley really does something to surprise Brock..."_

"I'll admit, that one caught me off guard." Brock stated, his face showing a more determined expression now. "I won't make that same mistake again. Onix, Bind it!"

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip to dodge!" Bulbasaur extended its vines towards a nearby stalagmite jutting out of the ground, wrapping them around it and reeling itself towards the rock at the last second to escape Onix as it moved to wrap around Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur released the rock and retracted its vines as it came to a stop near the base. Bulbasaur stayed with his back to the rock to prevent Onix from being able to successfully bind it.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip and aim for the head!" Bulbasaur extended its vines towards Onix's head in an attempt to attack it. Brock was already prepared for such an attack however.

"Onix, grab those vines in your mouth!" Onix opened its mouth and moved its head to grab Bulbasaur's vines. Bulbasaur was surprised that its attack had been blocked so easily. "Now! Toss it back!" Onix rose up towards the ceiling with the back end of its body holding it up. It then twisted its head around, pulling Bulbasaur along the ground as it turned to toss it. Ashley immediately saw her opportunity to gain the upper hand.

"Bulbasaur, grab Onix when it tosses you!" Onix raised Bulbasaur in the air and finally let go of his vines, but as per Ashley's orders Bulbasaur wasn't about to let go and instead wrapped its vines around Onix's neck. Bulbasaur grunted as it felt its vines being stretched from the momentum Onix had used in an attempt to toss it.

"Now, reel yourself in fast and use Tackle!" Bulbasaur immediately saw what Ashley was planning and began reeling its vines in, pulling itself towards Onix's head from above. It struck the top of Onix's head with enough force to send its head falling towards the ground from the impact. Bulbasaur quickly jumped back to distance itself from Onix as the two of them fell. Onix hit the ground hard while Bulbasaur managed to land on its feet with little impact. Onix wasn't hurt much by the attack, but it was enough to stun it for a moment.

"Bulbasaur, now! Hit it hard with Bullet Seed and don't let up!" Bulbasaur opened its mouth and began firing seed after seed straight into Onix's face while standing in front of it on the ground, getting in as many hits as it could before Onix finally lifted its head up again and gave a loud bellow in agony.

"Now, quick! Smash it with a Vine Whip before it can attack again!" Bulbasaur quickly shot out one vine to the side of Onix and brought it down hard into the side of Onix's head. Onix roared in agony as it was sent crashing towards the ground again, its head smashing against one of the rocks on the gym floor. After hitting the ground, Onix laid still for several moments before Brock finally recalled it. Onix had been successfully brought down by Bulbasaur's assault.

"Alright! We did it!" Ashley cheered loudly.

"-Heh. No sweat...-" Bulbasaur grinned proudly and turned to walk back towards Ashley, but fell onto its stomach as its feet gave out under it. "-Ok...so maybe every part of my body hurts...-" Bulbasaur grunted in pain. "-But I still won damn it...-"

"Wow! She actually did it!" Rina said in surprise. "She came up with a new tactic on the spot to take down a larger foe..."

"-Yeah! Bulbasaur was awesome!-" Pippi squeaked out happily in agreement. It hopped up excitedly, but was startled when its cheeks sparked and fell back on the bench.

"You have some skill as a trainer, I'll admit that." Brock said to Ashley, a slight smile forming on his lips. "I've never seen anyone use a technique like that before, combining a Bulbasaur's Vine Whip technique with a simple Tackle attack to increase the attack's power. It was strong enough to give your Bulbasaur time enough to gain the upperhand and bring my Onix down..."

"Hmm! Thanks! I think I'd like to try to perfect that technique actually..." Ashley smiled at the praise. She took out Bulbasaur's pokeball and looked down at the weakened pokemon. "Bulbasaur, maybe you should rest in your pokeball until we get to the pokecenter. Return!" Bulbasaur gave no complaints as he was recalled into his pokeball. Ashley placed Bulbasaur's pokeball on her belt, and by then Brock, Rina, and Pippi were all standing with her.

"Here, you've certainly earned this." Brock said to Ashley, holding up the Boulder Badge and a TM. "Its the official Kanto League Boulder Badge, as well as my Rock Tomb technique. Its the perfect technique to use on the kind of terrain in my gym." Ashley took the badge from Brock and put it on the back of her trainer card and took the TM as well, putting it in her bag.

"Well looks like you won!" Rina said to Ashley, grinning widely. "Guess this means you'll be challenging the rest of the gyms now too, huh?"

"Yep, guess so..." Ashley replied, rubbing her head sheepishly. "Well Bulbasaur should be happy for a change..."

"So then this match was to decide whether or not you would challenge the Kanto League?" Brock stroked his chin curiously. "Interesting...but I would say you definitely have the skill for it."

"Well, I'm going to give it my best anyway!"

"In any case, it was nice to meet you Ashley. You as well, Pippi." Brock said, smiling to Pichu.

"-Nice to meet you too mister Brock!-" Pippi responded happily.

"I'm going to show Ashley my place now. See you later Brock!" Rina said to Brock, waving as she turned to leave the gym.

"Alright, I'll probably come by later. See you then." Brock rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he watched the girls leaving. "I think we might have something to discuss..."

* * *

"This is your house, Rina?" Ashley asked, looking around inside the small home. It was only a single storey house with two bedrooms. Most of the rooms in the house could be accessed from the main hallway which Ashley, Rina, and Pippi, and Bulbasaur were standing in. They had made a stop at the pokecenter on the way, so Bulbasaur was back on his feet.

"I know...its not much..." Rina replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "Feel free to look around, I'm going to make some dinner."

"Oh...do you want any help then?" Ashley asked her. "I mean, I'm not that good at cooking but I know enough to get by..."

"Nope! I can do it myself!" Rina replied cheerfully. "Brock taught me to cook, so I usually make my own meals anyway."

"Oh, ok." Ashley blinked in surprise. _"She's really independant for her age...but then again she's still a year older than most trainers. She just acts childish..."_

Rina took Pippi into the kitchen with her, leaving Ashley and Bulbasaur alone to look around the house. Ashley wasn't sure where to start though, or if she even wanted to. Rina's house didn't seem like anything special to her at all, so she contented herself to take a seat on the couch in Rina's living room. Bulbasaur didn't mind that either, as nothing about a person's home really interested it.

"What a day..." Ashley sighed out as she plopped back down on the couch. "I've walked into traps, faced strong wild pokemon, and even battled a gym leader..."

"-Technically, all you did was walk into traps.-" Bulbasaur muttered grumpily. "-Facing wild pokemon? Battling the gym leader's pokemon? That was all us, thank you very much.-"

"You know I don't have a clue what you're saying without Rina, right?" Ashley said, looking over at Bulbasaur. It was then that she noticed a table next to the couch with a picture of Rina's family. Scooting over on the couch she picked up the picture to take a look at it.

"These must be her parents..." The picture had a man and a woman in it, both of whom were wearing outfits similar to a standard police uniform. Their badges were notably different, but Ashley couldn't tell what was on them from the picture. The woman had the same hair color as rina and the man had brown hair. Both looked like they were in their early thirties at the oldest.

Alongside the two officers in the picture were their pokemon. A purple, feline pokemon with a long tail and a red gem in the center of its forehead stood next to Rina's mother and next to her father was a long purple serpent pokemon with a white underbelly. It had tiny wings on the top of its head and a blue orb under its chin.

"That serpent pokemon is a Dragonair I think...but aren't they usually blue?" Ashley thought out loud. "I don't recognize that other pokemon though..."

"Its an Espeon..." Ashley looked up and saw Rina standing at the entrance to the room. "Sorry...I just wanted to see what you were up to..."

"Don't be! Its your house after all!" Ashley called back. "So they must be your parents then?" Rina nodded her reply and Pippi hopped down off Rina's shoulder, rushing over to Ashley to take a peek at the photo.

"Those were their only pokemon too...their pokemon were partners to them, just as much as my mother and father were partners." Rina added sadly. "They always told me to cherish pokemon above everything...they really loved pokemon..."

"Rina...I'm sorry, I..." Ashley began, but was cut off by Rina.

"No, don't be..." Rina shook her head. "It won't make any difference now...my parents are gone, but their pokemon are still alive somewhere I know they are. I don't know how, but I want to find them and get them back...its what my parents would have wanted..."

"Rina..." Ashley was about to say something, but was once again cut off. This time, by the screeching of a fire alarm.

"Oh no! The food!" Rina cried out and rushed back into the kitchen to take care of things.

"-Rina! Wait for me!-" Pippi cried out, chasing off after her trainer. Ashley stared in disbelief.

_"Well at least that sappy scene is over with..."_ Bulbasaur thought, sticking his tongue out distastefully. "-Bleh!-"

"Still just a kid..." Ashley sighed at Rina's sudden change in attitude. "Still though...Bulbasaur?" Bulbasaur looked up at Ashley expectantly. "We need to get stronger...strong enough to beat guys like Shocks and whatever other Hunters are out there so we can save those pokemon!"

"-Normally I'd disagree with everything you say, but that kid is starting to grow on me and its for the pokemon, so count me in.-" Bulbasaur replied, nodding to Ashley since she couldn't understand him.

"Umm..." Ashley and Bulbasaur looked up as Rina appeared in the entrance again, smiling sheepishly. "Dinner's ready..."

Dinner for the two girls consisted of pizza, and a bit overcooked at that. Neither pokemon were particularly interested in trying human food. After eating, Ashley helped out with the dishes until there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" Rina rushed out of the kitchen to answer the door, dropping her dishcloth in the sink.

"Probably just Brock..." Ashley picked up Rina's cloth and continued to wash the dishes, cleaning them off one at a time and placing them on a rack next to the sink to dry. She was finished washing what little was left when Rina walked into the kitchen with, as Ashley had guessed, Brock.

"Ashley, I need to talk to you and Rina."

"About what?" Ashley set the dishcloth down and turned her attention to Brock. _"What could Brock want to talk to me about?"_

"Ashley, I want you to take Rina with you."

"You...you want her to what?!" Rina cried out in surprise.

"Rina, you're almost twelve now, and you finally have your own pokemon." Brock stated quietly. "I think its about time you set out as a trainer. If Ashley wouldn't mind you tagging along with her that is..."

"But..."

"I don't mind..." Ashley replied, cutting Rina off. "If Rina wants to go with me, I don't think I could turn her down." Brock gave a slight smile and nod at Ashley's response, as if it was what he expected her to say.

"Well then, what do you say Rina?" Brock asked, looking down at her. Rina looked over at Ashley and thought it over.

"I'll...I'll go then..." Rina replied quietly, smiling at Ashley. "Besides, someone needs to let her know when Bulbasaur is talking about her behind her back!"

"-Oh, so now you're going to rat me out huh?-" Bulbasaur said to Rina, grinning widely. "-Well you can start by telling her I think this is the first good decision she's ever made!-" Rina giggled quietly at Bulbasaur's request.

"Well then what'd he say, Rina?" Ashley asked her curiously. Rina gave her an innocent smile before replying.

"He said this is the first good decision you ever made."

"WHAT?!" Ashley growled menacingly and glared at Bulbasaur. "ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPLY SOMETHING MISTER?!"

"-Imply nothing, I came right out and said it.-" Bulbasaur replied, still grinning from ear to ear.

_"Hoo boy...I hope this wasn't a bad idea..."_ Brock wondered, placing his hand against his forehead in dismay.

* * *

Rina spent the rest of the evening gathering various supplies from around her house. Brock didn't stay long after speaking with the two, only long enough to advise Rina on what she'd need on the road. Rina didn't sleep much that night, she was too excited by the prospect of finally becoming a trainer and even the possibility of finding her parent's missing pokemon.

The next day, the two girls set out together from Rina's place and headed towards Mount Moon.

"Don't you think you overpacked a bit?" Ashley asked Rina.

"Hmm?" Rina looked over her shoulder at the large travel back strapped to her back. It was much larger than Ashley's and as full as it could get. "Well if we're going through Mount Moon we'll need all of it!"

"Yeah but...you're going to hurt your back carrying all that..."

"You might be right... Hey! Maybe I should have used a shoulder bag too, like your's!" Rina jokingly suggested.

"You'd still be carrying a lot of weight..." Ashley replied with a heavy sigh.

"-You could help her, I'm sure you have plenty of empty space available.-" Bulbasaur suggested mockingly, following along beside Rina and Pippi.

"-Hey! I wanna help too! I can carry stuff!-" Pippi cried out, looking up at Rina tearfully.

"Pippi, you're too small to carry any of this! Sorry!" Pippi sniffed sadly in disappointment.

"Hey, Rina?" Rina stopped and looked up at Ashley, who was grinning mischeviously. "Race you to Mount Moon!" Ashley called back to her then took off running, leaving her and the pokemon behind.

"Ashley! Thats not fair! Wait up!" Rina called out, taking off after her. The two girls were both well on their way now, travelling together across the Kanto region with their pokemon at their side. First stop, Mount Moon!

* * *

Author's Notes: And now the group's together, at least as far as the human part of the group is concerned. Chapter title was originally referring to Ashley taking up gym battles, but thats kinda misleading since she's not giving up her goal as a photographer still. Does apply to Rina too though, as now she's setting off with Ashley.

I toyed with different travelling companion ideas for Ashley. The three options I had in mind were Rina, Misty (who would have been in disguise, but Ashley would have been aware it was Misty from the start), or just have her travelling alone. I eventually decided to go with Rina because I had a bit of backstory in mind for her that'd connect her to the plot. Even had her make a brief, relatively unimportant appearance in the last Emerald history chapter. Didn't have enough of an involvement to really recognize her as having any connection to Yellow though, let alone Rina.


	4. Chapter 4: Clefairy Rescue

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Four**

**Clefairy Rescue**

"I...can't...take...another...step..." Rina said quietly while gasping for breath. She was lying on the ground outside Mount Moon, pinned underneath her own backpack with Bulbasaur, Ashley, and Pippi looking down at her.

"-Rina! You...you're not going to die, r-right?-" Pippi asked her tearfully.

"Wha! Of course not!" Rina bolted upright for a moment, but then collapsed under the weight of her backpack. Pippi let out a frightened cry and started pulling on Rina's arm to get her up.

"I told you you were carrying too much..." Ashley sighed. "We still have to get through Mount Moon, so how about we switch?"

"-Of course, now that she's hindering you, you'll carry her stuff.-" Bulbasaur remarked, rolling his eyes. "-Typical...-"

"I...I guess that would be ok..." Rina mumbled into the dirt. Ashley placed her travel bag on the ground and kneeled down next to Rina to help her remove her backpack. Rina got up and stretched once the weight was removed from her back. Ashley lifted the backpack experimentally.

"This thing weighs a ton! Rina, what did you pack exactly?" Ashley asked before opening it and taking a peek for herself. The items immediately visible to Ashley inside the backpack included a cooking pot and a sleeping bag. "Umm...whats the pot for?"

"Cooking of course!" Rina replied, smiling widely. "We need to eat afterall, right?"

"Err...right...but we could have survived without cooked food I think..." After Rina gathered herself up, the group continued on into Mount Moon.

The inside of Mount Moon, for the most part, didn't seem to be anything special. It was a rather ordinary cave in appearance, but rare evolution stones known as Moonstones were found within. Along with the Moonstones were a species of pokemon called Clefairy, which seemed somewhat mystical in nature and only found in Mount Moon.

The inside of the mountain was luminated well enough by a series of lights that the group could see where they were going. The path was commonly used by trainers and was lighted because of that, but blue lightning was used to avoid disturbing the pokemon living there. The result was that there was enough light for people to see, but it still looked dark.

"I hope we run into a Clefairy, I want to get a picture of one!" Ashley exclaimed while looking around through her camera.

"I think Clefairy are pretty rare though aren't they?" Rina commented thoughtfully.

"Well I won't leave until I get a picture of one!" Ashley declared, letting go of her camera and raising her fist to punctuate her statement. Her camera was strapped around her neck as usual.

"-With that attitude, you'll probably scare them off...-" Bulbasaur commented dryly, rolling his eyes.

"-Bulbasaur, why are you always so mean to your trainer?-" Pippi asked him with a child-like curiosity.

"-I don't really like her much.-" Bulbasaur replied, raising one of its front legs in a sort of a shrug. "-She doesn't really have her priorities straight if you ask me...-"

"Let me guess, I'm better off not knowing?" Ashley asked Rina, noticing Bulbasaur and Pippi talking.

"Its not important!" Rina replied, smiling nervously. Though Rina was capable of translating for Ashley, she often choose not to. She knew the two would just get into a fight.

"-HELP!-" Everyone looked ahead down the darkened path as they heard a pokemon crying out in a distressed voice, which all but Ashley immediately recognized as a cry for help.

"Someone's in trouble!" Rina called out before taking off in the direction of the voice. Ashley, Bulbasaur, and Pippi followed behind her. They came around a bend in the cave and stumbled upon an older man and women standing with their backs to them. In front of the two was a cage full of Clefairy. There was also an evolved Charmeleon next to the man and a Wartortle next to the woman. Both pokemon had slave collars around their necks.

"We're done here. Thats all the Clefairy we need." The man informed his partner.

"Yes, and the gas seems to have worked as well. They won't give us any trouble during transport." The woman agreed.

"HEY! Just what do you think you're doing with those Clefair!" Rina demanded. The two older trainers snickered to themselves and grinned.

"Like an exploding wildfire...I strike..." "Like an unstoppable tide...I crush..." The two of them turned around dramatically to face Rina and Ashley.

"You now face the invincible duo of the Grand Hunters...Yang and Yin!" The two trainers declared as they pointed at Rina and Ashley.

Both trainers looked to be in their early twenties, and both had jet black hair. They wore matching outfits that looked like white jumpsuits with a black belt tied around their waist and black bands around their wrists and ankles. Yang was the male of the two, and Yin the female. Both had the Grand Hunters emblem on their left shoulders.

"Wait...you're the Grand Hunters?" Rina asked in disbelief.

"No way! They're too lame to be serious criminals..." Ashley said to her. "Lets just kick their butts and free those Clefairy!"

"How dare you mock us! Charmeleon, attack! Ember!" The collared Charmeleon quickly jumped out in front of Yang and opened its mouth to attack, but a pair of vines wrapped around its snout and held it shut. A puff of smoke erupted from the side of Charmeleon's mouth as the attack fizzled.

"Wartortle, Tackle attack!" Wartortle joined Charmeleon in the battle and tackled into Bulbasaur while it was still holding Charmeleon's mouth. Bulbasaur lost its gripped and was knocked back, rolling to Ashley's feet.

"-Hey, lady! I'm a bit outnumbered and outgunned here!-" Bulbasaur growled, looking up at Ashley. "-How about a little help?!-" Ashley looked to Rina for an explanation.

"Ashley, send out another pokemon!" Ashley nodded and took a pokeball from her belt.

"Pidgey, go! Help Bulbasaur!" Pidgey emerged from its pokeball and flew straight into the fray, putting itself between Bulbasaur and Wartortle. "Pidgey, hold them back with Gust! Bulbasaur, Sleep Powder!"

Pidgey stopped in midair and began flapping its wings, sending out strong gusts of wind at Charmeleon and Wartortle. Neither of the evolved pokemon seemed to be particularly affected by it. Bulbasaur followed up, sending a blast of powder from the bulb on its back into the gusts. The wind ended up blowing most of the Sleep Powder past its intended targets and the two pokemon remained awake because of it.

"Charmeleon, attack Bulbasaur with Ember!"

"Wartortle, use Water Gun on Pidgey!"

Charmeleon and Wartortle quickly retaliated with ranged attacks, Charmeleon aiming a fireball at Bulbasaur while Wartortle fired a short burst of water at Pidgey. Both attacks were almost completely unaffected by Pidgey's Gust and struck their targets without error, albeit slightly weakened. Pidgey and Bulbasaur grunted in pain as the attacks hit them, forcing Pidgey to stop its attack.

"-Rina! Let me help too!-" Pippi jumped out in front of Rina, ready to fight. Rina quickly picked her up and held her tightly.

"Pippi, I don't think you can..." Rina replied, shaking her head. "Their pokemon are tough, and you're still just a baby pokemon...we should just let Ashley handle this." Pippi frowned disappointedly and kicked at the ground.

"Yang, you see that?" Ying whispered to her partner, pointing at Rina. "Seems like this girl can understand pokemon..."

"Yes, I see it too Ying." Yang replied not so quietly. "I bet she would fetch a good price. Cute too..."

"HEY! You can't talk about Rina that way!" Ashley snapped angrily. "You people are sick! Bulbasaur, Leech Seed! Pidgey, Air Cutter! Concentrate your attacks on Charmeleon!" Bulbasaur positioned itself to fire a seed at Charmeleon on Ashley's command

"Wartortle, block Leech Seed with Water Gun!" Wartortle fired a short blast of water into the oncoming Leech Seed. The sudden blast of water knocked the seed away, protecting Charmeleon from the attack.

"Charmeleon, counter attack with Ember!" Charmeleon opened its mouth and shot out a small fireball. The fireball connected with Pidgey's Air Cutter and the flames scattered on impact, dispersing into the air. Charmeleon's attack was still successful in stopping Pidgey's, however, as the Air Cutter also dispersed from the impact.

"Now, take them both out! Bite attack!" Yang called out to both pokemon. Charmeleon and Wartortle charged towards Pidgey and Bulbasaur respectively. Pidgey let out a shriek of terror as Charmeleon's jaws clamped down around it and tackled it to the ground. Bulbasaur tried to hold Wartortle back with its vines, but Wartortle won out in the end and pushed past the vines to bite Bulbasaur on the back of its neck.

"Not good! I need to shake them off somehow!" Ashley thought desparately. "Bulbasaur, use Bullet Seed on Charmeleon!" Bulbasaur looked over at Charmeleon, barely able to pivot its head to get a good shot. Bulbasaur let loose with several seeds, hitting Charmeleon in the head and forcing it to let go of Pidgey. Pidgey looked like it was in pretty bad shape by then, just barely able to get back on its feet.

"Pidgey, now! Get Wartortle with a Quick Attack!" Pidgey flapped its wings slowly and started moving towards Wartortle. It took it a moment to get up enough strength to launch its attack. When it finally did, Pidgey shot forward and struck Wartortle in the side of the head in a flash of movement. Wartortle let go of Bulbasaur in shock and staggered off to the side. Bulbasaur looked to be as weak as Pidgey when Wartortle was finally knocked off.

"-Guess that makes us even then...-" Bulbasaur commented to Pidgey weakly.

"-Its not over yet...-" Pidgey replied, motioning with its wing towards Charmeleon. Charmeleon and Wartortle recovered quickly from the pokemon's attacks and were already waiting for their next orders.

"Wartortle, weaken them with another Water Gun attack!" Wartortle opened its mouth and fired off a short blast of water, managing to hit both Bulbasaur and Pidgey with one attack due to their proximity. Bulbasaur took the brunt of the attack, but was able to shake it off. Pidgey was able to shake off what little had reached it as well.

"Lets finish them off now! Charmeleon, use Metal Claw!" Charmeleon raised its hand back and its claws took on a metallic appearance. Charmeleon then jumped towards Pidgey and Bulbasaur, striking them from above and sending them rolling to opposite sides. Charmeleon's attack was more than the two pokemon could take. They were both knocked out by the Metal Claw attack, but Ashley wasn't going to get the chance to recall them.

"Charmeleon, don't let that girl send out anymore pokemon." Yang commanded. Charmeleon raised its claws towards Ashley, threatening to strike if she went for a pokeball. Ashley froze in fear.

"What do I do now?!" Ashley thought in a panic. "It can't end like this, can it?!"

"-Thats it!-" Pippi let out a quick jolt, startling Rina into dropping her onto the ground. "-I have to protect my new friends!-" Pippi's cheeks sparked again, preparing herself for her first battle.

"Heh, how cute." Ying commented, snickering to herself. "The runt wants to fight now. This shouldn't take long. Wartortle, take it down with Water Gun!"

Wartortle manuevered around Charmeleon so it could get in a shot against Pippi. Pippi was getting ready to attack as well and distanced herself from Rina while building up electricity for her attack.

"-YAAAAAAAAAA!!-" Pippi cried out in a rage and charged towards Wartortle with electricity crackling around its body. Wartortle finally opened its mouth to attack as well, but it was too slow. Pippi plowed into Wartortle and sent out a blast of electricity upon impact. Both pokemon recoiled from the attack and were knocked to the ground, but only Pippi got back up again.

"What the?! That was a Volt Tackle!" Ying cried out in shock.

"Damn it! Charmeleon, forget the girl and take care of that pesky Pichu! Metal Claw!" Charmeleon turned away from Ashley and quickly charged Pippi. Before she could even react, Charmeleon sideswiped her with its metallic claws. Pippi cried out as she hit the rocky wall of the cave. She slowly tried to get back to her feet, already in pretty bad shape.

"Pippi! No!" Rina cried out and ran to her pokemon, but Ashley put out a hand to stop her. Rina looked up at her with a mixed expression of confusion and anger until Ashley showed her the pokeball in her hand.

"Charmeleon, finish it off! Ember!" Charmeleon opened its mouth and was about to fire its attack, but suddenly it was struck by an impossibly fast technique. Ashley's Beedrill flew by it in the blink of an eye, using an Aerial Ace technique to slash Charmeleon with one of its claws. In the commotion Pippi caused, Ashley was able to get Beedrill's pokeball and quietly released it and ordered it to attack. Charmeleon recoiled from Beedrill's attack, but was still standing and looked pretty angry now.

"...Retreat for now." Yang grumbled, realizing their odds were starting to look dim. He could see Ashley still had one pokeball on her belt in addition to the Beedrill and Pichu. Ying looked at her partner and hesitated for a moment, but nodded her agreement. They each dropped a small ball onto the floor that exploded to fill the area with smoke, and when the smoke cleared the two Grand Hunters and their enslaved pokemon were gone.

"Pippi! Are you ok?!" Rina asked in a concerned tone, quickly scooping the Pichu into her arms and craddling her gently.

"-I'm...fine...-" Pippi muttered in response, smiling up at Rina. "-I can fight...its what pokemon do...-"

"Pippi..." Rina held Pippi tightly, fighting back tears.

"That Volt Tackle is a pretty powerful technique you know..." Ashley commented after recalling her pokemon. "One of the strongest electric attacks, but learned only by Pichu. Of course, Pichu's evolved forms can use it too if they learned it as a Pichu..."

"I know...I didn't know Pippi knew that technique though..." Rina replied. She smiled softly to herself. "I guess I need to learn these things huh? Just incase..." Pippi looked up at Rina and nodded in agreement.

"-HEY! Let us out!-" One of the Clefairy cried out from within the cage. "-Its cramped in here!-"

"I guess we should let those Clefairy out now that those hunters are gone..." Ashley commented. She and Rina then set to opening the cage to free the Clefairy, which didn't take long as the cage had a simple latch holding it shut instead of a lock. Once the door was open, the Clefairy piled in front of Rina and Ashley and allowed for Ashley to take a picture before they ran off into the cave.

"Well that settles that..." Ashley said as the Clefairy ran off. A few of the Clefairy stopped though and began whispering to each other. Ashley looked to Rina, expecting an explanation.

"I can't hear them." Rina said quickly. All but one of the Clefairy whispering to each other soon took off as well, with the only remaining Clefairy bounding back to the two trainers.

"-Thank you for rescuing us!-" The male Clefairy bowed his head in thanks then turned to face Rina.. "-I overheard that you could understand us and, as thanks for your help, I would like to accompany you!-"

"Well it wouldn't have been right if we ignored your cries for help." Rina replied, smiling slightly. She then informed Ashley of the Clefairy's request.

"So why don't you catch it then?" Ashley suggested. Rina looked surprised and was about to protest, but Ashley cut her off. "I already have four pokemon, but you only have Pippi. It was Pippi that really saved the Clefairy anyway, so its only fair..."

"If you say so...Bulbasaur won't be too happy about this though..." Rina held Pippi against her with one hand and reached back to take a pokeball out of her backpack. She was confused for a moment when she didn't find one. Remembering she switched backups with Ashley she blushed in her embarassment. Ashley turned around so Rina could get at her own backpack. Rina took a pokeball from a small pocket on the side then turned to Clefairy. She hesitated and looked down at him thoughtfully.

"Well I can't just catch you without giving you a name though. How about...Clefs?"

"-What now?-" The Clefairy blinked in surprise and quickly shook his head. "-No way! That just sounds odd...-"

"Then what about...Clyde?" Rina suggested next. The Clefairy thought about it for a moment then nodded. "Ok then, Clyde it is! Welcome to the team, Clyde!" Rina pressed the button on the front of the pokeball and tossed it down to Clyde. The pokeball opened up and fired out a red beam that dragged the Clefairy into the pokeball. The pokeball closed and locked tight without any fight from the pokemon.

Rina picked up the pokeball once Clyde the Clefairy was inside and held it up for Pippi to see. "Look, Pippi! We made a new friend!" Pippi smiled weakly, still recovering from the previous battle. Rina realized this and frowned, but then remembered the items she packed.

Rina reached into her backpack again while Ashley watched curiously. She took out a small purple and gray spray bottle from her backpack and sprayed Pippi with it. Pippi closed her eyes and winced, at first feeling a stinging sensation. She opened her eyes again in disbelief as she felt her strength quickly returning.

"Feeling better now Pippi?" Rina asked her. Pippi stretched her arms and wiggled her tail to see for herself then nodded in response.

"-I feel a lot better! Thanks Rina!-" Pippi hopped down to the ground from Rina's arms. She still felt like she could use a rest, but she was definitely feeling better overall.

"I guess with all this stuff you have in here I shouldn't be surprised you brought potions..." Ashley commented idly.

"Of course! Always have to be prepared!" Rina replied. "Now! Lets get introduced properly!" Rina held out Clyde's pokeball and pressed the button, releasing her recently caught pokemon. The beam shot out and materialized into a Clefairy standing next to Pippi. Clyde blinked in confusion and took a quick survey of his surroundings.

"-Whats going on?-" Clyde asked.

"I thought we should get to know each other." Rina smiled and said to Clyde. "My name's Rina, and these are my friends Ashley and Pippi..." Rina gestured towards Ashley and Pippi in order. Ashley waved to Clyde when Rina introduced her.

"-We're going to be great friends!-" Pippi said excitedly, grabbing Clyde's hand in both of her's and shaking. As usual, Pippi lost control of her electricity in her excitement and a spark from her cheeks knocked both pokemon to the ground in surprise.

"-Wh-what was that all about?-" Clyde stuttered in shock, he was starting to have second thoughts about Rina and Pippi.

"-Sorry...I can't really control my electricity yet...-" Pippi admitted, rubbing her cheeks in her embarassment.

"I bet you two will get along just fine once you get to know each other." Rina said to the two. "Hey, Clyde, you know the way around this place right?" Clyde thought for a moment and nodded. "Think you could show us the way to Cerulean? We'd get there much faster with a guide."

"-Oh, sure.-" Clyde hopped back up on his feet. "-Just follow me and uh...-" Clyde cast a nervous glance towards Pippi. "-Keep your distance please?-" Pippi's ears drooped sadly at the request, but she understood why Clyde was asking her that and nodded. Clyde started off into the cave, and everyone followed behind him.

"That was a good idea Rina, having Clyde lead us out." Ashley said to Rina.

"Thanks, Ashley." Rina replied, smiling at the praise. "I figured it would be quicker this way

"-I don't think Clyde likes me much...-" Pippi whimpered sadly, walking alongside Rina. Rina picked up Pippi to speak privately with her.

"I don't think thats it at all." Rina whispered reassuringly. "He's just afraid he'll get shocked, thats all. So you need to learn how to control your power!" Pippi seemed to be convinced by this explanation and nodded. Pippi decided to move onto Rina's shoulder instead of walking at that point.

The two trainers followed Clyde, but they didn't get very far before Clyde stopped and ducked behind a small rock. "-Someone's coming...-" Rina stopped as well and motioned for Ashley to stop. Ahead of them, around a bend in the cave, they could hear heavy footsteps approaching them. Ashley instinctively reached for Beedrill's pokeball, ready to fight if she had to.

The footsteps grew louder and louder, drawing closer to the group. Everyone tensed as a large man rounded the bend, but relaxed when they saw the hiking gear he was wearing and realized he was just a hiker passing through Mount Moon. Clyde was still suspicious of him, though, and remained hidden.

"Whoa, now! You two are awfully edgy for youngsters!" The hiker said in a gruff voice when he saw Ashley and Rina looking ready for a battle.

"S-sorry sir..." Rina said apologetically and bowed to the man. "We just dealt with a pair of criminals..."

"Team Rocket still hanging around, eh?" The hiker replied, rubbing his chin. "Coulda sworn that other trainer scared 'em all off..."

"You mean Team Rocket was here too?" Ashley asked him. She heard of Team Rocket before, everyone in Kanto has. Team Rocket was a notorius criminal organization that even the police has trouble dealing with due to their numbers.

"Yeah, they were here alright." The hiker replied bitterly. "They were trying to steal pokemon fossils! My Onix and I were about to teach them all a lesson but this kid in a red hat beat 'em all with his Charmeleon. I even challenged him myself afterwards, but even after beating up dozens of rockets he still had enough steam to take it down..."

_"Charmeleon? A red hat? It couldn't be Red, could it?"_ Ashley wondered. She shook her head lightly. _"No way! Red couldn't have gotten that strong..."_

"So who was it you girls ran into if not Team Rocket?" The hiker asked, stroking his chin curiously.

"We beat two Grand Hunters!" Rina responded enthusiastically. "They were trying to capture Clefairy with gas and cages, but we stopped them!"

"Haha! You don't say!" The hiker replied with a hearty laugh. "You two must be quite something to take on those guys."

"We just got lucky, really..." Ashley muttered quietly. She knew well enough that if Pippi hadn't known Volt Tackle, they would have been in trouble. In fact, both times Ashley had run into the Hunters she had gotten lucky. Against Shock, a timely appearance from Lance saved her.

"With all these criminals about, its just not safe for trainers if you ask me. Anyway, I need to get to the pokecenter and get my Onix fixed up. You girls be careful, you hear?"

"We will, bye mister!" Rina waved to the hiker as he passed by, muttering about the old days. "He seemed like a nice guy..." Rina commented when he was out of earshot.

"He has a point though, we need to be careful." Ashley said to Rina. "We're definitely not strong enough to deal with the Grand Hunters. We just got lucky and caught those two off guard, and they seemed pretty weak compared to that Shock guy I ran into..."

"Don't worry, we'll get stronger!" Rina said enthusiastically then turned to Pippi and Clyde. "Right guys?"

"-Of course! Just you wait, I'll get them all with my Volt Tackle!-" Pippi exclaimed with just as much enthusiasm.

"-I, too, wouldn't mind taking a shot at these...hunters.-" Clyde responded with a determined nod. "-I owe them that much anyway...-"

"See, Ashley? As long as we keep trying, we'll get strong enough to beat them!" Rina said to Ashley, speaking for the two pokemon. "So don't worry about it! Next time, we'll be ready!"

"Well, I guess you're determined if nothing else." Ashley replied, offering a slight smile. _"Maybe she's right though? If I keep challenging gym leaders and training my pokemon to become stronger, I'll be ready to take on the hunters..."_

The group continued on their way through Mount Moon again, with Clyde still leading the way.

* * *

The girls followed Clyde all the way through the mountain, eventually reaching the exit on the Cerulean side. By that time, however, it was starting to get dark. Rather than camping in the open or trying to make it to the city, the girls decided it would be best to set up camp just inside the mountain.

Unfortunately for Ashley, only Rina thought to bring a sleeping bag. Rina's sleeping bag was too small for both of them, so sharing was out of the question. That left Ashley to sleep on the ground.

"My first night sleeping outside! I can't wait!" Rina exclaimed while pulling various items from her backpack. She got out her pots and some wood she gathered and soon had a small fire going and a pot of soup cooking over it.

Once she had the soup cooking, Rina looked up at Ashley and saw her lying out exhausted on the floor. Carrying Rina's backpack around had taken a toll on her as well. "Are you ok Ashley?"

"Fine..." Ashley mumbled in response. She slowly sat up and looked at the pot. "So what kind?"

"Tomato!" Rina replied with what seemed like too much enthusiasm to Ashley. "By the way, Bulbasaur should be back up by now..."

Ashley blinked a few times and quickly thought it over. She thought Rina might be right and took Bulbasaur's pokeball from her belt. She released Bulbasaur and, sure enough, Bulbasaur was conscious again. Bulbasaur raised his head groggily and looked around.

"Guess you were right, Rina." Ashley said, smiling lightly. "Well, welcome back Bulbasaur."

"-Damn it...how long was I out for? And why aren't we in a pokecenter?-" Bulbasaur's gaze eventually fell upon Clyde, who was still out of his pokeball. "-Don't tell me Ashley actually caught one of the Clefairy? That isn't like her at all, to purposely catch a pokemon without me prodding her to!-"

"-Actually, no, Rina is my new trainer.-" Clyde replied. "-My name is Clyde and, on behalf of the Clefairy, I would like to thank you for saving us.-"

"-Yeah, no problem...-" Bulbasaur grumbled in response. "-So how'd we get out of that bind anyway after I went down?-"

"Well Pippi took down Wartortle with a Volt Tackle, and that distracted them long enough for Ashley to get Beedrill out against them." Rina explained to Bulbasaur while stirring the soup.

"-Yeah! You should have seen me!-" Pippi's body began to spark with electricity. "-They totally weren't expecting it! I came out of nowhere and smashed that Wartortle good!-" Bulbasaur grinned slightly.

"-Heh...well good on ya, kid.-" Pippi smiled at the praise and the sparks went away as she calmed down.

"You know, its funny how Bulbasaur can put up such a fight against Brock yet get beat up the moment we're in trouble." Bulbasaur twitched and turned to Ashley, glaring angrily.

"-So this is supposed to be MY FAULT?-" Bulbasaur growled in frustration. "-If I wasn't taking orders from you I'd have won easily!-" Ashley looked to Rina for a translation.

"I'm not getting involved in your silly arguments." Rina replied in a disinterested tone. Without Ashley knowing what Bulbasaur was saying, their argument became pointless in a hurry. Clyde slowly approached Pippi while watching the two.

"-Whats with those two anyway?-" He asked her.

"-I don't really understand it either, but they don't get along very well...-" Pippi replied, rubbing the back of her head with her paw. "-Its funny to watch though!-"

"-I...see...-" Clyde replied hesitantly. _"These trainers certainly are acting much differently now than they were in battle earlier. Interesting..."_

"Ashley, you don't have a sleeping bag do you?" Rina asked Ashley out of the blue. "You can use mine if you want and I'll just sleep on the ground..."

"What? No way!" Ashley shot back, shaking her head defiantly. "I'm the teenager here, so its only fair that I make the sacrifices."

"If you say so..." Rina blinked in disbelief at Ashley's response, not really sure what else to say.

After only a few more minutes, Rina declared the soup to be ready. Ashley and Rina had a bowl of soup each and fed their pokemon the usual pokemon food. Rina also poured a bit of the leftover soup over the pokemon food as well, adding a bit of flavor.

After eating, all the pokemon but Bulbasaur and Pippi were returned to their pokeballs. Rina set up her sleeping bag and slept in it with Pippi while Bulbasaur and Ashley slept on the ground.

"-Anyone snores, they get vine whipped...-" Bulbasaur grumbled before finally drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Author's Notes: Two more hunters revealed, and Pippi's Volt Tackle revealed as well. Red got some mention in this chapter too. Red will basically be taking care of most of the Team Rocket based plots, though thats not to say Ashley and Rina aren't going to run into them as well.


	5. Chapter 5: Ebb and Flow of Battle

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Five**

**Ebb and Flow of Battle**

Clyde repeatedly hopped backwards, narrowly avoiding the repeated swipes from the wild Sandshrew. All the while, Clyde was wondering how he had managed to get himself into this situation. Only a day earlier, he had been happily living out a normal life for a Clefairy. Now he was battling a wild Sandshrew, intent on taking a strip off him.

"Good going, Clyde!" Rina called out to him from about ten feet away. "Now attack Sandshrew with Pound!"

"-Ok, here I go then!-" Clyde hopped back, dodging yet another swipe of Sandshew's claws. Landing on one foot, Clyde pivoted around to pass on Sandshrew's right side and brought his fist into the wild pokemon's hard gut. Sandshrew squealed in pain and scurried away, distancing itself from Clefairy before turning around to launch another assault.

"Rina, physical attacks won't do much to it! You need to slow it down somehow!" Ashley called out from behind Rina, holding her pokedex in her right hand. She was making use of it to obtain data on Sandshrew.

"-Bah! Don't listen to her!-" Bulbasaur called out after his trainer. "-Stay on the offensive! Smash that Sandshrew good, Clyde!-"

The two trainers woke up early the next day and were well on their way to Cerulean City. In fact, they were just outside Cerulean City when they encountered the wild Sandshrew. It was Ashley who suggested Rina try to catch it so she could learn the proper way to catch a pokemon. Knowing Pippi's attacks wouldn't do much good against a Sandshrew, Rina sent Clyde out to fight it.

"Ok, now, uh..." Rina hesitated for a moment, trying to decide which of Clyde's attacks to use. In her moment of hesitation, the wild Sandshrew went on the offense again. Sandshrew began clawing at the ground, digging itself a hole and disappearing before Clyde could launch another attack.

"-Did it get away?-" Pippi asked Rina. Pippi got no response from her though, Rina was already focusing on her next move.

"Sandshrew will probably try to attack from below, but can it compensate for Clyde jumping?" Rina wondered. She tried to picture Sandshrew's movements underground, trying to figure out the right time to act. Too soon, and Clyde would land on Sandshrew as its attacking. Too late, and dodging would be pointless.

"Clyde, now! Jump!" Rina called out when she was finally sure on the timing. She guessed correctly, as Clyde jumped up just as Sandshrew burst out of the ground below it. Sandshrew took a swipe at Clyde and just barely missed.

"Attack it from above with another Pound attack!" As Clyde began to fall back towards Sandshrew, he shifted his weight in the air to come down sideways. Clyde came down hard on top of Sandshrew, landing a strong blow to the pokemon's head. Sandshrew was stunned for a moment and knocked onto its back, where it was pinned by Clyde.

"Ok! Now I'll try a pokeball!" Rina quickly threw an empty pokeball she had been carrying at Sandshrew. She was a few inches off her target, but Clyde jumped off Sandshrew to catch the ball and throw it towards its intended target.

The pokeball smashed off Sandshrew's head and opened up, firing out a red beam that dragged Sandshrew into the pokeball. The pokeball then closed up and began shaking on the ground, eventually shattering into pieces as the Sandshrew broke free. Sandshrew looked mad as it appeared from the ball and was no longer stunned.

"No! Its still too strong!" Rina cried out in dismay. "Clyde, watch out!" Rina's warning distracted Clyde more than anything, causing him to turn away just as Sandshrew struck out at him with a metal-coated claw attack. Clyde was sent sprawling onto the ground as he was struck from behind by a Metal Claw.

"Rina, a pokemon is easier to catch if its asleep!" Ashley called out to her.

"Asleep?" Rina wondered for a moment what Ashley was talking about, then remembered one of Clyde's techniques. "Right! Clyde, use your Sing attack!"

"-I don't like this technique much...-" Clyde muttered, rolling over to face Sandshrew. "-But here goes!-" Clyde began singing in a melodic tone, producing a gentle lullaby. Sandshrew was moving to make another attack against Clyde, but its movements soon became sluggish. Sandshrew began to waver, then fell over onto its side as it fell fast asleep.

"Ok! Lets try another one now!" Rina looked to Ashley and nodded. Ashley reached into Rina's backpack, which she was once again carrying, and took out a pokeball and tossed it to her. Rina fumbled for a moment but managed to catch it, then threw the pokeball straight at Sandshrew.

This time, Rina's aim was dead on. The pokeball landed on Sandshrew's back and opened up, pulling Sandshrew inside and closing around it. The pokeball fell to the ground and began rolling around as Sandshrew tried to escape. This time it had no such luck. The pokeball clicked, locking tightly and securing the Sandshrew inside.

"WOOHOO! We caught Sandshrew!" Rina cried out in delight, grabbing the pokeball and holding it up in the air.

"-Yay! Way to go Rina and Clyde!-" Pippi also gave a loud cheer before bounding off to her trainer.

"-Whew...-" Clyde breathed a sigh of relief, now that the battle was finally over. "-These fights are tougher than I thought...-"

"Congratulations on your first pokemon capture, Rina!" Ashley congratulated Rina. "So what are you naming this one?"

Rina looked at the pokeball and thought for a moment. She released Sandshrew from its pokeball and found the pokemon was still asleep. The Sandshrew soon woke up, though, and peered around cautiously at the people and pokemon surroundings it before focusing its attention on Clyde.

"-HEY! You! What kind of cheap tactic is that?!-" The Sandshrew demanded of Clyde.

"-I was just following orders.-" Clyde replied with a light shrug.

"Welcome to the group, Sandshrew!" Rina greeted her newly caught pokemon. "My name's Rina, and the Clefairy is Clyde..."

"-I'm well acquaited with...Clyde.-" Sandshrew muttered bitterly, his attention still on Clyde. "-Real men fight hand to hand! None of this putting opponents to sleep!-"

"-Hey! Like I said, I was just following orders!-" Clyde shot back. "-Get used to it, pal, because you'll have to follow orders as well...-"

"I hope I can handle this one..." Rina thought, realizing Sandshrew seemed to have his own ideas when it came to battle. Rina cleared her throat, then moved on to introduce Pippi. "And this Pichu here is Pippi..." Rina gestured towards Pippi, who was now standing next to Clyde.

"-Nice to meet'cha! I bet we'll be great friends!-" Pippi said, extending her hand to Sandshrew. Sandshrew shrugged and shook her hand. As usual, Pippi's body sparked up in her excitement. Sandshrew, being a ground-type pokemon, didn't really notice though.

"And this is my friend Ashley and her pokemon Bulbasaur." Rina finally looked away from Clyde as she introduced Ashley and Bulbasaur, whom Sandshrew could recall giving Rina tips during their battle. Ashley gave a slight wave, but Sandshrew was more interested in Bulbasaur.

"-You there! Don't you realize how pointless it is trying to give advice to humans?-" The Sandshrew said to Bulbasaur. "-Even if they could understand us, they wouldn't listen to a thing we said.-"

"-Thats where you're wrong...-" Bulbasaur began, but Rina interrupted him before he could answer in full.

"I can understand pokemon just fine actually." Rina said to Sandshrew, smiling widely and leaning over towards him.

"-Is that so then?-" Sandshrew turned to face Rina. She nodded in response to him. "-Well understand this then, I greatly despise your underhanded battle tactics. Real warriors don't rely on such underhanded techniques!-"

"Yes sir..." Rina replied timidly. "I'm definitely going to have trouble with this one..." Rina then blinked and shook her head, "Right! I still need a name for you! How about..." Rina thought for a moment. She was tempted to say 'Sandy' but didn't think it would go over well. She managed to come up with a better name, however.

"Sarge! How about Sarge?" Sandshrew hummed thoughtfully and scratched his chin with his small claws, thinking over the name Rina had chosen for him.

"-I don't see why it is necessary, but Sarge is acceptable I suppose.-" Sandshrew nodded and gave a light shrug, accepting Rina's nickname for him.

"Ok, gang! Lets head into Cerulean City now so we can get you all rested up!" Rina began marching off towards Cerulean City, with her own pokemon falling in behind her. Ashley blinked in disbelief, but then shrugged and followed behind her. Bulbasaur ran to catch up with Rina and walked alongside her.

"-You know, you could probably give Ashley some tips...-" Bulbasaur quietly suggested to Rina. "-Like actually catching pokemon for a change.-"

* * *

Once the group reached Cerulean City they headed to the first stop most trainers make upon arriving in the city, the pokecenter. Ashley and Rina recalled their respective pokemon upon arriving in the pokecenter, then handed them over to the nurse to heal. Rina went through her supplies to see what she still had with her while she was waiting for the nurse to finish.

Once their pokemon were fully healed, Bulbasaur and Pippi were released from their pokeballs to follow their trainers on foot as usual. They then left the pokecenter to head off to Ashley's first intended stop in the city, after the pokcenter of course. The Kanto Times office in Cerulean City. She was in for a bit of a shock, however.

"What? Closed?!" Ashley cried out in disbelief, standing outside the Cerulean office of the Kanto Times. A sign on the door said they were closed until twelve.

"Well...not everyone opens at nine I guess?" Rina suggested with a light shrug. "I guess you'll just have to wait before handing in those pictures..." Ashley hung her head in defeat and groaned.

"-Hey, here's an idea. While you're waiting you can go challenge the gym leader.-" Bulbasaur suggested in a somewhat bitter tone, thinking Ashley may have forgotten about her little promise to him.

"Thats a great idea!" Rina commented in response to Bulbasaur. "Ashley, Bulbasaur thinks you should challenge the gym leader now. I remembering hearing about her, she's Misty and she uses water type pokemon. If you use Pippi and Bulbasaur in the match you're sure to win!"

"-I get to fight in a gym battle?-" Pippi asked, her ear's perking up at the mention.

"Ok then, I'll challenge Misty!" Ashley declared, quickly turning to face Rina and Pippi. "I'll do it with my own pokemon though." Pippi's ears drooped in disappointment as she groaned quietly in disappointment.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense..." Rina smiled sheepishly and patted Pippi on the head. "Sorry for getting your hopes up..."

"-I wanted to show off my Volt Tackle again too...-" Pippi snapped her fingers in dismay.

"So what pokemon are you going to use then?" Rina asked Ashley.

"Well Bulbasaur of course and...hmm..." Ashley folded her arms and thought over her other choices. "I guess any of my other three pokemon could work...I'll decide when I get there then."

"-Great! Lets get going already! I'm itching for a good fight!-" Bulbasaur was grinning widely, eagerly anticipating another gym match.

The girls and their pokemon left the closed Kanto Times office to head to the Cerulean City gym. When they arrived outside they stopped in front of the double doors leading inside. As she had done at Brock's gym, Ashley approached the doors and gave them a hard push to throw them both open.

"I'm here to challenge the..." Ashley stopped midsentence and stared in disbelief. A boy, about her age wearing a pair of blue jeans and a red vest over a black shirt, was standing with his back to her. On the other side of an olympic-sized swimming pool was an orange-haired girl, also about Ashley's age, wearing a blue bikini.

"Staryu, now! Water Pulse and aim for its tail!"

"Charmeleon, turn around and take it head on!"

In the gym's pool, a battle was already taking place. A red lizard pokemon with large, sharp claws and a flame-tipped tail was standing on one of four platforms floating in the pool. There was a platform in each corner, and each platform was about five square feet. Charmeleon's opponent, a star-shaped pokemon, was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, the pokemon burst from the water behind Charmeleon and fired three ring-shaped pulses of water aimed at the fire pokemon's vulnerable tail. Charmeleon moved just as quickly though, its speed enhanced by a technique it used before Ashley had arrived on the scene. Charmeleon staggered back slightly as the water attack struck it, but looked relatively fine even after enduring the direct hit.

"I guess you wasted that dramatic entrance, huh?" Rina said to Ashley, giggling quietly. Ashley didn't respond though, her gaze fixed on the male trainer. She walked into the gym and moved off to the side of the pool to watch the battle unfold.

"Now, Charmeleon! Smokescreen!" Upon the trainer's command, Charmeleon opened its mouth and spewed out a thick screen of smoke to cover the platform Charmeleon was standing on. The thick cloud of black smoke concealed Charmeleon from view.

"We won't fall for that again!" Misty announced with a smirk. "Staryu, Water Pulse! Fire into the cloud!"

"I wasn't expecting you to fall for that again anyway." The trainer replied. "Charmeleon, now! Attack Staryu with Scratch!" Staryu once again jumped up out of the water to get a better shot in at its target, but at the same time Charmeleon jumped forth from the smoke screen towards Staryu.

Staryu fired the Water Pulse attack, scoring a direct hit on Charmeleon. The fire pokemon plowed through the rings though, continuing towards its target despite the water splashing off its skin. Charmeleon reached out and struck a harsh blow on Staryu with its claws, sending the starfish pokemon spinning down into the water.

Charmeleon's momentum, however, also carries it into the water. Charmeleon splashes down into the pool and disappears below the surface, a small column of steam rising from where it went under. Both pokemon soon surface again, Staryu clearly knocked unconcious while Charmeleon looking exhausted. Charmeleon's flame-tipped tail rises from the water, the flame noticably smaller.

_"He beat a water type with a fire type?" _Ashley thought in surprise. _"A gym leader's water pokemon at that! Could his pokemon really be that strong?"_

"Well you're the first to beat one of my pokemon with a fire-type, I'll give you that." Misty commented, recalling her Staryu. "Your Charmeleon has to be very strong to have endured such attacks. Its definitely too weak for you to pull that off again, so Starmie will finish it!" Misty raised a pokeball and released the aformentioned pokemon, which looked like two purple starfish fused back to back.

"I don't plan to keep him in the water. Charmeleon, return." The trainer stated quietly, holding out Charmeleon's pokeball and recalling Charmeleon out of the water and into the ball. "Pikachu, you can take it from here! Go!" The trainer called out as he held up another pokeball, releasing a white-cheeked Pikachu onto the platform that Charmeleon had been previously occupying.

"-...Mommy?-" Pippi blinked in disbelief. The Pikachu that appeared from the pokeball did look like her mother from where she was standing. Pippi could feel her excitement building at seeing her mother again, but didn't want to jump to conclusions yet.

"Pikachu, we'll start off with Charge." The male trainer announced. Pikachu nodded and, in a bright flash, sparks began to surround her body. She was charging a large amount of electricity for her next attack.

"Ok Starmie, you know how to handle an electric type! Rapid Spin!" The two parts of Starmie's body began spinning rapidly and Starmie took off, skimming at least a foot over the surface of the water and flying past Pikachu in a sort of a tackle, knocking it to the side. Normally Misty would attack from the pool, but not against an electric type.

"Pikachu, use Double Team and form a circle!" Pikachu closed her eyes and concentrated. Her body shimmered briefly then began to split off into multiple copies, one appearing on either side of her at first and spreading out until they formed a complete circle. Pikachu also moved between the copies to hide herself, unknown to any onlookers.

"Your Pikachu won't escape that easy! Starmie, use Swift!" Starmie stopped and hovered in the air, the front of its body angled towards Pikachu. The gem in the center of Starmie's body glowed then fired out several star-shaped rays. The rays swirled around each other and honed in on the real Pikachu, striking her hard. The attack caused Pikachu's duplicates to disappear and nearly knocked her into the water.

"Escaping was never our plan..." The trainer responded quietly. "Pikachu, finish this now! Thundershock!" Seemingly unphased by the Swift attack, Pikachu launched her attack almost immediately. Even after using Charge to power up, the wide stream of electricity fired seemed too large for a Thundershock attack.

"That attack! How is his Pikachu so powerful?!" Misty wondered just before the attack hit her pokemon. It was then that Misty took notice of the Pikachu's white cheeks and it became clear to her.

Starmie tried to move out of the way of Pikachu's attack, but in the time it took Starmie to maneuver into a position to hover away the bolt had reached it. The blast of electricity surrounded Starmie in an instant, sending a powerful jolt through its body. Starmie fell out of the air shortly after and into water, floating to the surface flat on its back soon after to reveal it had been completely knocked out by the attack.

"Wow! What a strong Pikachu! I think it might even be stronger than that one we ran into!" Rina said to Ashley, but when she looked at her she realized Ashley was focused intently on the male trainer with a look of surprise and confusion.

"Now I see...I didn't stand a chance, your pokemon are too strong Red." Misty commented with a defeated look on her face. She recalled Starmie to its pokeball, then walked across the gym to hand Red the Cascade badge and a TM disc.

"Here, its the Cascade Badge and one of my Water Pulse TM's." Misty handed the items to Red, then glanced past him to Ashley and Rina. "I'll be with you two in a moment, I need to heal my pokemon..." Misty then went off towards the office at the back of the gym, and Red finally turned around to see Ashley and Rina standing off to the side. He was so focused on the battle he didn't even notice them come in.

"Oh, its just you." Red said, his lack of interest immediately striking a nerve.

"Just me?! Who the hell do you think you are then, mister big shot?!" Ashley shot back furiously. Red shrugged, not interested in starting an argument with her. He turned back towards the pool and was about to finally recall his Pikachu when Pippi suddenly ran past him.

"Pippi! Don't run near a pool!" Rina called out, chasing after her. Pippi jumped from the edge of the pool, leaping from platform to platform towards the other Pikachu. Rina tried to stop as she reached the edge but slipped on the wet surface. She cried out as she nearly fell into the water, but Red grabbed her by the arm and caught her.

"You should heed your own advice." Red said to her. Rina looked up at her saviour, but his eyes were focused on the two electric pokemon out on the platform. Rina followed his gaze and saw the two hugging each other, both with their cheeks sparking.

"-Mommy! I thought I'd never see you again!-" Pippi cried out joyfully, tears streaming down her face.

"-I was so worried about you!-" The other Pikachu replied, hugging her daughter with her tiny paws. "-I was caught by this trainer and all I could do was hope the others would look after you...-"

"-I have a trainer now too!-" Pippi stepped aside and pointed to Rina. "-See! She's over there! She's really nice and fun too!-" Pippi's mom smiled at Rina and waved.

"W-wait...your Pikachu is Pippi's mom?!" Rina stuttered out in her surprise.

"You can understand pokemon?" Red asked Rina, raising an eyebrow. He then smiled to himself and chuckled. "Well, even if you can understand their language, it doesn't mean you understand them..."

"So Red is the one who caught Pippi's mom then? Well that just figures..." Ashley thought, gritting her teeth in a barely-suppressed rage.

"Hmm..." Red turned back to look at Ashley. "I wonder...are you finally going to become a true trainer then and stop wasting your abilities?" He asked her while remaining completely expressionless.

"Listen, you!" Ashley shot back. "I'm only challenging gyms because Bulbasaur wanted to! I still am, and always will be, a photographer!"

"If you say so..." Red replied with a light shrug. "Well, listening to your pokemon is a good start I guess. I'll stay and watch the battle..." Red looked across the pool at Pippi and Pikachu. "I'm sure those two have a lot of catching up to do anyway..."

"-Ok, who is this guy? And why couldn't he be my trainer instead?-" Bulbasaur wondered aloud to himself, grinning widely. He had just met Red but was already starting to like him.

"Ok, I'm ready..." Misty announced with a sigh as she emerged from her office. For her, it has been one trainer after another challenging her. Losing so easily to Red had upset her a bit as well.

"Pikachu, we'll watch from the sidelines." Red called out to his pokemon. Pikachu nodded and grabbed Pippi, carrying her on her back and bounding over to the side of the pool. Red sat down on a bench off to the side, with Pikachu and Pippi sitting next to him.

_"Wow...he has so much respect for pokemon. He's raised them to be so strong, and Pippi's mom at least seems happy with him."_ Rina blushed and giggled quietly. _"And he's kinda cute!"_ Rina quickly moved over to the bench, getting out of Ashley's way as she approached the pool, and sat down next to Red.

"I don't think I introduced myself, so my name's Rina! Nice to meet you!" Rina quickly said to Red after she sat down, smiling widely. Red looked at her and, noticing her expression, gave a soft sigh and said nothing.

"We will use two pokemon each, with no substitutions by the gym leader." Misty called out to Ashley, explaining the rules to her.

"Got it." Ashley replied definitively. _"I'll show you, Red. Even as a photographer I can still battle!"_

"Then for my first pokemon I choose...Staryu!" Misty held up a pokeball and released her Staryu into the air. Staryu began spinning rapidly, like a circular saw, and cut into the water. It emerged only a moment after, with the top half of its body visible above the water.

"Ok then! Pidgey, you're up first! Go!" Ashley took out Pidgey's pokeball and released the bird pokemon onto the nearest platform. Pidgey didn't stay on the platform for long and began flapping its wings to hover over it.

_"Figures, I'm going second again."_ Bulbasaur thought, rolling his eyes. He plopped down on the floor behind Ashley to wait his turn to fight.

"-Is your trainer's friend a good trainer?-" Red's Pikachu asked Pippi.

"-Yep! She's beat lots of tough trainers!-" Pippi replied excitedly. "-Bulbasaur is really tough and cool too! I want to be strong, too!-" Pippi smiled widely and looked over at her mother. "-Strong like you! How are you so strong, mommy?-"

"-Its a secret.-" The Pikachu replied with a wink. "-When the time is right, I'll pass it on to you.-"

_"Its obvious what that power is. With a baby Pippi knowing Volt Tackle, powerful attacks, and those white cheeks, it could only be the power of a Light Ball..."_ Rina thought, eavesdropping on the two pokemon. _"I won't say anything to Pippi about it, though..."_

"Pidgey, lets start off with Air Cutter!" Pidgey brought its wings together, forcing air between them to form its attack. When it opened its wings a v-shaped blade fired out, skimming across the water towards Staryu.

"Staryu, block with Water Gun!" Staryu fired a small, steady stream of water from its core towards the incoming Air Cutter attack. The Water Gun added to the resistance the attack faced, slowing it down enough to stop it entirely.

"Now, strike back with Rapid Spin!" Pool water begin splashing in all directions as Staryu began spinning around in the water, then took off flying across the surface of the pool towards Pidgey.

"Pidgey, knock it back with a Gust attack!" Pidgey began flapping its tiny wings, creating a strong gust of wind. Staryu seemed hardly affected though, its flight path continuing almost unhindered as its narrow form sliced through the wind and struck Pidgey head on. It was a light hit, but still almost knocked Pidgey into the water. Pidgey just barely recovered in time, regaining flight inches from the surface of the water.

_"Looks like Gust won't work to block Rapid Spin..."_ Ashley thought in dismay. _"Have to stay on the offensive then and try to hit it hard and fast with physical attacks."_

"Pidgey, use Quick Attack to gain speed then turn back for a Tackle attack!" Pidgey shot across the surface of the water with Quick Attack, flapping its wings as it came out of its increased speed to maintain some of the momentum. It then angled upwards to pull a split-s, turning over in the air to right itself then flying towards Staryu to attack.

"Staryu, dive into the water." Misty called out in mild annoyance at Ashley's seemingly simple method of attack. Staryu dove down and cut into the surface of the water, diving under.

"Pidgey, now! Dive towards the water and use Air Cutter!" Pidgey dove down while bringing its wings together, then flung them out and caught itself before hitting the water while firing its attack down on an angle to intercept Staryu. The blade carried extra momentum from Pidgey's maneuver and sliced down into the water, striking Staryu. Staryu was driven down further, too deep for anyone to tell what happened.

_"That was definitely a good hit!"_ Ashley thought with a smirk. "Ok, Pidgey! Get ready with another one!" Pidgey readied itself mentally, as actually preparing to attack would have meant dropping into the water while it was hovering stationary.

"Staryu! I know you can hear me down there, so attack with Water Pulse!" Pidgey waited, ready to strike at a moments notice and watching for Staryu from where he last saw it. He didn't see Staryu pop up out of the water behind him, however.

"Pidgey, quick! Behind you!" Pidgey turned around just as Staryu fired a several watery rings from the gem that formed the core of its body. Each pulse struck Pidgey one after the other, with the final pulse sending Pidgey spiraling down into the water. Pidgey began struggling once it hit the water, fighting to get into the air again.

"Now, one more time! Water Pulse!" Staryu fired another Water Pulse at the struggling Pidgey, striking it dead-on again as the rings fired out from Staryu's core and blasted Pidgey. Pidgey was pushed under the water for a few seconds after being hit and was unconcious when he finally surfaced again.

"Al-already?" Ashley stuttered in disbelief at Pidgey's defeat. "Misty's Water Pulse technique must be pretty powerful then..." Ashley recalled Pidgey into its pokeball, rescuing it from the water. At that point, Red got up from the bench.

"Lets go, Pikachu. There's nothing for us to see here..." Pikachu looked up at Red and nodded as he took out her pokeball.

"-Well I guess this is where we say goodbye, dear.-" Pikachu said, turning to see a teary-eyed Pippi looking back at her sadly.

"-Mommy! I don't want you to go!-" Pippi latched onto her mother and hugged her tightly. Pikachu sighed and hugged her daughter back. Pippi's cheeks were sparking wildly now.

"Red, don't you think you should stay? So they can be together a bit longer at least?" Rina asked Red, giving him a questioning look

"Yeah, whats with that attitude anyway?!" Ashley angrily asked Red. "I still have Bulbasaur left, which was all I had when I beat Brock!"

"-Whats it matter? I'll take her on even if he's not watching.-" Bulbasaur said, getting up off the floor and jumping to the nearest platform.

"I only stayed to see if you're any good battling, and let Pikachu reunite with her daughter." Red replied with a shrug. "Thats over with now, so I need to get going. Gary's ahead of me as it is, and my pokemon and I are determined to become the next champion."

"-Right! We're going to be the strongest in Kanto!-" Pikachu added in, giving a determined look. "-So don't worry, we'll see each other a lot. I know we will!-" Pikachu smiled down at Pippy, and Pippy tried to force a smile as well.

"-Ok, you better look out though! I'll evolve into a Pikachu someday and be even stronger than you!-" Pippi replied, also trying to give a determined look though her face was still streaming with tears.

"-I'll look forward to it...-" Pikachu turned to red and nodded to him. She looked to Rina briefly just before Red recalled her and smiled. "-Pippi told me you can understand us, so allow me to say I am glad my daughter has found a nice trainer to look after her...-"

Rina sighed, realizing this was goodbye whether she liked it or not. She forced herself to smile as she turned to Pikachu to respond. "It was nice meeting you too! I hope you and Red will give it your best against the pokemon league!"

Red recalled Pikachu and started off out of the gym. He stopped near the door and turned around to address the girls one last time. "Misty, thanks for the battle earlier. It was a good match. Ashley, Rina, Pippi, see you all later." Red then turned and exited the gym.

"-What, I'm not good enough for you now?-" Bulbasaur called out after Red. "-Fine! I didn't like you that much anyway...-"

"Well I came here to battle the gym leader..." Ashley muttered angrily, turning her attention back to the battle at hand. "Not to impress him!"

"I don't know whats going on between you two, but I hope you won't let it affect you in battle." Misty said to Ashley, arms folded over her chest. _"On the other hand though, the faster this is over with the sooner I might get a chance to relax..."_

"I don't plan to! Lets finish this up already!" Ashley shot back. "Bulbasaur, start off with a Leech Seed attack!" Bulbasaur nodded and quickly fired a seed out of the bulb on its back. Staryu made no attempt to dodge the seed, which landed on its core and sprouted vines to latch onto it.

"Staryu, shake it off with a Rapid Spin and attack!" Staryu began spinning like a sawblade again, quickly shredding the seed that latched onto it. Staryu then flew by Bulbasaur, striking him in the side. Bulbasaur winced and grunted from the impact, but held his place.

"-Damn, guess Leech Seed won't work...-" Bulbasaur grumbled to himself.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip and grab it with just one vine, then keep extending!" Bulbasaur hesitated for a moment, finding the idea odd. It lashed out with but a single vine and managed to grab a hold of the rotating Staryu. The slack in Bulbasaur's vine was soon wound up around Staryu's body, stopping it dead as it became entangled and dragging it down to the water.

"Now grab it with a second vine!" Bulbasaur reached out with a second vine towards Staryu, wrapping around it as it tried to struggle free of its bindings. Bulbasaur had it completely detained once the second vine grabbed it.

"Staryu's pretty much done for, but I can still try to weaken her Bulbasaur." Misty thought. "Staryu, attack Bulbasaur with Swift and keep it up!" From the two free pointed tips of its body, Staryu began firing starshaped bursts at Bulbasaur. The effect was light at best and Bulbasaur easily held up its grip on the water pokemon.

"Bulbasaur, smash it around the platforms and attack it with Bullet Seed!" Thus began a rather one-sided affair between Bulbasaur and Staryu. Bulbasaur would repeatedly smash Staryu off the various platforms around the pool, while Staryu was practically helpless, and fired Bullet Seeds at it. The seeds rarely hit, though, from the constant movement while Staryu's few shots are all dead on.

Eventually, this brutal beating from Bulbasaur comes to an end with one final smash. Staryu is smashed against a platform near Misty and suddenly ceases firing its Swift attack. Bulbasaur unwraps its vines from Staryu, leaving the starfish pokemon lying limp. Bulbasaur has taken a moderate amount of damage overall, but still looks like he's doing well.

"Still confident you can win with your Bulbasaur?" Misty asked Ashley as she recalled Staryu. "I think you'll find my Starmie to be quite strong!" Misty then held up Starmie's pokeball, releasing the evolved starfish pokemon out into the pool with the upper half of its body visible.

"We're ready for you! Bulbasaur, wrap it with Vine Whip!" Ashley went straight to Vine Whip this time after learning Leech Seed wouldn't work. Bulbasaur lashed out with both vines, each grabbing onto one of the points on Starmie's body.

"Starmie, use Rapid Spin with your back!" The back half of Starmie's body began spinning around, repeatedly striking Bulbasaur's vines until it was forced to let go. "Good! Now, attack Bulbasaur with Swift!" As Bulbasaur retracted his vines, Starmie attacked again. A star-shaped burst fired from each point on the front of its body as well as its core, each burst striking Bulbasaur and pushing him back slightly on the platform.

_"Leech Seed won't work, and I can't wrap with Vine Whip."_ Ashley thought, realizing her situation wasn't looking good. _"Best I can do is go straight offense then."_

"Bulbasaur, get onto Starmie with a Tackle attack!" Ashley commanded. _"Once Bulbasaur gets on, I'll have him hold on as long as he can and blast it with Bullet Seed at point-blank..." _Bulbasaur took a running start, putting as much speed into his attack as he could to try to make it through whatever offense Starmie might throw at him.

"Starmie, knock Bulbasaur back with Water Pulse!" Starmie fired a pulse of water, sending out three blue rings from its core and into the oncoming Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur was knocked back by the strong blow and sent sprawling across the platform it originally jumped from. Bulbasaur grunted from the effort as it struggled back to its feet, the bulb on its back beginning to glow as he had been weakened enough now for his Overgrow ability to kick in.

"-Bulbasaur! Hang in there! Use that vine...tackle...thing!-" Pippi called out, waving her arms frantically.

"It won't work though..." Rina informed Pippi. "Misty's Starmie is too light, the attack only worked because Bulbasaur was so much lighter than Onix..." Pippi stopped waving her arms and blinked at Rina in confusion, not sure what to make of her statement.

_"That Water Pulse was strong!"_ Ashley thought in surprise, seeing how much of an effect it had on Bulbasaur. She quickly shook her head, returning her focus to the battle at hand. "Ok, Bulbasaur! Now's our chance! Give it the strongest Bullet Seed you've got!" Bulbasaur stood strong as he made his last stand, spitting out a steady stream of five seeds at Starmie. Misty didn't seem impressed by this last ditch effort.

"Starmie, finish it off! Swift!" Starmie fired another barrage of star-shaped bursts, aiming around the incoming seeds. The seeds struck Starmie head on, causing it to stagger back. Starmie held strong through the attack, though, which was more than could be said for Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur winced as each burst struck him, collapsing as the final burst met its mark in the dead center of Bulbasaur's forward.

"Maybe that was inevitable..." Ashley said to herself with a sigh. "I thought I could win though with Bulbasaur after he pulled it off alone against Brock, but thinking back even that was coming close against Brock's Onix..."

"You need to worry less about types and more about strategy and training your pokemon." Misty said to Ashley, looking mildly annoyed that the trainer thought she could win so easily. "Starmie, you did great out there! Try to rest up a bit for the next one." Misty held up Starmie's pokeball and recalled it, letting her pokemon rest inside it.

"Training..." Ashley repeated the word in her mind, then quickly shot a look to Rina. "Rina! Lets go!" She called out to her, then quickly recalled Bulbasaur and started on her way out of the gym.

"H-hey! Where are you going in such a hurry?" Rina asked her, quickly taking a confused Pippi into her arms. Fortunately, Ashley stopped at the door to answer her and give her time to catch up.

"Training, of course." Ashley replied with a smile that betrayed the fact that she just lost a gym match. "If we're going to be fighting gym leaders and people like Ying and Yang, we're going to need it!" Ashley exited the gym, leaving Rina stunned with her response.

"She's really serious about this..." Rina mumbled in shock. She shook her head and smiled. "Well, we could use a bit of training too anyway!"

"-Yeah! I need to work on my Volt Tackle and get stronger than my mommy!-" Pippi and Rina both nodded to each other and left the gym to follow after Ashley. Once the two were gone, Misty gave a heavy sigh and hung her head in exasperation.

"Finally..maybe now I can finally get a break from all these battles..." Misty muttered tiredly. Ever since the Elite Four announced the title of Champion was up for grabs, it had been one battle after another. She began to climb down into the pool, hoping to take a relaxing swim, when another trainer burst into the gym.

"I'm here to challenge the gym leader!" The young boy declared as he threw the door open. Misty groaned, halfway into the water when the trainer burst in. She hung her head in defeat and began to climb back out. For Misty, there was no break in sight...

* * *

Author's Notes: Bit late with this one, I know. I was trying to rush to finish it last night and stopped with only a paragraph or two to go when I realized how horrible it was going to turn out like that. So this morning I fixed it up, finished it off, and here it is. Still would have been on time, though, if I hadn't gotten complacent in the past few weeks because I had such a head start on each chapter. This is the first chapter this saga that I had to do from start to finish within the week, the others were either finished (1-3) or I had a huge head start (4).

Anyway, meet two important characters in this chapter. Red and his Pikachu. Pikachu, of course, is only important in that she's Pippi's mom and explains how Pippi came to know Volt Tackle.

I wanted Red to appear as a very, very talented trainer (because his pokemon grow so quickly) and far more interested in pokemon than people. In other words, his people skills suck but he has a very strong bond with his pokemon. Kinda taken from the game character's silent protagonist bit, since he's the only main character you ever meet and speak with that has no real lines.


	6. Chapter 6: The Butterfree Effect

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Six**

**The Butterfree Effect**

"This is a perfect shot!" Ashley said to herself. She was lying in the grass and looking through her camera into a nearby field. A group of Butterfree were gathered over a field of large flowers and drinking nectar from them. "A beautiful scene of pokemon in their natural habitat..."

"Ashley, didn't we come here to train?" Rina asked with a sigh, sitting down in the grass behind Ashley. "How are we supposed to train out here anyway? I don't see anything we could use for practice..." Rina looked around the field they were in. It was nothing but field, without even a single rock or any other structure to practice attacks on. The field was far north of Cerulean and was a common meeting place for Butterfree after they evolved in Viridian Forest.

"I'll get to that in a minute, just let me get a picture..." Ashley moved her camera around, focusing on individual Butterfree and trying to decide which one to take a picture of.

"-Hey, here's an idea! Instead of catching one on film, why not try using one of those red and white balls you carry around?!-" Bulbasaur growled at Ashley. "-You haven't caught a damn thing since leaving Viridian Forest!-"

"Quiet down! We'll train in a minute!" Ashley replied, waving her hand dismissively at Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur twitched in annoyance.

"Thats not even what Bulbasaur was growling about..." Rina said to Ashley. She waited for Ashley to ask her what Bulbasaur was saying, but the girl was too focused on the Butterfree up ahead.

"-Rina, you should teach Ashley how to understand us!-" Pippi suggested cheerfully. "-Then she'd hear all the stuff Bulbasaur says about her!-" Bulbasaur snickered at Pippi's suggestion, thinking to himself how much easier his life would be if that was possible.

"It...doesn't really work like that. I never learned to understand pokemon, I've just always understood what pokemon are saying. Its just something I was born with." Rina explained to Pippi. "My parents could understand their pokemon too."

"-So...its kinda like my Volt Tackle technique?-" Pippi asked, trying to understand what rina was saying.

"Kinda..."

"Got it!" Ashley suddenly exclaimed, catching Rina's attention again. A click from the camera, and Ashley finally took the picture. She stood up and held out the camera while it printed off the picture. The image she finally decided on was a zoomed-out view, showing several Butterfree drinking nectar from the flowers.

"Ok, now lets get to training!" Ashley put her camera away and turned to Bulbasaur. "Ready?"

"-Its about time...-" Bulbasaur grumbled. "-Damn right I'm ready.-"

"Now..." Ashley scanned the group of Butterfree gathered, then nodded to herself. "Ok, Bulbasaur! Attack that one there! Vine Whip!"

"-Got it!-" Bulbasaur dashed off into the group of Butterfree, sending them all flying away in fear. Bulbasaur lashed out with its vines and grabbed the Butterfree Ashley pointed out, keeping it from escaping. The situation was almost exactly the same as when Ashley caught Pidgey.

"Huh? Did she decide to catch one of the Butterfree instead?" Rina wondered, the idea of battling wild pokemon for training being lost on her.

"Now, Leech Seed!" Bulbasaur aimed its bulb at Butterfree while still holding onto it, then fired a seed. The seed sprouted vines as it hit Butterfree from behind, using the vines to latch onto the target. Butterfree let out a high-pitched screech as the seed began draining its energy and feeding it back to Bulbasaur.

"Good! Now lets reel it in for a Tackle attack!" Bulbasaur began slowly reeling its vines in, trying his hardest to keep his feet planted on the ground while Butterfree continued struggling in an attempt to get free. Eventually, the wild Butterfree gave up entirely and turned on Bulbasaur. It released a cloud of purple powder from its wings, but the powder had no effect on Bulbasaur.

Once Butterfree was a mere five feet away from Bulbasaur, he released it from his vines and jumped straight for it. The two pokemon collided as Bulbasaur tackled Butterfree to the ground and pinned it there. Butterfree tried to push itself up and throw Bulbasaur off, but Bulbasaur managed to keep it down.

"Ok, Bulbasaur! Attack it with Bullet Seed and don't let up! Keep it pinned down!" Bulbasaur opened his mouth and began firing seed after seed. Bulbasaur's aim as almost dead on with each shot, hitting Butterfree in the face and hitting the exact same spot with each seed. The constant barrage seemed to render Butterfree helpless.

"Ashley, don't you think now would be a good time to try to catch it?" Rina suggested to her. "I mean, Bulbasaur's getting some good hits in..."

"It'd be too strong now, even if I was trying to catch it." Rina gasped in surprise, but her gasp went unnoticed. "I'm just having Bulbasaur battle it for training."

"Ashley! Thats cruel!" Rina yelled at Ashley. Hearing Rina mad at her shocked Ashley at first and she quickly turned around to face Rina. Bulbasaur even stopped his attack on the wild Butterfree, but he kept it pinned to the ground. Pippi looked at Rina in surprise as well, as this was her first time seeing Rina angry with Ashley.

"You can't just go around attacking wild pokemon!" Rina continued yelling angrily at her. By now the wild Butterfree had stopped struggling, even it had turned its attention to Rina. "They haven't done anything to deserve it, they might get seriously hurt and won't have a trainer to take them to a pokecenter, and they might even feel like they were rejected!"

"Well...umm...thats a good point I guess..." Ashley replied. Just being yelled at by Rina had rendered her almost speechless.

"-I think I agree with Rina...-" Pippi added with a nod. "-That didn't seem very nice...-"

"If you're not going to catch that Butterfree, then I will!" Rina took a pokeball from her large backpack, which was laying on the ground nearby, then pushed past Ashley. She lobbed the pokeball at the wild Butterfree, but just like when she tried to catch Sandshrew her aim was a bit off.

"-One of these days, Ashley will actually catch another pokemon.-" Bulbasaur grumbled, shooting out one of his vines to grab the pokeball and redirect it towards Butterfree. The bug pokemon was sucked inside, dropping Bulbasaur to the ground as Butterfree disappeared underneath it. To Bulbsaur and Ashley's surprise, the pokeball locked shut without any resistance.

Rina walked towards the pokeball and picked it up, then held it out to release Butterfree from its pokeball. The bug pokemon quickly looked around when it appeared then, spotting Rina, it shrieked happily and tackled its trainer to the ground while nuzzling against her face.

"H-hey! Cut that out!" Rina protested. Her previous mood had been completely dissolved by the seemingly cheerful Butterfree. Pippi rushed over to the two, eager to meet Rina's new pokemon.

"-Master! Master! You caught me!-" The Butterfree squealed happily.

"Well I couldn't just let Bulbasaur beat you up and leave you." Rina replied, smiling at Butterfree. "My name's Rina, and this is Pippi!" Rina gestured towrds the Pichu as she came to a stop next to them.

"-Hiya! Since Rina caught you, we're going to be friends now!-" Pippi greeted the Butterfree. Small sparks were already starting to erupt from her cheeks, losing control of her electricity in her excitement.

_"How did Rina befriend that Butterfree so quickly?"_ Ashley wondered. _"Did it maybe decide it liked her because of what she said?"_

"-You're such a wonderful trainer, Master! I'm glad you caught me!-" Butterfree said to Rina, continuing to nuzzle against her.

"You don't have to call me master, and please stop that!" Rina finally managed to push Butterfree off of her and sat up. "I guess I need a name for you now. How about...Berry?"

"-Berry?-" Butter asked in response, then quickly nodded. "-Ok! So my name is Berry!-" Butterfree smiled to herself, hovering in silence for a moment until it finally hit her. "-Umm...master...can you understand me?-"

"Yep! I can understand all pokemon!" Rina replied, smiling.

"-Oh! I'm so lucky then! I get such a great trainer who's capable of listening to me!-" Butterfree nodded several times excitedly.

"-You know, if you don't mind me interrupting this little introduction...-" Bulbasaur slowly approached the three, sitting down next to Rina. "-Rina, you and Ashley both have four pokemon now. So why don't we all battle it out and train against each other?-"

"Hey! Thats a great idea Bulbasaur!" Rina smiled and looked over at Ashley. "We can battle each other in one on one matches for training. If we choose our pokemon based on the most even match-ups they should get a good workout."

"Well I guess that would work." Ashley replied with a slight nod. "Ok then, so how should we do this? We already decided to train all our pokemon today, so I think I'll start with Beedrill..."

"In that case, I'll start with Berry!" Rina stood up and went over to her backpack again. "I'll just use a potion and we'll be all set!"

"-Woo! I get to train and battle at the same time!-" Pippi cried out, jumping excitedly.

"-This time I won't go down so easily, I'll be ready for yas!-" Butterfree took a few mock punches at the air, psyching herself up for battle. She was eager to show her new trainer what she could do. Rina used the potion on Butterfree to heal her injuries from her battle with Bulbasaur. Ashley then handed her pokedex to Rina so she could check out Butterfree's techniques.

Once they were ready, they put some distance between themselves to battle. The area of the field they chose to battle in was mostly barren, aside from a few sparse patches of grass. It was also a good 30 to 40 feet away from the flower patch, sparing it from any stray attacks. Its likely the area they were using to battle was used by other trainers as well, thus why the ground was so bare

"Ok, Beedrill! Lets get this training underway! Go!" Ashley called out, releasing Beedrill from its pokeball. A distinct buzzing noise filled the air as Beedrill appeared from its ball.

"-Ok, buddy! Hope you're ready cause I don't plan to lose!-" Berry declared to Beedrill. Beedrill said nothing in response, staring at Berry and waiting for the battle to begin. Berry began to feel a bit nervous and slowly backed up until she was just in front of Rina.

"Berry? Are you sure you're up for this?" Rina asked her in a concerned tone.

"-I'm...I'm fine, master...-" Berry stammered in response. "-This guy is making me kinda nervous though...he hasn't said a thing, just keeps staring at me!-"

"Please stop calling me that..." Rina mumbled in dismay. Rina raised her hand and extended her arm out, pointing at Beedrill. "Ok! What are you waiting for then? Attack Beedrill with..." Rina took a quick glance at the pokedex Ashley let her borrow. "Confusion!"

"-Ok, master! Just watch me!-" Butterfree flew towards Beedrill, covering about 15 feet to put itself almost a third of the way between Rina and Ashley, then focused its psychic powers. A blast of psychic energy suddenly appeared around Beedrill, striking it from all directions. Beedrill staggered back and nearly hit the ground, but it quickly recovered by hovering near the ground.

"-Not so smug now, are ya?!-" Berry taunted Beedrill, giggling gleefully.

"..." Beedrill still remained silent and made no attempt to attack Berry of its own accord. Berry shuddered slightly as Beedrill's silence unnerved her.

"Beedrill, strike back now! Ready a Poison Sting then use Aerial Ace!" Beedrill readied one of its stingers and flew up, putting itself above Berry so he could attack with Aerial Ace.

"Berry, use Double Team and evade it!" Berry concentrated and split into four more duplicates of itself. They were grouped with one in the center, forming a plus sign. Beedrill wasn't deterred at all by this and dove down with a blinding speed, disappearing briefly as it struck the bottom copy. It turned out to be the correct one, and Berry was sent crashing to the ground. She groaned in pain and could feel poison coursing through her body now.

"No way! On the first try?" Rina exclaimed with a shocked expression. Ashley laughed lightly at Rina's inexperience.

"Well of course, there's no avoiding an Aerial Ace." Ashley explained to a puzzled Rina. "The technique is too fast to evade easily, and the pokemon temporarily heightens its senses as well to ensure a clean shot. So it could tell which one was the real Butterfree and attacked with a poisoned Aerial Ace technique."

"Now you tell me..." Rina sighed in exasperation. She took on a more serious expression, determined to make up for that last mistake. "Ok, Berry! We have some lost ground to make up for, so slow Beedrill down with Sleep Powder!"

"-Ok! Here I go!-" Berry flapped its wings, pulling itself off the ground and putting itself almost directly under Beedrill. Berry then began flapping her wings more rapidly while releasing spores from her body. Beedrill had little chance to dodge the attack as it was quickly immersed in the cloud of spores and dropped to the ground, hitting Berry and knocking her aside as he fell into her. Beedrill crashed into the dirt below and was fast asleep.

"Wow, I think she might actually be more energetic than you Pippi..." Rina commented to Pippi, stifling a giggle.

"-No way! I'm an electric type so thats impossible!-" Pippi shot back, looking as if she was somehow insulted by that statement.

"-I feel kinda woozy...-" Berry mumbled, swaying from side to side slightly.

"Huh? But you..." Rina stopped and gasped when it dawned on her. "Beedrill's Aerial Ace! It poisoned you! We need to finish this quick, then! Use Confusion again!" Berry quickly focused her psychic powers on Beedrill again. A blast of psychic energy then struck it from all directions, inflicting a great amount of damage but also waking Beedrill up. Beedrill shook off the sleep and narrowed its eyes at Berry, but still said nothing.

_"At least he didn't stay asleep long..."_ Ashley thought with a small sigh of relief."Ok, Beedrill, she's weakening! Lets finish this quick with another Aerial Ace!"

"Berry, quick! Slow it down with Stun Spore!" Rina called out to Berry. She was learning Berry's techniques pretty quickly, thanks to Ashley's pokdex, and was making effective use of Berry's status inflicting techniques.

As Beedrill maneuvered into position to use Aerial Ace, Berry released a cloud of yellow spores into the air. The spores surrounded Beedrill briefly, but seemed to have no effect in the time before Beedrill attacked. Beedrill dove down and shot towards Butterfree at an incredible speed, smashing her into the ground again.

Berry managed to get onto her feet, but the poison made sure she stayed on the ground. Beedrill soon joined her on the ground as well. The bee pokemon wasn't nearly as unaffected by the Stun Spore as it originally appeared to be and collapsed to the ground in front of Berry as the paralysis spread throughout its body. Rina immediately saw the opportunity for one final attack.

"Berry, lets finish this while we have the chance! Confusion!" Rina called out the attack with just a twinge of hesitation. This was the first time she went this far in a battle, and ordering a pokemon to knock out another pokemon brought some guilt to her. It didn't help any that she knew Berry would likely collapse as well. Rina had just caught Berry and was already putting her through a lot of pain.

"-I...I'll do my best...master!-" Berry focused her gaze on Beedrill as it struggled to flap its wings and lift itself from the ground. She began focusing her psychic powers, preparing to finish Beedrill with a Confusion attack.

"Beedrill, pull yourself together for one more attack! Poison Sting!" Ashley, on the other hand, was already used to how harsh a pokemon battle could be. Especially coming down to the end. Beedrill raised one of its stinger tipped arms to try to attack Berry one last time, but a sudden blast of psychic energy sent it sprawling back and knocked it out completely.

"Alright! We did it!" Rina cried out excitedly, pumping her fist into the air. Berry turned to Rina and smiled, but then collapsed as the poison sapped the last of her strength.

"Berry!" Rina rushed to her pokemon's side and cradled Berry's unconcious form in her arms. Berry opened her eyes one last time and smiled weakly at Rina.

"-Did you...see me...master? I did good...right?-" Berry asked Rina weakly.

"You did great, Berry...take a rest now..." Berry nodded ever so slightly. Rina took out Berry's pokeball and recalled her, causing the pokemon to disappear from her arms as she was put into her pokeball. Ashley had already recalled Beedrill and watched the scene in awe. Rina slowly stood up, looking as though she was on the verge of tears.

"Ashley, do...do we really need to take training this far?" Rina asked Ashley, her face lowered to the ground to try to hide her expression. Ashley took a moment to think over her response, choosing her words carefully.

"Rina, its better we push our pokemon harder during training so they won't be pushed as hard during battle." Ashley explained to her, trying her best to sound reassuring. "In training, we'll at least be able to go straight to a pokecenter when we're done and our pokemon will be good as new right away. When you release Berry from her pokeball later, she'll be just as happy to see you as she was when you first released her."

"-Besides, being knocked out doesn't hurt in the least.-" Bulbasaur added. "-Its the fight leading up to it. Believe me, I have plenty of experience with that already thanks to someone...-" Bulbasaur extended a vine a short length to point accusingly at Ashley.

"You have a point I guess..." Rina quickly wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her shirt and lifted her head, forcing a smile. "So, who should we use next then?"

"How about Bulbasaur goes up against Clyde?" Ashley suggested with a light shrug. "Probably the only even matchup Bulbasaur would have against any of your pokemon, at least type wise."

"Right!" Rina gave an enthusiastic nod and reached for Clyde's pokeball. "Clyde, come on out! Time for a bit of training!" Rina held up Clyde's pokeball and clicked the button, releasing him from the device. After releasing Clyde, Rina quickly ran back to her previous position so she wouldn't be in the way of the coming battle.

"Ok, Bulbasaur! Get in there!" Ashley instructed him while pointing out towards Clyde. Bulbasaur ran out into the makeshift battlefield, leaving just 20ft between himself and Clyde.

"-So I am to train against you, am I?-" Clyde asked Bulbasaur before the start of their match.

"-They figure you'll be the closest Rina has to a fair fight for me, so try not to disappoint.-" Bulbasaur replied with a wide grin.

"-Well, it will be interesting to experience first hand what you're capable of at any rate.-" Clyde replied with a small smile.

"Clyde, start off by putting Bulbasaur to sleep with a Sing attack!" Rina called out Clyde's attack, smiling to herself as she thought she would get an early lead. She quickly covered her ears after issuing the command to protect herself from her own pokemon's technique.

"Bulbasaur, quick! Use Leech Side before he puts you to sleep!" Bulbasaur rose up on its front legs upon Ashley's command and fired a seed from the bulb on his back while Clyde began to sing in a soft, harmonius voice. Despite taking little time to aim, Bulbasaur managed to hit his stationary target with the seed landing on top of Clyde's head and then sprouting vines to latch on. Bulbasaur fell fast asleep soon after from Clyde's sing attack.

_"I need to do something about that seed..."_ Rina thought. Despite having put Bulbasaur to sleep, it wasn't as much of an advantage as she had hoped due to Leech Seed. _"What though? Clyde has no attacks that can remove it and pulling it off will take too long. I will have to ignore it and go on the offense while I have the chance then..."_

"Ok, Clyde! Forget the seed and attack Bulbasaur with a Doubleslap while he's still asleep!" Clyde nodded and took a few quick hops to cover the distance between himself and Bulbasaur. Stopping in front of the sleeping pokemon, Clyde delivered four quick slaps and and struck out with one hand after the other. After this assault, Bulbasaur was still sleeping soundly.

"Follow it up! Pound!" Clyde finished his assault on the sleeping Bulbasaur, then raised his fist back. Bulbasaur was just starting to open his eyes when Clyde's fist connected with his face. Bulbasaur was knocked back, landing on his bulb. He quickly shook it off and jumped back to his feet, growling at Clyde in a suppressed rage.

"Time to really get this battle underway!" Ashley declared with a smirk. "Bulbasaur, strike back at Clyde with a Vine Whip attack!" Bulbasaur didn't need to be told twice. He quickly extended his vines, raising them over his head and then bringing one of them down to slash across Clyde's body like a whip. Clyde was sent rolling across the ground from the force of the strike, but managed to hop up out of the roll and land on his feet.

"Umm...lets see now..." Rina took a quick look at the pokedex and thought about her next move for a moment. She nodded to herself, realizing now would be the best time to use Clyde's technique. "Ok, Clyde, use Wish!" Clyde closed his eyes and brought his hands together, looking as though he were praying, and began chanting quietly.

_"Wish? Thats not good, that means Clyde can heal faster than Bulbasaur."_ Ashley thought to herself. A slight smirk then crossed her lips as she got an idea. _"On the other hand, Clyde is immobile right now, and with one attack I might be able to even the playing field."_

"Bulbasaur, lets weaken Clyde further with a Poisonpowder attack!" Bulbasaur angled the bulb on his back for an attack and released one large burst of purple powder from the bulb. The powder quickly spread out and fell down around Clyde, causing the pokemon to breathe it in. Clyde coughed as he breathed in the powder and the poison began to take effect in his body.

_"Thats not good! I'll have to act fast!"_ Rina thought, clenching one of her fists in desparation. "Clyde, put Bulbasaur to sleep again with Sing!"

"Not this time!" Ashley declared as if she had already anticipated this. "Bulbasaur, use Sleep Powder quickly before Clyde can put you to sleep!"

Bulbasaur quickly launched another burst of powder from his bulb, releasing it all it one quick puff. The green powder began to land around Clyde, causing him to breathe in another strange powder as he began to sing a lullably to lull Bulbasaur to sleep again. Both pokemon began to appear drowsy, then both collapsed as they fell asleep.

"That...thats not good..." Rina stuttered at the double sleep, a bead of sweat dripping down the side of her face. She was now realizing more and more how intense a pokemon battle could get. Clyde was in trouble now, as he was asleep and being drained by poison and Leech Seed. With both pokemon asleep, the battle was brought to a pause aside from a brief shimmer from Clyde's body as Wish came into effect and restored it to full strength. With poison and Leech Seed sapping him, though, it didn't last long.

As Rina tried to figure out her next move, a thought occurred to her. "Hey, you didn't use either of those techniques earlier!" Rina called out to Ashley with a mixture of confusion and annoyance.

"I didn't even think to use them honestly, even though Bulbasaur knew them." Ashley explained to Rina, a smile crossing her lips. "In fact, its only because you used status techniques with Berry that I even thought of it. I'll definitely be keeping those techniques in mind next time."

"Oh..." Rina blinked slightly in surprise. She was starting to understand how the trainers themselves benefit from the training. Just then, Clyde finally began to stir and wake up, and Rina immediately put her focus back on the battle.

"Clyde, attack Bulbasaur with Pound while he's still asleep!" Rina called out, intending to make up for lost time. Clyde quickly shook off his sleepiness and bounded towards Bulbasaur, just as the grass pokemon was also waking up. As with the last time Clyde used Pound, Bulbasaur found himself waking up just in time to see Clyde's fist connect with his face. The harsh blow left Bulbasaur stunned for a moment this time but he quickly shook it off.

"-Damn it! Would you stop that?!-" Bulbasaur growled at him angrily.

"-Well I can hardly be blamed for when you choose to wake up...-" Clyde replied with a slight shrug.

"Clyde, now! Use Sing before Bulbasaur can try Sleep Powder again!" Bulbasaur groaned as Clyde began singing another lullaby, worrying this nap would end in the same way. Ashley wasn't planning on it though.

"Bulbasaur, Vine Whip! Keep him from singing!" Bulbasaur quickly blinked off the drowsiness that was beginning to set in and extended his vines very quickly. In almost an instant the vines wrapped around Clyde's face and covered his mouth entirely. Clyde blinked and looked down at the vines, which were now preventing him from singing. He then cast Bulbasaur a glare, feeling entirely uncomfortable with the situation. Bulbasaur just grinned back, finally getting his revenge for the Pound attacks.

"Now, use Sleep Powder and put Clyde to sleep again!" Ashley called out with a small smile, and Rina could feel she was going to lose this one. While still holding onto Clyde, Bulbasaur released a burst of green powder into the air from his bulb. The powder was aimed to fall around Clyde, and Bulbasaur released his grip on Clyde's mouth just so he could breath in the powder. Clyde felt his eyelids grow heavy at first, then fell on his side as he fell asleep.

"No...Clyde!" Rina called out desparately, starting to feel as helpless herself as the sleeping Clefairy was. "Isn't there anything I can do?" Rina wondered aloud.

"-I can shock him awake!-" Pippi suggested cheerfully, her cheeks already sparking up as she got ready to follow through with her own suggestion.

"That would be interfering with the battle though..." Rina replied solemnly and letting out an exasperated sigh. Pippi kicked at the ground, looking a bit disappointed that she couldn't help.

"Ok Bulbasaur, attack Clyde with Vine Whip now while he's still asleep!" Ashley called out, the excitement in her voice growing as another round of battle was seemingly coming to an end.

"-I'd prefer to wait until he's just waking up personally, but whatever...-" Bulbasaur muttered bitterly. He raised both his vines and lashed out at Clyde with one after the other. The first whip rolled Clyde over so he was facing away from Bulbasaur, and the second knocked him flat on his face. Despite this, Clyde continued to sleep soundly.

"Now finish this! Bullet Seed!" Though there was no outward sign of him doing such, Bulbasaur got ready to fire off a Bullet Seed attack. He didn't attack though, and Ashley began to grow a bit impatient. Before she could order him to attack again, Clyde began to wake up and climb back onto his feet.

As Clyde turned towards Bulbasaur, Ashley and Rina could finally see what Bulbasaur had planned. Bulbasaur fired off a full five seeds, striking Clyde dead on in the face with each one. Clyde cried out in surprise after the first seed hit him, but was weakened so much from the poison and the seed on his head that he was soon rendered unconcious.

"-And thats...what you get...-" Bulbasaur muttered. Ashley said nothing as Bulbasaur walked past her, only offering her pokemon a smile at his victory. Bulbasaur plopped down on the ground behind Ashley to rest.

Meanwhile, Rina quickly rushed to the aide of her fallen pokemon and was checking to see if Clyde was ok. Although Clyde seemed completely unresponsive, she sighed in relief when she realized he was only unconcious and not seriously injured.

"Clyde, you gave it your best I guess. Good job..." Rina raised Clyde's pokeball over his fallen form and recalled him into it, then put Clyde's pokeball away. She sighed to herself, mentally reminding herself that Clyde was perfectly fine and would be as if nothing had happened after a trip to the pokecenter.

"-Rina! Me next, me next!-" Pippi said to Rina while hopping up and down excitedly. Rina blinked slightly and smiled at Pippi, her partner's enthusiasm helping her to get over Clyde's defeat.

"Right! With your Volt Tackle I bet we can get at least one real win out of this!" Rina replied to Pippi in agreement, giving an enthusiastic nod.

_"Rina...you'll get used to this eventually, I'm sure."_ Ashley thought, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She took a pokeball from her belt, already having an opponent lined up for Pippi. "Ok, Rina, if you're using Pippi now then I'll use Mankey!" Ashley held up the pokeball as she said this and released Mankey from within. The monkey-like pokemon appeared from its pokeball and hopped around wildly with its pent up energy.

"Ok, lets start out big! Pippi, get in there and attack with Volt Tackle!" Rina's qualms with pokemon battling were quickly lost again as she issued Pippi's first command, starting off the training match between Pippi and Mankey.

"-I was waiting for you to say that!-" Pippi's body charged with electricity, and Rina quickly backed away to get out of the line of fire. Once Rina was safely out of the way, more electricity gathered around Pippi's body until she was completely sheathed in it. She then charged across the battlefield, barreling towards Mankey.

"Mankey, dodge it and strike back with a Karate Chop!" Mankey quickly moved to the side, but Pippi was charging him far too quickly and managed to strike a glancing blow to knock Mankey to the ground. Mankey quickly hopped up, screeching furiously and unintelligibly.

As Pippi came screeching to a stop, she looked back to see what damage she managed to cause. What she saw, however, was Mankey coming down towards her. Mankey had one hand raised and held vertically flat, making a chopping motion as he came down towards her. Mankey managed to strike a hard blow to Pippi's head, stunning her briefly and knocking her onto her back in a daze.

"Pippi, quick! Get up and attack Mankey..." Rina took a quick look through Ashley's pokedex, as the only technique Pippi had that Rina knew of was Volt Tackle. Her eyes lit up when she spotted one technique on her list in particular. "Pippi, slow him down with Thunderwave!"

_"Pippi will be slow to attack after that blow, gives Mankey time to use Taunt..."_ Ashley thought to herself, making a quick observation. "Mankey, use Taunt before Pippi can attack!" Pippi slowly got back to her feet, shaking her head to clear her vision. By the time she was standing and ready to attack, though, Mankey was already starting his taunts.

"-Yourtrainersucks!You'reweak!Yousuck!You'retrainer'sweak!-" Mankey spouted off furiously while hopping around as if in a rage.

"-No one says that about Rina and gets away with it!-" Pippi growled in response, her cheeks sparking but not going on the attack. "-Rina! Give the word and I'll fry this guy!-"

"But I asked you to..." Rina blinked in surprise and paused for a moment, realizing that Pippi didn't seem to be herself all of a sudden. _"That must be the effect of Taunt..."_ Rina nodded to herself. _"Right, so now she won't use any attack that doesn't directly damage Mankey. That leaves me with just Thundershock and Volt Tackle though..."_

"Alright! You want to shock him? Then attack with Thundershock!" Pippi had been eagerly awaiting an order to attack, and wasted no time in doing so now that she received it. Pippi fired a blast of electricity she had been gathering up in her rage, sending it out in a pair of small bolts directed at Mankey. Mankey let out a high-pitched shriek as the small bolts struck him simultaneously and electricity surged through his body.

"-You'll paypaypaypaypay PAY FOR THAT!-" Mankey angrily growled at Pippi.

"Mankey, attack Pippi with another Karate Chop!"

"Pippi, latch onto Mankey's hand when he attacks!"

Mankey raised his hand back and quickly brought it down towards Pippi in a chopping motion, eager to attack her again after being hit by Thundershock. Pippi let out a surprised cry as Mankey's hand slammed down on her head, but she was prepared for it as well and grabbed Mankey's hand with both of her own small hands. The hard attack left her briefly dazed, but she was able to keep a good grip.

Once Pippi had recovered from Mankey's, she quickly pulled herself up and used Mankey's hand for leverage to wrap her legs around his arm. Mankey looked quite annoyed at this point and began waving his arm around frantically, trying to throw her off.

"-Letgoletgoletgo LET GO!-" Mankey screeched in rage. Despite his hardest efforts, Pippi remained firmly latched onto him.

"Now, Pippi! Thundershock, and give it all you've got!" Pippi gave a rather menacing looking grin after being issued the command. Her cheeks sparked with electricity, even that causing a minor shock to Mankey, then sent the electricity she gathered in her cheeks straight into Mankey's body. Mankey screeched in agony and waved his arms around.

Attacking Mankey had weakened Pippi's grip on him slightly, and in his furious arm-waving he managed to fling her off and tossed her towards Rina. Pippi quickly got back to her feet after landing on her stomach, and both pokemon turned to face each other. Mankey's fur was slightly charred by Pippi's attack, and he was breathing heavily through his nose in a rage.

_"Rina actually pulled off a fairly good technique there..."_ Ashley thought, smiling lightly at this. _"It was nothing special, but its more creative than she's been up until now."_ Ashley placed one hand on her hip and tapped her index finger against her chin, looking between the two combatants. Pippi was breathing pretty heavily, and Mankey was looking a bit tired as well despite being in a rage. The only thing holding Mankey back now was a little voice in the back of his head reminding him to wait until he's ordered to attack.

"Mankey could probably take another Thundershock still, but definitely not a Volt Tackle." Ashley thought to herself. "He might be a bit slower to dodge at this point, between being exhausted from the battle and gone into a rage. Mankey will be eagerly waiting to attack instead." Ashley looked from Mankey, across the field to Pippi.

_"One more attack should knock Pippi out, she really can't take being hit too well."_ Ashley gave a quiet, unnoticable sigh. _"I kinda hate to do this though, she's grown on me a bit and Rina will probably be upset..."_

"Pippi, lets try that technique again!" Rina pointed out towards Mankey dramatically as she prepared to call out the attack. "Volt Tackle!"

_"Well, here goes I guess..."_ Ashley thought with a light shrug. "Ok, Mankey! This ends here either way! Reversal!"

Mankey let out a primary scream and Pippi's body sparked up and created a veil of electricity around her as the two pokemon powered up for their respective attacks then charged across the battlefield towards each other.

Mankey managed to time his attack with Pippi's ploughing into him, hitting her with an open-palmed strike. The force of Pippi's attack caused Mankey's arms to bend back until they were forced off to the side, allowing her to continue past and land a direct blow on Mankey. Mankey was knocked flat onto the ground while Pippi pushed past him, screeching to a halt. Pippi then fell over as well, however, and neither pokemon looked like they were going to be getting back up.

"Pippi!" Rina again rushed to her pokemon's side. When Rina knelt down next to Pippi the weakened Pichu opened her eyes slightly.

"-R-Rina...he's not getting up...that means I won, right?-" Pippi asked Rina, looking for reassurance.

"But you're out too...that means its a draw..." Rina replied regretfully. Pippi's eyes looked a bit sad at that answer.

"-I...didn't lose...right?-" Pippi then asked, her weak voice sounding on the verge of tears.

"No...you didn't lose..." Rina smiled down at Pippi reassuringly. "A draw means you didn't win or lose..."

"-Oh...-" Pippi seemed to relax slightly, even smile a bit. Her eyes slowly shut again as she lost conciousness.

"Pippi...did winning really mean that much to you?" Rina wondered aloud. There was no sadness this time, but rather she seemed a bit confused as she took Pippi's small form into her arms. "But why? All you do is get hurt..."

"Well aren't you the best person to answer that question?" Ashley suggested to Rina as she recalled Mankey. She had walked past Rina while she was crouched next to Pippi, and was standing over Mankey when she recalled him. "You're the one that can understand what they're saying, afterall."

"I guess you have a point there..." Rina held Pippi tight against her as she took out a pokeball and recalled her. "Battles between two trainers just seem like they can be so harsh though..." Rina walked across the field to her previous position and then turned back to face Ashley. "So, we still have one more match-up, right?"

"We sure do!" Ashley replied with a nod. She also went back to her position and noticed Bulbasaur had fallen asleep nearby. "Hmph, not interested in a battle that doesn't involve you, huh?" Ashley thought, though she wondered if maybe all the sleep being thrown around in his particular match made him a bit tired.

"Well I guess this will be Pidgey against Sandshrew, right?" Ashley asked Rina, already taking Pidgey's pokeball from her belt.

"Right, and his name's Sarge!" Rina replied, also reminding Ashley that she chose to give her pokemon nicknames. Rina took Sarge's pokeball from her belt and held it up while pressing the button on the front of it. "Ok, Sarge! Now its your turn to fight! Go!" The pokeball opened up in Rina's hand, releasing the armored shrew pokemon.

"Rina, just a quick tip. You should try to use techniques in unexpected ways or surprise your opponent with different tactics, like you did with Pippi." Ashley said to Rina. Rina nodded thoughtfully, taking this into consideration. Ashley then held out Pidgey's pokeball and pressed the button on the front.

"Pidgey, come on out!" Ashley announced as Pidgey emerged from the pokeball in midair, looking like he was about to fall but began flapping his tiny wings to hover. "Pidgey, start off with a Tackle attack!"

"-Couldn't we at least start with an Air Cutter?-" Pidgey asked in dismay, though he followed through with the attack anyway. He flapped his wings to fly forward and glided through the air, diving down towards Sarge as he moved in to attack.

"Sarge, use Defense Curl and roll with the attack!" Rina called out, keeping in mind Ashley's previous advice. Ashley smiled and nodded to Rina, and Rina also smiled as Ashley's reponse confirmed it was a good idea.

"-Only cowards attack from the air!-" Sandshrew announced to Pidgey, quickly curling up into a tight ball. He rolled back slightly as Pidgey flew into him and continued rolling, turning some of the impact into momentum to reduce the attack's effectiveness.

"Pidgey, follow it up with an Air Cutter!" Ashley quickly called out her next attack. "Remember to aim ahead to hit him!"

"-You're just jealous you don't have the style that comes naturally to a bird pokemon like me!-" Pidgey shot back at Sarge, hovering to a stop in the air and quickly bringing his wings together. When he pulled them apart again, a v-shaped blade of air fired out and was aimed ahead of Sarge far enough for him to roll right into it.

"Sarge, uncurl and use Metal Claw in a hand stand!" Rina was quickly getting used to the idea of using techniques differently, maybe more than she had to. Sandshrew quickly uncurled, digging one metallic-clawed hand into the ground and standing straight up. The blade just barely flew under Sarge's arm, striking the ground behind him.

"-Jealous? Ha!-" Sarge shot back to Pidgey indignantly. "-I would never be jealous of such cowardly techniques!-"

_"Wow...I think they're really going to end up having it out for each other."_ Rina thought with a bit of a sheepish grin on her face.

"Knock him down with a Quick Attack!" Ashley called out to Pidgey. She was smiling widely but with a determined look, impressed by how much Rina seemed to be putting her advice to use.

"-Who are you calling a coward anyway?-" Pidgey called back to Sarge. He shot through the air, becoming a blur of movement from the speed of the attack. He struck Sandshrew in the blink of an eye, knocking him onto his back. Pidgey then stopped and hovered in front of Sandshrew.

"-You're a ground type, your kind dig yourselves a hole and disappear as soon as the going gets tough!-" Pidgey said to him. Sarge growled at the accusation, but didn't seem to have an immediate comeback to it.

"Good shot, Pidgey!" Ashley complimented her pokemon. "Now, follow it up with a Gust attack!" Pidgey began flapping his wings rapidly, angling towards Sarge and pushing large amounts of air forward until eventually he was sending strong gusts of wind at Sarge. Sarge held one of his clawed hands over his eyes, trying to protect himself.

"Sarge, quick! Use Defense Curl again!" Sarge quickly shot up and rolled into a ball again. In almost a perfect sphere now, most of the wind was being redirected around his body and having little effect on him other than causing him to roll back ever so slowly.

"Pidgey, attack with Air Cutter again!" Pidgey quickly brought his wings together one more time, releasing another blade of air as he pulled them apart again. The blade struck Sarge with enough force to send him rolling back again. Rina stepped aside as Sarge rolled past her and turned around to watch him as she issued another command.

"Sarge, keep rolling but turn back around towards Pidgey!" Sarge angled his body slightly as he continued to roll, going into a slight curve. He straightened out again once he figured he was on a path towards Pidgey again.

"Pidgey, again! You have a clean shot, so use Air Cutter!" Ashley knew it was actually a risky maneuver, but at this point she figured she had a lead on Rina and was interested in seeing how she would react. Pidgey brought his wings together again and fired off another Air Cutter attack, aiming to strike Sarge as he rolled on towards him.

"Sarge, uncurl and jump!" Sarge uncurled his body and came out of the roll in such a way that he rolled onto his feet, maintaining the momentum he had left and using it to spring up on an angle. He managed to clear the attack and was now coming down towards Pidgey on an angle.

"Good one, Sarge! Now attack Pidgey with Scratch!" Rina realized Sandshrew wouldn't have time to use Metal Claw at this point but didn't want to waste the extra power. Sandshrew raised his claw back and slashed at Pidgey's side as he fell past him. Sandshrew landed in a bowed position like a samurai who had just made a strike with his sword. Pidgey was sent spiralling off to the side and crashed into the ground.

"-Though we may dig into the ground, we will not hide in the midst of battle!-" Sarge called out to Pidgey, finally having thought up a response. He stood up and turned to the fallen bird pokemon. Sarge was breathing a bit heavily by this point. Though he didn't take any particular strong blows, the repeated attacks were draining him.

"-And yet you won't fight me head on.-" Pidgey used his wings to push himself onto his feet, then began flapping them to hover about a foot off the ground.

"Sarge, time to go on the offensive for real now!" Rina called out to him. Sarge nodded in agreement, ready to take the fight to Pidgey after his challenging statement. "Sarge, attack Pidgey with Metal Claw!"

"-I will fight however Rina asks me to fight.-" Sarge raised one of his claws, which quickly took on a metallic appearance. He then ran towards Pidgey with his claw raised back, ready to strike.

_"Well, you did pretty good up until now, but maybe you were a bit too defensive..."_ Ashley thought with a slight smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Pidgey, use Quick Attack and go straight up!" Pidgey shot straight up into the air in a blur of movement, leaving Sarge to strike at the empty space where Pidgey had been previously. "Now! Attack from above with another Quick Attack!"

"-Well I also follow orders, even if I don't like her choice of attacks.-" Pidgey replied to Sarge's previous comment just before making a u-turn in the air, coming down straight on top of Sarge. "-I prefer to fight with style.-" Pidgey shot straight down with a Quick Attack, striking Sarge straight on top of his head in a blur of movement while pulling out of the dive. Sarge staggered back, holding his head in pain.

"Good! Now, once more with Air Cutter!" Pidgey hovered in the air and turned towards Sarge as he was staggering back from the previous attack. Pidgey brought his wings together once more, forcing air between them and shaping it into a blade as he pulled them apart again.

"Sarge, quick! Defense Curl!" Rina called out desparately, but Sarge reacted too slowly to curl into a defensive position in time. The blade landed another blow to Sarge's head as he was moving to curl up, smashing him into the ground. Sarge tried to use his short arms to push himself up, but collapsed again as he found himself lacking the strength.

"Sarge..." Rina looked a bit forlorn, but didn't rush to her pokemon's side this time. Instead, she offered a small smile as she took his pokeball in her hand. "We gave it our best shot, Sarge. You can rest now." Rina held up the pokeball and recalled Sarge, then put it away.

"Well, I guess this means you won, huh?" Rina said to Ashley, smiling sheepishly.

"Well, technically it was just a training match." Ashley replied to Rina. She took Pidgey's pokeball in hand, but didn't recall her pokemon yet. "Though two of my pokemon beat your's, and the other two were a draw, I wouldn't call it a 'win' really."

"-Well, now that thats over with, I have some unfinished business.-" Pidgey said mainly to himself, not having been around Rina enough to know she could understand what he was saying. As Pidgey landed, his body became veiled in a white light.

"Oh wow...is this evolution?" Rina wondered aloud. The two girls watched in amazement as Pidgey's body began to change. His body almost tripled in size, a crest formed on the top of his head, and his tail feathers grew noticably. He gave a flap of his wings as the light dispersed, revealing Pidgey in his evolved form as Pidgeotto.

"Well now I know we're ready for Misty!" Ashley declared with a determined expression. "I've got some new tactics to try with Bulbasaur, and now Pidgey's evolved into Pidgeotto. Way to go, guys!"

"-Yeah, whatever...-" Bulbasaur muttered, giving a loud yawn as he finally woke up. "-So, we going to go challenge her again?-"

"Wait! You're not going to challenge her again already, are you?" Rina asked in disbelief. "Shouldn't you guys give her a break? I mean, she's had two challengers today already..."

"Oh, come on! She gets paid for this kind of thing!" Ashely dismissed the notion with a wave. "Come on, guys! Lets go challenge Misty again! This time we'll get her for sure!" Ashley recalled both of her pokemon, much to Bulbasaur's surprise. He wasn't going to complain though, he was a bit tired from battling as it was. Once she recalled her pokemon, Ashley started off towards the bridge back to Cerulean City.

"H-hey! I really think you should wait!" Rina called out to Ashley, but hung her head and sighed in defeat. "Wait for me!" Rina ran to catch up with Ashley. Reflecting back on their battles Rina realized that, just like trainers, pokemon also had different approaches to battles.

* * *

Author's Notes: Procrastination is going to come back to haunt me one of these days I know it. Anyway, tried to showcase the personality of Ashley's pokemon here. I'll give an idea of what I was aiming for:

Beedrill: Pretty much just does what he's told. He can think for himself, but generally just doesn't. I figured it might make sense for a Beedrill to take to its trainer like a 'queen' and just carry out her orders. If he actually says/does something on his own it'll probably be with a no-nonsense attitude.

Mankey: Hyper, repeats things. The fury/rage is typical of Mankey's in general as well.

Pidgey: Prefers to battle with a sense of style, so to speak, particularly enjoying tricky aerial maneuvers. He'll do what he has to though. The rivalry with Sarge kinda 'just happened'.

Mankey might not have been so obvious. Beedrill...well, I threw in a "..." just because I couldn't leave him with no lines at all. So he gets the triple dot. Anyway, hope that turned out well!


	7. Chapter 7: Rematch With Misty

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Seven**

**Rematch With Misty**

"Sorry, we can't take any of these..." The Kanto Times employee tossed the handful of pictures onto his desk. Ashley felt as if she had been stabbed through the heart.

"Not even the Clefairy one?" Ashley asked, hoping he might change his mind. The man gave a sigh.

"Look, kid, its not enough to just have the picture." He explained to her, leaning over the desk. "We need a story to go with it. Pictures ain't much use to us without the story. You're better off trying to get them in a magazine of some kind..."

"I...I guess you have a point..." Ashley sighed in defeat. She grabbed up her pictures from the man's desk and left the office, meeting up with Rina, Pippi, and Bulbasaur outside.

"So how did it go?" Rina asked her. She realized the answer, though, when she saw the solemn expression on her face.

"They won't take pictures without news articles to go with them..." Ashley mumbled in response. "Said to try a magazine or something..."

"Well I guess that makes sense..." Rina said to herself quietly. "Anyway! Why don't you just hold on to them until you find a place to try to sell them? There would definitely be someone out there interested in those pictures I'm sure!" Rina smiled brightly, trying to cheer up Ashley.

"Well, I guess I could get an envelope to put them in and just hold on to them." Ashley thought it over for a moment, tapping her finger against her chin. "And, you know, maybe I should try to get more pictures too? And not just of pokemon in the wild, I could try taking pictures of battles too!" Ashley nodded and smiled to herself. "Yeah! I can take pictures of my own gym battles!"

"Thats the spirit!" Rina said to her, giving an enthusiastic nod. "You'll definitely find someone interested that way!"

"-Speaking of battles...-" Bulbasaur interrupted the two. Ashley and Rina looked down at him, and Bulbasaur continued once he had gotten their attention. "-Weren't we supposed to be challenging Misty again? Cause if we were, then I'm pretty sure we're running out of time here!-" Ashley looked to Rina once Bulbasaur was done talking, expecting a translation.

"He's just trying to remind you about the gym match." Rina informed Ashley. "You've only got an hour left before the gym closes for the day. I still think you should wait until tomorrow though..."

"Well what difference does it make anyway?" Ashley asked Rina, but didn't wait for a response before heading off towards the gym.

"But...shouldn't you at least rest first?" Rina asked no one in particular, since Ashley didn't seem to be paying attention to her at that point. Rina sighed and started off after her with Pippi in tow.

"-I don't get it...didn't Ashley only challenge gyms because of Bulbasaur?-" Pippi asked Rina, sounding mildly confused.

"I think Ashley decided she likes gym battles..." Rina replied, scratching the back of her head lightly as she looked ahead towards Ashley. "I guess now she may have even found her own reason for wanting to battle gym leaders..."

* * *

From the Kanto Times office, it was only a short trip through the city for the trainers to reach the gym and only took roughly five to ten minutes for them to arrive. Just like when she arrived at the gym earlier that day, Ashley threw open the gym's double doors and stepped inside.

"I'm here to challenge the gym leader...again!" Ashley announced as she barged through the doors.

"You're going to break those doors one of these days..." Rina mumbled quietly, looking embarassed by Ashley's actions.

"You couldn't even wait another day, could you?!" Misty growled angrily at Ashley's intrusion. She was wet and standing near the edge of the pool, looking like she was ready to dive in.

_"I tried telling her that already..."_ Rina thought, folding her arms over her chest and rolling her eyes.

"You were going to be here for another 50 minutes anyway regardless of whether or not I showed up!" Ashley shot back. "I'm ready to battle you again now anyway."

"10 minutes...I haven't even been able to get 10 minutes to myself!" Misty cried out in frustration. "Just where are all you trainers coming from all of a sudden, anyway?!"

_"Thats right, all the Pallet Town trainers would have been through here at about the same time..."_ Ashley thought. A slight smile crossed her lips as she got an idea.

"You want time to yourself?" Ashley asked Misty rhetorically. "Well then, if you battle me, I'll tell you a secret when we're done." She then offered. The smile on her lips went almost unnoticed by Misty. Ashley knew Misty would have to battle her anyway, but she was hoping to at least get Misty interested in battling her.

"-What the heck could you possibly know?-" Bulbasaur wondered aloud. "-Well whatever it is, I don't care. As long as I get to battle her again.-"

"Well I guess I have nothing to lose." Misty muttered in response. She bent over to scoop up a belt lying on the floor, the belt which contained her pokeballs, and strapped it around her waist. She then took one of her pokeballs from the belt.

"You already know the rules, so lets skip the introductions." Misty said to Ashley. Ashley nodded in agreement and took a pokeball from her belt as well. "Alright, Staryu! You're up first then!" Misty held out the pokeball towards the pool, releasing her Staryu out into the water. The starfish pokemon appeared floating vertically in the water, with half its body submerged.

"Pidgeotto, you can start us off this time too! Go!" Ashley called out, releasing her recently evolved Pidgeotto. The pokeball in her hand opened up and Pidgeotto emerged from within, flapping his wings to hover over the pool. As Ashley and Misty released their first pokemon, Rina and Pippi moved over to the side of the pool and sat down on the benches there to watch from the sidelines. Bulbasaur followed as well and sat on the floor next to them.

"I wonder if Ashley really has a chance this time?" Rina said to Bulbasaur and Pippi, looking between the two pokemon on the battlefield. "Even if Pidgey evolved, he couldn't have gotten that much stronger, could he?"

"-Probably not, but there's more to it than that.-" Bulbasaur replied with a slight smirk. "-Since Ashley's taken notice of my powder attacks I can beat down both those water pokemon for sure!-"

"-I bet I could beat them both two if I had the chance...-" Pippi mumbled, turning away and pouting.

_"Its a Pidgeotto now? Is that why she's rechallenging me?"_ Misty wondered, looking mildly annoyed. _"Just having one pokemon evolve won't make much of a difference. For her sake, I hope she has something else up her sleeve. Otherwise this will be a short battle..."_

"Pidgeotto, start by attacking Staryu with a Gust attack!" Pidgeotto began flapping his wings rapidly, kicking up strong gusts of wind. The water in the pool became quite turbulant as the wind kicked up small waves and pushed Staryu back through the water. Though Staryu struggled against the attack, it was being pushed back further and further towards the edge of the pool.

"Staryu, lie flat and use Rapid Spin!" Staryu flipped its body horizontally so it was floating on top of the water now instead of partially submerged, reducing its surface area to better resist the wind. Staryu then began spinning rapidly and moved towards Pidgeotto, spinning like a sawblade and cutting through the waves Pidgeotto was churning up.

"Pidgeotto, now! Quick Attack!" Pidgeotto stopped flapping his wings and dove down towards Staryu as it hovered closer. Pidgeotto then shot forward and became a blur of movement. He angled his attack to bounce off the top of Staryu as he tackled into it, jolting Staryu down slightly while avoiding being struck by its spinning body.

_"Looks like she's using a different strategy than she used during our earlier match..."_ Misty thought, appraising the situation. _"Looks like I'll have to make sure she stays on her toes then..."_

"Staryu, quick! Into the water!" Continuing to spin, Staryu cut into the water and dove down. Once underwater, Staryu quickly disappeared from sight.

"Pidgeotto, land on one of the platforms!" Pidgeotto nodded and dove down towards the platform nearest Ashley, landing in the middle of it.

_"So she's preventing me from attacking from below..."_ Misty noted with a nod. _"Lets see what good it does her."_

"Staryu, Pidgeotto's on the southwest platform! Attack with Water Pulse!"

"Pidgeotto, get ready with an Air Cutter!"

Pidgeotto brought his wings together, forcing air between them in preparation for its attack. Staryu, meanwhile, quickly moved through the water towards the platform. Staryu shot straight up out of the water behind the platform, putting itself behind Pidgeotto as well, and fired three blue rings from its core at the unsuspecting bird pokemon.

"Now! Turn and fire!" Ashley called out quickly as Staryu launched the attack. Pidgeotto quickly turned around and almost blindly fired the blade of air it had ready. Despite having little chance to aim, the blade cut through the oncoming pulse and effectively blocked it. The blade then continued on to strike Staryu in midair, pushing it back into the edge of the pool next to Ashley.

"Staryu! Are you ok?" Staryu shook off the impact and then bowed the upper half of its body as if nodding. Misty breathed a sigh of relief. The power of Pidgeotto's Air Cutter surprised her a bit.

_"Earlier Staryu was able to block that with Water Gun..."_ Misty thought, as if trying to solve a difficult puzzle. _"Its more powerful now that Pidgey evolved, not I wouldn't think that much powerful. Maybe, then, its because Water Pulse would hit with less surface area to stop it?"_

"Staryu, retalliate with Rapid Spin!" Staryu churned up the water like a water wheel as it began spinning in a vertical position. Staryu quickly leveled off and then flew up on a collision course with Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto, hit it from above with Quick Attack again!" Pidgeotto flew forward slightly and then dove down towards Staryu. In a flash of movement, Pidgeotto struck Staryu's core and knocked it off course. Staryu was suddenly shot downward at a 45 degree angle and struck the platform Pidgeotto had been on previously. Staryu shook off the light impact and stood up on two of its limbs.

_"Staryu is taking a lot of heavy hits out there..."_ Misty thought with a fierce look of determination on her face. _"Need to Recover and then get back in there! Staryu beat Pidgey easily enough already today, so it shouldn't be much tougher now!"_

"Staryu, use Recover!" Staryu's core began to glow as Misty called out the attack. The glow soon faded and was replaced by a light shimmering throughout Staryu's body as it restored its own strength.

_"We've got it this time, just need to keep up a strong offensive!"_ Ashley thought to herself with a smirk. "Pidgeotto, don't let up! Attack with Air Cutter, now!"

"-Its almost too easy this time around...-" Pidgeotto commented to himself as he prepared to attack, bringing his wings together and firing a blade of air at Staryu. This time the starfish pokemon was ready for it and braced against the platform as it was struck. The blade sliced into Staryu and disipated, but not before pushing Staryu back towards the end of the platform.

_"Ok, its time to start really fighting back now."_ Misty thought, ready to try and gain some ground back now that Staryu had recovered. "Staryu, attack Pidgeotto with Water Pulse!" Staryu quickly angled its body to take aim at Pidgeotto and fired a watery blue pulse at the bird pokemon.

"Pidgeotto, dodge it with Quick Attack!" Pidgeotto quickly shot forward, putting itself past Staryu and avoiding the Water Pulse attack by a large margin. Misty gritted her teeth as yet another of her Staryu's attacks was easily evaded by Pidgeotto.

"Well lets see your Pidgeotto dodge this! Staryu, attack with Swift!" Staryu didn't even bother to turn towards Pidgeotto's new position as it fired its attack. A star-shaped burst fired out from the tips of each of its five limbs, then shot straight up and circled around towards Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto doesn't have to dodge it!" Ashley replied smugly. "Pidgeotto, now! Counter with your own Swift attack!" Rina, Pippi, and Misty were all shocked when they heard Ashley call out the Swift attack. Pidgeotto turned towards the oncoming stars and brought his wings together, as if using Air Cutter, then parted them again to fire out five of its own bursts. Each star collided with an opposing star exploded in a flash of light. Both attacks were effectively negated.

"Swift? When did Pidgeotto learn Swift?" Rina wondered aloud. "Ashley could have put that technique to good use earlier...does Pidgeotto learn it naturally?"

"-He probably unlocked that technique when he evolved.-" Bulbasaur informed Rina with a light shrug. "-I don't think its too unusual for that to happen anyway, but you're better off asking Professor Oak anyway. He knows all about that stuff...-"

"Oh..." Rina blinked, still perplexed. "I wonder if there's more to it though...?"

"-I wonder if I'll learn new techniques when I evolve...-" Pippi mumbled to herself.

"You really think the outcome of this battle will be all that different after only a few hours training?" Misty asked rhetorically. "Even evolution and learning a new technique won't be enough to change the outcome on its own. Whether or not you win now depends solely on your own ability to work with strategies and adapt to changes in the battle."

"So after all that you don't think I have what it takes?" Ashley asked in a miffed tone.

"You think you do? Then lets see you handle this! Staryu, into the water!" Staryu dove down into the water again, disappearing from view. Ashley didn't seem to be impressed by this maneuver though.

"She's obviously trying to lure me into using the same tactic again, so I'll stay over the water this time." Ashley thought. "Pidgeotto, get ready to attack with Air Cutter when it comes back up!" Pidgeotto nodded and became more focused, flapping its wings slower and almost using the attack with each flap. He kept his gaze focused intently on the water, keeping watch for Staryu.

"Now, Staryu! Attack Pidgeotto with Rapid Spin, straight up!" After taking a few seconds to get started with Rapid Spin, Staryu burst from the surface of the water and shot straight up in a vertical position. Pidgeotto quickly fired an Air Cutter at Staryu, but Staryu had already anticipated the attack and moved to the side to evade.

After evading Pidgeotto's attack, Staryu quickly moved back on course and struck a glancing blow to Pidgeotto's side as it passed by. Pidgeotto was knocked to the side and lost a bit of altitude as it took a light hit to its wing as well, but not enough that Pidgeotto couldn't recover. As per Misty's instructions, Staryu continued up with its remaining momentum.

"Now, turn back and use Water Pulse!" Staryu suddenly stopped spinning and turned to face its core down towards Pidgeotto, who was still shaking off Staryu's Rapid Spin. Staryu's core glowed and three blue rings fired out from it. Pidgeotto looked up but had no time to react as the Water Pulse came down on top of it. Each ring burst in a splash on Pidgeotto and, after the third ring, Pidgeotto was sent plummeting towards the water.

"Pidgeotto, go into a shallow dive and use Quick Attack!" Ashley quickly called out, maintaining her relatively calm composure in spite of the situation. Pidgeotto struggled to perform the maneuver, but managed to turn itself in the air and began to pull up. Pidgeotto was still going to go straight into the water, but as he did he used his Quick Attack technique. The sudden burst of speed allowed him to maintain momentum while skimming through the water and then pull up again.

_"She pulled out of that fairly easily."_ Misty thought. "Ok, Staryu! Lets hit it with another Water Pulse now!" Staryu caught itself with a Rapid Spin, keeping it in the air while it took aim at Pidgeotto below it. Staryu's core then glowed briefly as Staryu fired off another Water Pulse attack.

"Pidgeotto, counter it with Air Cutter!" Pidgeotto brought its wings together, while seemingly hopping back onto the platform in front of Ashley, and then opened them up again to fire its counter attack. The blade of air sliced through each ring perfectly, breaking the attack, and then continued on to strike Staryu. Staryu was knocked out of its spin as Pidgeotto's attack struck it and began to plummet towards the pool.

"Now use Air Cutter again while Staryu's disabled!" Pidgeotto nodded and brought his wings together, then fired another Air Cutter attack. The v-shaped blade moved forward over the surface of the water and then curved up slightly, coming up to strike the falling Staryu from below. The attack knocked Staryu onto the platform behind it, flat on its back when it landed. Staryu made no attempt to get back up after landing, clearly signalling its defeat.

"So you managed to beat Staryu this time after all..." Misty commented as she recalled Staryu into its pokeball. "Your Pidgeotto looks pretty exhausted there, though." She then noted. Pidgeotto was indeed exhausted, even as he stood resting on the platform he was breathing a bit heavily.

"Oh wow! I think this is the first time Ashley won against the gym leader's first pokemon with her own first pokemon!" Rina noted excitedly.

"-Geez, she's only had three gym battles so far and she lost one of them completely.-" Bulbasaur muttered in response, rolling his eyes. "-Not that big a deal, and it was obviously a close call anyway...-"

"-You're just upset you only get to fight Starmie!-" Pippi pointed out accusingly.

"-Not only that, Pidgeotto still gets the first shot.-" Bulbasaur grumbled in response. "-This sucks, I should be out there fighting!-"

"Well you managed to beat my Staryu, but lets see how you hold up against Starmie this time!" Misty held up Starmie's pokeball in her hand. "Starmie, come on out and finish this one off!" Misty opened the pokeball up in her hand, releasing Starmie out into the pool to start the next match.

"Well maybe Ashley will let Pidgeotto rest and you can battle Starmie yourself?" Rina suggested hopefully. Ashley wasn't showing any sign of recalling Pidgeotto, however.

"Starmie, start off with a Swift attack!"

"Pidgeotto, counter with your own Swift!"

Starmie fired off a star-shaped ray from every point on its body above the water, firing six in total. Pidgeotto, using its own Swift technique again, opened its wings to send out a burst of stars to counter it. All but one of Starmie's rays were blocked by Pidgeotto's, with the remaining one continuing on to strike Pidgeotto in the face. Pidgeotto staggered back and had to hold its wings out to keep itself from falling onto its back.

"-You were saying?-" Bulbasaur replied to Rina, rolling his eyes. "-At least bird brain probably won't last much longer out there...-"

"Bulbasaur...thats a terrible thing to say..." Rina said quietly, giving Bulbasaur a disapproving look even though he wasn't looking at her.

_"Pidgeotto can't counter Starmie's Swift attack?"_ Ashley thought in dismay, having forgotten that the stronger pokemon's attacks wouldn't be blocked as easily. Luckily, Pidgeotto still seemed to have some fight left in him.

_"You know...I wouldn't have minded letting Bulbasaur have this one, I really wouldn't..."_ Pidgeotto thought. He took several deep breaths, fighting to hold on just a little bit longer.

"Now, Starmie, lets finish it with a Rapid Spin!" Both halves of Starmie's body began to spin, slowly lifting it out of the water. It then leveled off horizontally and took off across the surface of the water towards Pidgeotto like a pair of saw blades.

"Pidgeotto, Quick Attack and take off into the air!" Pidgeotto began flapping its wings weakly, but then suddenly took off up on an angle just in time to avoid Starmie's attack. Pidgeotto managed to put several feet between itself and the platform in nearly an instant using Quick Attack and had enough strength to keep flapping its wings and stay in the air, despite practically running on fumes.

_"Alright! We're still in this yet!"_ Ashley thought, smiling to herself. Starmie, meanwhile, stopped once it had cleared the platform and hovered in place while it waited for further instructions since its attack had missed.

"Starmie, into the water now!" Starmie turned its body until it was angled towards the water and shot down, its spinning body seemingly cutting into the water and disappearing below the surface.

_"This technique again?"_ Ashley thought, rolling her eyes. She wasn't going to fall for the same trick twice. "Pidgeotto, land on the platform and get ready with Air Cutter!" Pidgeotto dove back down towards the platform, landing in the middle. He then brought its wings together, forcing air between them and getting ready to launch his attack.

_"Thats not going to work this time."_ Misty thought with a smirk. "Starmie, attack from under the platform with Swift!" Ashley gasped in surprise when she finally realized what Misty's plan was, but there was little she or Pidgeotto could do now. Several stars suddenly rose from the water in front of the platform and curved back towards Pidgeotto in a split-s.

Pidgeotto tried to fire its Air Cutter in an effort to counter the attack, but the rays came up so close to the platform that Pidgeotto had little time to react. Several stars struck Pidgeotto simultaneously as he tried to attack, knocking Pidgeotto flat onto the platform. Pidgeotto was knocked unconcious almost immediately, having had little strength left to begin with.

"Pidgeotto, you did great out there. Take a rest!" Ashley held up Pidgeotto's pokeball and recalled her pokemon. Though she was a bit upset with herself for letting Pidgeotto go down without landing a hit, she wasn't upset at all with Pidgeotto's performance. He had gone from losing to Staryu as Pidgey, to defeating Staryu and engaging with Starmie in a brief battle.

"Ok!" Ashley shot a quick glance over to Bulbasaur. "Bulbasaur, get in there!"

"-About time too!-" Bulbasaur ran towards the edge of the pool and jumped, clearing the water and landing on a nearby platform. Starmie rose halfway out of the water on the other side of the pool to face its next opponent.

"Bulbasaur, I want you to get a Sleep Powder ready but don't use it until I say so." Ashley said just loud enough so only Bulbasaur would hear her. Bulbasaur gave a very slight nod in response.

"Ok, Bulbasaur! Charge Starmie and attack with Tackle!" Bulbasaur charged towards the edge of the platform to gain speed, then jumped towards Starmie in an attempt to Tackle it.

_"This again?"_ Misty thought, blinking in disbelief. _"Even if this is some kind of trick, it can't be a very good one. Bulbasaur will be left helpless once he lands in the water either way."_

"Starmie, just dodge it." Misty commanded Starmie in a seemingly bored tone. Starmie swam over to the side, leaving Bulbasaur heading towards open water.

"Now's your chance! Sleep Powder!" Bulbasaur turned his body slightly in the air, aiming his bulb towards Starmie, and released a puff of green powder. The powder blasted Starmie straight in what would be considered its face and, as Bulbasaur splashed down into the water, Starmie fell floating on its back and was fast asleep.

"Sleep Powder? If your Bulbasaur knew that technique then why didn't you use it before?" Misty asked Ashley, both annoyed and a little confused.

"I don't know!" Ashley shot back. "Bulbasaur, use Poison Powder now and start swimming towards that platform!" Ashley then called out to Bulbasaur while pointing to the northwest platform. She didn't want to lose out on whatever time she'd have to attack Starmie.

Following her instructions, Bulbasaur started swimming forward, keeping its bulb above the water. He released a cloud of purple powder into the air, which fell on top of and around Starmie. The powder was absorbed into Starmie's body through its skin, poisoning it while it continued to sleep. Bulbasaur soon reached the indicated platform as well, pulling himself out of the water and onto the platform then turning to face Starmie.

"Good! Now lets try to land a Leech Seed on it as well!" Bulbasaur nodded and tilted his body forward, releasing a seed from his bulb. The seed was launched through the air in an arc that landed it near the center of Starmie's body. The seed then sprouted small vines and latched onto Starmie, starting to drain its energy and feeding it back to Bulbasaur. At that exact moment, Starmie's body flipped back up vertically and then turned to face Bulbasaur.

_"Good, Starmie's awake again. I think thats the first time in a while a Bulbasaur managed to land its powder attacks on Starmie."_ Misty thought to herself. _"Can't do anything about the poison unfortunately, but I can shed that seed."_

"Starmie, attack Bulbasaur with Rapid Spin and get rid of that seed!"

"Bulbasaur, get ready and hit Starmie with Sleep Powder!"

Starmie began spinning rapidly, starting with the back end of its body and quickly getting both sides of its body spinning. The spinning threw off the seed Bulbasaur had managed to plant on it, and Starmie soon lifted out of the water and took off towards Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur fired a cloud of powder into Starmie's path, and Starmie flew through it as it sliced across Bulbasaur's side. Bulbasaur grunted in pain and was knocked aside, but Starmie was sent crashing into the water as it fell asleep again.

"Not again!" Misty cried out in disbelief. "Well, whatever! Enjoy it while you can because thats the last time its going to work!"

_"We'll see about that..."_ Ashley quietly said to herself, smirking lightly. She was already coming up with a plan to use it again. "Ok, Bulbasaur! Lets get a Leech Seed on it again!"

"-You know, I would prefer a straight fight!-" Bulbasaur called out in an annoyed tone. He followed through with Ashley's command anyway, however. He angled his bulb, crouching down slightly as he turned around, and fired another seed at Starmie. Again, the seed landed near the center of Starmie's body and sprouted vines to latch on. Starmie's body then shot up and it turned to face Bulbasaur, already waking up again.

"-No way!-" Bulbasaur cried out in disbelief. "-Do you have your alarm set to 'Leech Seed' or what?!-"

"Starmie, use Rapid Spin and dive deep into the water!" Starmie's body began spinning around on both sides again, shedding the seed Bulbasaur planted on it. Starmie then dove straight down into the water, disappearing below the surface.

"Now, Starmie, use Recover while you're down there!" A dim glow could be seen at the bottom of the pool as Starmie's core lit up briefly. Starmie's body began to shimmer under the water, its body recovering from the damage inflicted on it by poison.

"Bulbasaur's doing a lot better this time." Rina noted to Pippi, smiling widely as she watched the match. "He has Starmie completely on the defensive!"

"-Yeah! Bulbasaur's going to win for sure!-" Pippi replied, nodding quickly in agreement.

"Starmie, out of the water now and attack with Swift!" Misty called out loudly enough for Starmie to hear her from under the water. _"Lets see her Bulbasaur hit Starmie with Sleep Powder now!" _

Starmie rose to the surface of the water so that half its body was visible above the surface. It then focused its gaze on Bulbasaur and fired several star-shaped rays, each homing in on Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur braced himself, and each ray converged on him and struck him simultaneously. Bulbasaur cried out in pain but didn't seem much worse for wear.

"Bulbasaur, lets keep this going! Attack Starmie with Sleep Powder!"

"Starmie, use Rapid Spin and get out of there!"

Bulbasaur took aim at Starmie, who was now near the center of the pool, and released a cloud of powder towards it. The powder came down towards the water, but Starmie was already spinning its body by then and took off into the air to avoid the hit. The powder landed in the water harmlessly, missing its target completely.

"Bulbasaur, try again! Lets knock Starmie out of the air with Sleep Powder!" Bulbasaur aimed his bulb at Starmie again and fired another cloud of green powder.

"Starmie, move to avoid it and fire back with another Swift!" Starmie easily moved a few feet off to the side to avoid the attack. The powder again rained down on the water, missing its target completely. Starmie then countered with a Swift attack, firing six star-shaped rays from its body. The rays converged on Bulbasaur, and the grass pokemon cried out as they all struck it simultaneously.

"Bulbasaur, third time's the charm! Sleep Powder!" Bulbasaur fired another blast of powder from his bulb, but Starmie avoided it again without any orders from Misty to do so. The powder landed harmlessly in the water and Starmie moved back into its initial position over the water.

_"She must be depending entirely on those powder attacks to win this match."_ Misty thought to herself, rolling her eyes. _"Like I'm going to let her put Starmie to sleep again so easily..."_

"Ashley, what are you doing?!" Rina called out to her from the bench. "You're giving up Bulbasaur's lead! You can't just keep trying to put Starmie to sleep!"

Ashley turned her head towards Rina and gave her a wink, then turned her attention back to the battle as Rina looked on in confusion now. "Ok then, Bulbasaur! Time to end this! Bullet Seed!"

"End this? Poison or not, thats not going to happen!" Misty called back. "Starmie, dive into the water now!" Bulbasaur spat out several green seeds at Starmie now, finally going back on the offensive. Starmie easily avoided even this attack, however, diving straight down into the water as the seeds shot through the air overhead.

"Now, Starmie, use Recover again!" Misty called out. She was shocked to see Starmie suddenly float to the surface of the pool on its back, fast asleep. "What the?! When did you..." Misty's eyes went wide in shock, and Ashley grinned at her from across the pool.

"Come on! You didn't think I was that stupid to try the same attack over and over when it obviously won't work?" Ashley asked Misty. "I knew you would try to escape into the water again to use Recover eventually, the poison ensured that. So I used Bulbasaur's Sleep Powder to turn the pool water under Starmie into a sleep potion!"

"So that was her plan..." Rina mumbled in surprise. "She had Misty against the ropes all along, even when it seemed like Misty was making a comeback..."

"Now its really time to end this, Bulbasaur! Attack Starmie with Vine Whip and then follow it up with Bullet Seed!"

"-With pleasure!-" Bulbasaur called back as he extended his vines. Bulbasaur raised his vines up, bringing both down on top of Starmie simultaneously, striking the water pokemon hard and pushing it underwater briefly. Bulbasaur then grabbed onto the sides of Starmie's body to hold it upright, putting it in the line of fire for his next attack.

"-For your sake, I hope the next grass pokemon that comes along doesn't know Sleep Powder!-" Bulbasaur fired several seeds out of his mouth, firing a full five total. Each seed struck Starmie one after the other. As the last seed struck Starmie, its gem core faded and Bulbasaur finally let go. Starmie had been defeated.

"Well I have to hand it to you...you had me fooled into thinking you were just a rookie trainer at any rate." Misty commented with a sigh as she recalled her Starmie. She then started on her way across the gym to hand Ashley her badge.

"-Oh don't let your defeat fool you.-" Bulbasaur said to Misty, hopping from the platform to the side of the pool where she was walking and following along beside her. "-Ashley is the worst of the worst. She's just lucky to have me.-"

"I didn't think you were going to be able to beat her so soon after losing to her." Rina said to Ashley as she approached the bench. "I'm glad you proved me wrong! You pulled off some really good strategies out there!"

"Thanks, Rina. Its all thanks to that training we did earlier." Ashley replied with a smile.

"Here, the Cascade Badge and Water Pulse TM." Misty said as she approached Ashley and handed her the items in question. "Now whats that secret?"

"The secret?" Ashley giggled quietly. "Take a vacation day of course." Ashley slid the TM into her backpack, which Rina was still carrying, and then took out her trainer id to add the badge to it.

"Ok, lets go guys!" Rina and Pippi got up off the bench to leave the gym with Ashley, and Bulbasaur followed behind as well. Before finally leaving the gym, Ashley stopped at the entrance and looked back at Misty. She looked as though she was stunned by the simple response Ashley gave her.

"Later, Misty! Thanks for the match!" Ashley called out to her, then finally left the gym.

"I can't believe I didn't think of that already..." Misty mumbled to herself. "Its so obvious...I'll go put in my notice now!"

* * *

After Ashley's rematch against Misty, the two girls and their pokemon headed off to the pokecenter so that Ashley's pokemon could be healed. While they sat in the waiting area they decided on a place to grab a bite to eat and spend the night. Ashley made a reservation using her cellphone and Rina grabbed some take out from a fast food chain.

Once Ashley's pokemon were healed, she left the pokecenter and stopped outside for a few minutes to feed her pokemon. Rina did likewise, mixing a few fries she bought in with her pokemon's food, which all but Berry liked. Once their pokemon were fed they met up at the hotel Ashley booked a room at and headed up to their hotel room to enjoy their own meal.

Inside their room, which they were sharing and had a double bed, they dropped their respective backpacks at the foot of the bed and Ashley threw her hat off in the corner. They then spread out a towel on the bed and set up their food on the towel, not wanting to get crumbs on the sheets. Bulbasaur sat down at the foot of the bed and used one of his vines to turn on the tv and flick through the channels, looking for something to watch. Pippi, meanwhile, went off to explore the room.

"We probably shouldn't do this too often, I heard fast food isn't very healthy." Ashley commented before taking a bite of her burger. She chewed it carefully and swallowed. "At least I won't have to clean up the room when I'm done though..."

"You should clean it anyway." Rina replied sternly. "I know I'm going to. My parents would haunt me in my sleep if I didn't..." She took a handful of fries and popped them in her mouth while watching the tv. Bulbasaur wasn't watching anything in particular, just continually flicking through the channels.

"Hey, Ashley, what was with that Red guy anyway?" Rina asked Ashley, turning away from the tv. "You two seemed to know each other."

"We used to hang out when we were kids." Ashley replied with a light shrug. "All he cares about these days, though, are pokemon and battling. I don't think he cares for people anymore at all..."

"Oh..." Rina mumbled in a disappointed tone. Ashley took notice of this and realized that Rina must have gotten a crush on Red.

_"I used to like him too..."_ Ashley thought, looking at her half-eaten burger contemplatively. _"But he just became so distant as time went on, completely uninterested in other people."_ Ashley gave a light shrug and returned to eating her burger. _"I'm sure Rina will get over him eventually..."_

_"He can't be such a bad guy if he likes pokemon so much!" _Rina, on the other hand, had an entirely different train of thought. _"I bet I can get through to him eventually, I'm sure of it!" _Rina smiled to herself as she continued to eat her food.

_"Human relationships are weird..."_ Bulbasaur thought to himself. He finally stopped flicking through the channels as he found something that piqued his interest.

"And here we have rare footage of the mating habits of wild Bulbasaur." A pokemon researcher on the tv explained. Bulbasaur grinned widely and settled down to watch the show.

* * *

Author's Notes: Giving pokemon a new technique when they evolve is probably something I'm going to start doing a lot. Pidgeotto was a tough one to decide for, however. I didn't want to give it something that would make Air Cutter entirely useless at this point (later, who knows?) and a lot of attacks I either wasn't too eager to give him or would rather give him if he was evolving into Pidgeot instead. Eventually I decided on Swift, even though it was a tutor technique (I find its more believable if its a TM or breeding technique, since it could be passed off as a latent ability it was born with.)

On a semi-related note, Misty's Starmie is incredibly powerful for that point in the game unless you've been doing a lot of training on the side. Its a strong, evolved pokemon with a good attack in Water Pulse. Even in the RBY days it had Bubblebeam, which seemed to cause a lot of damage even to Ivysaur or Wartortle. Though one time I think I actually had a Blastoise against her. A bit overkill, though it may have been my only pokemon as well...


	8. Chapter 8: Vs Ying and Yang

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Eight**

**Vs. Ying and Yang**

"Finally! We're here!" Ashley cried out in joy upon finally arriving in Vermillion City. "My back is killing me..." Ashley let out a sigh and slung the heavy backpack off her shoulders, dropping it on the ground with a thud.

The trip to Vermillion City had taken a lot longer than Ashley had thought it would, as it involved a long trek through the underground tunnel leading between Cerulean and Vermillion. While the tunnel was easier to travel through, Ashley had intended on stopping for a break in Saffron. The road into Saffron from Cerulean City was closed, however, and it took them until the evening to reach Vermillion.

"At least we're here with enough time for you to challenge the gym leader." Rina reached into Ashley's bag and took out her cellphone, flipping it open to check the time. "Still have about an hour, so we should hurry to the pokecenter and get your pokemon checked out, then you can challenge him."

"-Checked out? All we've done since we left Cerulean is walk!-" Bulbasaur growled in frustration, standing between Ashley and Rina. "-And only I actually did any walking, Pippi just sat on your shoulder the whole time!-"

"-What can I say? I like it up here!-" Pippi said to Bulbasaur, sitting lazily on Rina's shoulder.

"Good point, Bulbasaur, but stopping by the pokecenter is just a good habit trainers get into." Rina said in response, giving Bulbasaur a smile that completely defused his anger.

"Yeah, I wonder if I should do some training first though?" Ashley picked up the backpack and carried it with her as she continued off into the city. Rina and Bulbasaur followed along beside her. "Bulbasaur is the only pokemon I have resistant to the attacks of Surge's pokemon, and none of my pokemon have an attack effective against them."

"Well you could always..." Rina began, but both her and Ashley stopped in their tracks when they saw a scene unfolding only a few dozen meters ahead.

"Stop right there! We have you surrounded!" Several men in blue uniforms, accompanied by small, orange-furred canine pokemon had two individuals backed up against the front of a building and were in a semi-circle around them. Two pokemon were also with them, a Wartortle and a Charmeleon. Both were wearing collars around their necks.

"Give yourselves up, Ying and Yang! We're taking you in!" One of the officers boldly declared.

"Fools...do you think you can catch us so easily?" Yang taunted the police and sneered at them.

"You may have us cornered, but we still have one trick up our sleeves." Ying added. Ying and Yang simultaneously reached for a small black ball at their waists and dropped them on the ground. Smoke filled the area, and the police officers moved closer together to keep the two hunters from slipping by them. When the smoke cleared, however, they were gone despite this.

"The hell?" Several officers said simultaneously, to varying degrees. They looked all around, even straight up, to see where Ying and Yang might have gone to. There was no sign of them anyway.

"How do they keep doing that?" Rina wondered aloud. "Even surrounded by police they can just disappear in a cloud of smoke..."

"Its just something we're going to have to account for when we go after them ourselves..." Ashley commented quietly. "Anyway, they're gone, so nothing we have to worry about. Lets get to the pokecenter..."

* * *

Ashley, Rina, and the two pokemon left the scene and, after only a short walk, arrived at the Vermillion City pokecenter. Ashley recalled Bulbasaur before heading inside with Rina. Rina had decided there was no point in handing over her own pokemon, so Pippi remained on Rina's shoulder when they went in.

Once inside, Ashley stepped up to the reception desk and handed over her pokemon for a quick check-up. Rina sat down in one of the chairs in the waiting area and picked up a pokemon research magazine to leaf through. Ashley joined her as well after handing over her pokemon.

"I wouldn't get comfortable with that magazine, Rina, we probably won't be here long." Ashley said as she sat down next to her.

"-Rina! Whats it say about that big pokemon there?-" Pippi asked Rina, pointing at a large bear-like pokemon. "-I can't read it...-"

"Its called a Snorlax..." Rina turned the magazine towards Ashley to show her the page. "All it does is sleep and eat. It eats a lot, and then falls into such a deep sleep that it can't be woken up at all! Isn't that odd?"

"I've heard of that pokemon before, they're supposed to be really rare." Ashley noted as she looked over the picture.

"Yeah, but get this! There's one outside Vermillion City!" Rina giggled in her excitement. "We should go check it out! Maybe its still there!"

"Really?" Ashley blinked in surprise and took a closer look at the article. "Could be worth checking out at least, I can always battle Surge tomorrow. We'll be staying here overnight anyway..."

"Great!" Rina turned to look over her shoulder to look at Pippi. "Hear that, Pippi? We might get to see a rare pokemon!"

"-Wow! That'd be fun! I can't wait!-" Pippi squeaked happily in response.

* * *

It didn't take long after that for the nurses to finish checking over Ashley's pokemon. As expected, they were already in perfect health. Rina put her magazine back and the two girls left the pokecenter. Ashley released Bulbasaur from his pokeball once she was outside the pokecenter. Then the group set off to the east on what was almost an hour-long trek out to where the Snorlax was supposed to be.

Along the way, they eventually came upon a building separating two routes and serving as a rest house. They stopped inside for a moment, as they had expected to have seen the wild Snorlax by then.

"That Snorlax must be gone, we didn't see it around anywhere on the way here..." Ashley sighed in disappointment.

"Well we could still check just on the other side of this building?" Rina suggested.

"Fine, but if you don't see it as soon as you open the door we should probably head back." Ashley replied, folding her arms and standing off to the side while she waited for Rina to check. Aside from a single nightwatch, they were the only people in the building.

Rina approached the door at the eastern end of the building, opening it and poking her head out to take a quick look. She spotted her target almost immediately, only a few dozen meters further to the east. She stared in disbelief for a moment, unable to believe that after almost giving up hope it was now in plain view, lying on its back in the middle of the road between Lavender and Fuschia.

"Ashley! Its right outside!" Rina practically shouted, forcefully throwing the door open and rushing outside.

"It is? Hey, wait up!" Ashley took off out the door as well, following behind Rina.

"-Unless you're planning to catch it, I don't see why you're getting so excited.-" Bulbasaur stated as he calmly followed the girls out the door.

Rina ran straight up to the pokemon with Pippi on her shoulder. Pippi hopped off as Rina stopped in front of the pokemon, jumping onto Snorlax's stomach. Rina turned sharply to face Ashley. "Ashley, look at the size of this thing! He has the path between Lavender Town and Fuschia City completely blocked!"

"It is, isn't it?" Ashley noted thoughtfully. "Maybe we should try waking it up?"

"That magazine said it couldn't be woken up though..." Rina replied, looking back over her shoulder at Snorlax. "It couldn't hurt to try I guess, but still..."

"Ok, Bulbasaur! Try waking it up with your Vine Whip!" Ashley called out to Bulbasaur, extending her arm out to point at Snorlax.

"-I'm with Rina. This isn't going to work, but since we're trying anyway...-" Bulbasaur extended his vines out and raised the ends up. He then lashed out at the sleeping Snorlax, a snap echoing through the air as his vines struck Snorlax like a pair of whips. The sleeping Snorlax remained sleeping, however. In fact, it didn't even flinch.

"Ok, Pippi! You try now! Thundershock!" Rina called out while quickly backing away from Snorlax to avoid getting shocked herself.

"-Here I go!-" Sparks erupted from Pippi's red cheeks and shot straight down, through her own body and into Snorlax's stomach. Again, Snorlax didn't even flinch or show signs of waking. It continued to snore away in a state of deep sleep. Pippi blinked in surprise and looked up at Snorlax with a shocked look on her face.

"-But...not even a jolt of electricity? I thought that would wake anyone up!-" Pippi stated in her surprise.

_"Where would she get that idea?"_ Rina wondered. "Well, Bulbasaur and Pippi couldn't do it. Should we try our other pokemon?" Rina turned around to face Ashley as she addressed her, just in time to spot two individuals and their pokemon creeping up from behind her.

"Ashley, look out!" Ashley looked back when Rina warned her and quickly distanced herself from the people sneaking up on her. Bulbasaur took notice as well and took up position next to Ashley.

"You two again!" Ashley shouted in her surprise. "But you disappeared when the police had you cornered!"

"So you saw us, then?" Yang chuckled. The two individuals that had been sneaking up on Ashley were none other than the same hunters they had fought at Mount Moon and had seen the police corner only a short while ago.

"We had a minor slip up and the police managed to catch on to us." Yang stated as he continued, giving a light shrug. "Of course, we couldn't just stay away. Afterall, we needed to redeem ourselves after the incident at Mount Moon. So now we're going to catch the rare and powerful Snorlax."

"Running into you here is just a bonus." Ying added smugly. "Now we will catch a rare pokemon to sell on the black market, and we'll have your pokemon to go with it!" Ying gave a wide, sinister grin. "Of course, there's probably a market for young girls like yourselves as well..."

"We're ready for you this time!" Ashley boldly declared. "We're going to take you down and bring you in!"

"-I have a new attack I'd love to try our on your Wartortle, too.-" Bulbasaur remarked with a grin.

"This time, we'll fight to!" Rina declared as well. Pippi hopped down off Snorlax. Rina and Pippi rushed forward to stand next to Ashley, ready to fight off the two hunters. Rina and Ashley looked at each other and nodded, then both reached for a second pokeball.

"Mankey, time to get serious!"

"Berry, come on out!"

Ashley and Rina held up their respective pokeballs and released their pokemon. Ashley sent out her hyperactive and wild tempered Mankey to join Bulbasaur in battle. Rina released her Butterfree, Berry, to accompany Pichu in battle as well. Rina and her pokemon were standing ready to battle Yang and his Charmeleon, while Ashley and her pokemon would battle Ying and Wartortle. Despite being clearly outnumbered, the two hunters were grinning from ear to ear.

"So you think you're ready for us this time? Lets see how you handle this..." Yang took out a small syringe and motioned for Charmeleon to step forward. Once Charmeleon was in front of Yang, he injected the greenish substance within into Charmeleon's neck. The fire pokemon cried out in agony, and soon his body began to to bubble at the skin and bend out of shape.

"What the? Whats happening to him!?" Ashley cried out in confusion and disgust.

"Oh my god..." Rina gasped and covered her mouth as she witnessed the horrid sight before her. "What did you do to him?!" Pippi looked on as well with her face frozen in an expression of absolute horror.

Yang offered no answer and simply grinned. Charmeleon was clearly in a great deal of pain as his body seeminly bubbled and expanded. Its tail was the first to truly grow, however, shooting straight out behind it as it increased in length and width. His tail became even longer than his body was. The increased size of the tail was then followed up by a pair of draconic wings sprouting painfully from his back and his skin changing color from dark red to bright orange.

"-Damn it, man! That just ain't natural!-" Bulbasaur growled angrily, watching as Charmeleon went through what seemed like an unnatural and forced evolution.

The rest of Charmeleon's body finally seemed like it was catching up with the tail and wings as it began to grow as well, its head and body reshaping itself to look more like a Charizard's body and its neck finally extending a bit as well. When the process was finally finished, the newly evolved Charizard hung his head weakly and was panting heavily. The process was clearly painful to it and had taken a great toll on its body.

"My turn..." Ying declared with a smug smirk, motioning for Wartortle to move in front of her while she took out a similar syringe. Despite having witnessed what happened with Charmeleon, Wartortle showed no sign of resistance courtesy of the collar around its neck.

"Team Rocket might be a lousy bunch of criminals at times, but they have some very interesting toys." Ying commented before plunging the syringe into the back of Wartortle's neck, beginning another force evolution.

Wartortle screamed in pain as his ears and tail suddenly shriveled up into the pointed ears and stubby tail of a Blastoise. His body began to grow out in all directions, his shell expanding as well to accompany his new body. His head shifted slightly as well as it grew, shaping into the head of a Blastoise. Even throughout the evolution, the slave collar around Wartortle's neck remained in place.

When Wartortle's body was finally finished expanding and growing, the evolved Blastoise hung its head weakly. Just when it thought it was over, however, a pair of gun barrels painfully broke through its shell. Instead of the usual flaps over its shell where the guns would be on a Blastoise, it had two broken holes.

"I knew you hunters were monsters but this is insane!" Ashley cried out in a rage. The enslaved Blastoise and Charizard had many cracks and wrinkles all over their bodies, a result of the forced growth. They looked like they had a skin condition of some sort.

"Your opinion hardly matters to us." Yang calmly stated with a shrug. "While they might not be as strong as a naturally evolved Charizard and Blastoise, these forced evolutions will be sufficient to defeat your puny pokemon."

"Now lets see what we gained from that..." Ying reached into her pocket and took out a strange black device, slightly larger than a pokedex and with two prongs sticking out the end. She pointed it at Blastoise, then at Charizard, and whistled appreciatively.

"Seems this Blastoise learned Blizzard, and Charizard learned Iron Tail." Ying informed Yang and put the device away. "This will be over before it even begins..."

_"Those really are powerful attacks!"_ Ashley thought, though she wasn't about to let that fact slow her down. "We won't give you the chance to attack! Bulbasaur, attack with Sleep Powder! Rina, follow my lead!"

"Right! Berry, you use Sleep Powder too!" Rina called out determinedly. Rina realized that, by using Sleep Powder, they could remove Ying and Yang's pokemon from the fight without causing further harm to them and then try to apprehend the two hunters.

Berry flapped her wings, releasing a green powder from them while Bulbasaur shot out a similar powder from his bulb. Both Blastoise and Charizard were sprinkled with the powder while they were still too weak from the evolution to attack or even defend themselves. Within only seconds, both pokemon were asleep and Ashley and Rina grinned at their success.

"Blastoise, awaken and take those two down with Blizzard." The red gem-like lights on Blastoise's collar glowed briefly, causing to pokemon to snap awake at Ying's command. He took aim between Berry and Bulbasaur with his two cannons and fired out a blast of ice and cold air that engulfed all four pokemon as well as their trainers. A thin layer of ice began to form on their bodies where the wind was striking first, forcing Ashley to back up out of the line of fire before they became frozen.

"This isn't good! They can just order their pokemon to wake up!" Ashley shouted out in surprise. She quickly brushed the snow off her and looked to Rina. "Rina, you need to climb over Snorlax and get out of here! I'll cover you!"

"This is our fight too, Ashley! No matter what it comes to!" Rina looked to Pippi standing on her shoulder and nodded. Pippi hopped down and ran back to the front lines as the Blizzard attack was ending. "I can't just run away, not after what they just put those pokemon through!"

"-Me neither, what they did was horrible!-" Pippi shouted her agreement. "-I don't care what it takes, someone has to help those pokemon!-" Pippi's cheeks flared up with electricity as her anger got the better of her and she found herself unable to control her electricity, as she often did in heightened emotional states.

"Well isn't this one feisty!" Yang remarked with a grin. "Charizard, awaken and strike that one there with Iron Tail!" Charizard's eyes shot open as the lights on its collar glowed, much like with Blastoise before. Charizard then raised its tail, which gained a metallic coating, and lashed out at Pippi with it.

"Mankey, grab that tail!" Mankey bounded forward, shaking off the ice that had gathered in its fur as it put itself between Pippi and the attacking Charizard. Mankey grabbed Charizard's tail with both hands, catching the attack and managing to hold it back. Charizard tried to push down on Mankey, but Mankey held strong against it.

"What?! That monkey is strong enough to block Charizard's attack?!" Yang shouted in disbelief.

"-You know, that wasn't much of a Blizzard attack either...-" Bulbasaur commented as he shook the snow off himself. "-I've taken stronger Water Pulse than that...recently I might add.-"

"-I'm with Bulbasaur...-" Berry said, nodding in her agreement. "-Strong, fully evolved pokemon...strong ice attack...I thought I'd be a goner for sure!-"

"-Yousuckyousuckyou SUCK!-" Mankey shouted at Charizard, throwing its tail off to the side. Charizard didn't even have enough power in its Iron Tail attack to overpower Mankey.

"It seems that forcing them to evolve has left them incredibly weak..." Ying noted to Yang. "We will need to hold off their pokemon long enough for them to get their strength back..."

"You won't have that long!" Ashley declared. "Bulbasaur, Mankey, lets..."

"Ashley, wait!" Rina called out, interrupting her. "Let us try first!" Ashley blinked in surprise at first, but then nodded to Rina to let her take the first attack.

"Ok, Pippi! Try breaking Blastoise's collar with a Volt Tackle!" Pippi nodded quickly and charged up electricity. Sparks flowed out from her cheeks and surrounded her body, creating an electrified aura around her.

"Just go ahead and try it, kid. These collars are nearly indestructable." Ying said to Rina. _"Blastoise will hardly be affected by that Volt Tackle, but trying to smash into the collar will likely hurt a lot and leave her open to be finished off..." _Ying smirked to herself as she formulated her plan, intent on bringing down Pippi this time.

However, what Ying thought would happen and what actually happened turned out to be entirely different. Pippi charged towards Blastoise at full speed and jumped up, shooting towards the collar on its neck like a missile. The electricity around Pippi's body first short-circuited the collar momentarily, but it was long enough so that the collar snapped at the point of impact when Pippi hit it full on.

"What?! Thats impossible!" Ying cried out in disbelief at the collar being broken. Pippi bounced off and landed on the ground in a bit of a daze, while Blastoise himself seemed largely unaffected. The effects of Pippi's attack was soon clear, however, as Blastoise reached up and struggled for a moment to remove the broken collar from around his neck.

"-I've been wanting to do that for weeks now...-" Blastoise tossed the broken halves of the slave collar to the side. He winced as he felt pain surging through his body. "-Damn it! The hell did you bastards do to me?!-"

"Way to go, Pippi! Thats one freed now!" Rina cheered excitedly. Pippi slowly lifted her head off the ground and smiled weakly at Rina. She was rubbing her head with her paws, still a bit dazed by the

"Wow...I have to admit, I wasn't sure it'd work either..." Ashley commented to herself. "Well looks like you two are at quite the disadvantage now! Why don't you give up and turn yourselves over to the police?" She then said to Ying and Yang.

"We seem to have lost the upperhand once again, thanks to you." Yang muttered to Ying, who shot him a furious look at the accusation. "Looks like we'll have to retreat again..." Yang drew the familiar looking smoke ball from his belt, but before he could throw it to the ground a Pidgeotto swooped down and grabbed it out of his hands. "What?! No! That was my last one!" He called out angrily after the Pidgeotto.

"Nice one, Ashley!" Rina said to her. "Now lets free that Charizard!"

"But...that wasn't me..." Ashley stated with a perplexed look on her face. Rina looked at her increduously.

"Like you could ever come up with a plan like that." Gary Oak said to Ashley as he emerged from the shadow of the building behind them. He held up his hand as his Pidgeotto came around and passed off the smoke ball to him. "You guys seem to magically disappear whenever you drop one of these, so I think I'll be holding onto it."

"Gary?!" Ashley cried out in surprise. "Why are you helping us?"

"I've been in Vermillion for two days now and finally decided to check out the rare pokemon here. I was busy up until now, being the great trainer I am I was invited to a party on the S.S. Anne." Gary said to her, grinning. "Seems like it was worth my time. As the future champion, its only natural that I should be the one to take in the elusive Grand Hunters."

"Ashley...who is this guy?" Rina asked, a little put off by Gary's attitude.

"Gary Oak..." Ashley replied stiffly. "He's a jerk, and thats about all there is to it..."

"I'm not going to give up that easily." Yang quickly hopped onto Charizard's back. "Charizard, take off! We're leaving!" Charizard began flapping its wings and slowly began to lift off the ground.

"What? You're leaving me behind?!" Ying asked angrily.

"Its your fault we're in this mess, you can take the fall." Yang replied flatly. Charizard began to lift off further from the ground, but before it could get away it was suddenly stopped by something holding on to its tail. "What now?!" Yang looked back with a glare to see what was stopping him and saw Blastoise holding on to its tail.

"-I'm not letting you go anywhere...-" Blastoise said weakly, putting all of his strength into holding onto Charizard's tail. The flame at the end of its tail was pressing into Blastoise's stomach and making a burn mark there.

"Bulbasaur, grab Charizard's legs with your vines! Mankey, help Bulbasaur reel it in!" Ashley quickly took control of the situation once Blastoise grabbed Charizard. Bulbasaur lashed out with two vines, each grabbing onto one of Charizard's legs. Mankey then grabbed the base of Bulbasaur's vines and began pulling back on them, slowly pulling Charizard back to the ground. With all the attention on Charizard and Yang, Ying decided to try to make her escape.

"Pidgeotto, quick! Tackle her to the ground!" Gary's Pidgeotto quickly took off towards Ying as she made a break for the water, tackling into her from behind and knocking her to the ground. Pidgeotto then landed on her back to hold her down. While Gary was busy with Ying, Yang decided to try to make a run for it as well. He jumped down off of Charizard and took off running.

"Berry, quick! Stop Yang with a Stun Spore!" Berry nodded and quickly flew off on a path to intercept Yang. Yang stopped as Berry appeared in front of him and was about to run the other way when she started flapping her wings and blowing spores at him. The spores landed on his body and brought him to the ground as his muscles became paralyzed.

At that point, the combined effort of Bulbasaur, Blastoise, and Mankey finally brought Charizard crashing to the ground. Blastoise grabbed Charizard from behind and lifted him up into a standing position, locking his arms around Charizard's to hold him still. "-You there!-" Blastoise addressed Pippi. "-Do that Volt Tackle thing again and get this guy's collar off!-"

"-Right!-" Pippi looked back at Rina and got an approving nod. Pippi's cheeks sparked with electricity as she powered up for another attack. With a veil of electricity around her, Pippi charged towards the grappled Charizard and jumped up to streak towards the collar like a missile. She struck the collar dead on, cracking it slightly and disabling it with the electricity she was generating.

Blastoise released Charizard once Pippi had successfully cracked the collar, and Charizard immediately reached up and ripped it off the rest of the way. The combined physical impact and electric shock once again proved to be enough to break the collar, and Charizard looked pretty pissed when he finally got the collar off.

"-I'LL KILL YOU!-" Charizard shouted in anger as he turned to Yang, raising his claws and moving towards the paralyzed hunter. Before he could get any closer, another Wartortle put itself between Charizard and Yang. Charizard looked back at Blastoise, making sure he wasn't seeing things.

"-Can't let you do that, pal.-" Wartortle said to Charizard. "-Getting clawed to death tends to be bad for a human's health.-"

"-That, would be the point!-" Charizard growled in response, pointing his claws at the Wartortle. "-If you don't want the same I suggest you move!-"

"Wartortle, blast it with Water Pulse." Wartortle opened his mouth and fired out a blue pulse at Charizard. The attack was aimed directly at Charizard's face and the fire pokemon recoiled from the impact and then fell forward, collapsing with just one attack. It was already weakened by the forced evolution, and after just one Water Pulse attack it was struggling to get back to its feet.

"Gary, thats cruel!" Ashley yelled at him. "They were just forced to evolve, and painfully!"

"Nothing I can do about that..." Gary replied with a shrug. "Anyway, he would have attacked if I didn't stop him. You can deal with those pokemon, I'm taking these two in..." Gary roughly pulled Yang to his feet and dragged him off while Pidgeotto and Wartortle escorted Ying on foot.

"You jerk! You don't care about anyone but yourself!" Ashley shouted at Gary, but her accusation fell on deaf ears as Gary continued on into the building and left the area with the two hunters.

"We should get these two checked out at the pokecenter..." Rina suggested to Ashley. "Maybe they can find some way to help them there."

"Right..." Ashley replied with a nod. "If we could put them in pokeballs, this would be much easier though. They were probably owned by someone else before the hunters got to them..."

"-We were at a research facility prior to being captured by the hunters...-" Blastoise explained, addressing the girl's pokemon. Despite what had happened, Blastoise was managing to remain fairly calm. "-We were being raised to be given to a trainer one day. If I were to be trained by one of you, then that would be fine. I can tell you both care about pokemon, unlike the hunters. I cannot speak for Charizard, however...-"

"-I want nothing to do with anymore trainers...-" Charizard growled while making another attempt to get back on his feet. He collapsed again and stayed down, taking several deep breaths as he tried to regain his strength.

"Blastoise says its ok, and he's willing to stay with us to." Rina explained to Ashley, to the surprise of both Blastoise and Charizard. "Charizard isn't, though."

"-She could understand me?-" Blastoise asked increduously.

"-Oh, yes! Master is very talented!-" Berry replied happily. Rina sighed at Berry's continued use of the word 'master'.

"Well, I'll take Charizard then." Ashley replied while taking out a pokeball. "Maybe he'll change his mind. If not, I'll release him after we get him checked out at the pokecenter..." Ashley tossed the pokeball at Charizard. Charizard tried to reach out with one of his clawed hands to block it, but the ball struck him and pulled it inside. The ball shook for a moment and then locked shut with the weakened Charizard inside.

"Well I guess I'll catch Blastoise then?" Ashley nodded to Rina. "I can't just catch a pokemon out of the blue though..." Rina looked at Blastoise for a moment and thought hard. "I need to give you a nickname first...how about Berg?"

"-Berg? Sounds good.-" Blastoise replied with a nod.

"Ok then, Berg it is!" Rina took a pokeball out of one of the pockets on her large backpack and threw it at Blastoise. The pokeball drew Blastoise inside and then locked shut without any struggling from the pokemon at all. Once both pokemon were in their pokeballs, the two girls picked them up and placed them on their belt.

"Doesn't this seem a bit too easy?" Rina said to Ashley with a concerned tone. "I mean, we've just sent two of the hunters off to jail! There's only twelve of them to begin with, right?"

"They didn't seem very competent though..." Ashley replied, sounding a bit disturbed by this fact. "The other hunters won't go down so easily I bet, but we won't stop until we've brought them all in." Ashley then tried to put on a light smile, "Wonder if I'm getting in over my head? Challenging gyms, taking pictures, and going after a powerful group of hunters..."

"As long as we never give up, we'll be fine!" Rina replied, giving Ashley a thumbs up. "Now lets get Blastoise and Charizard to the pokecenter." Ashley nodded in agreement, and the two girls and their pokemon left the scene.

Once everyone was gone the Snorlax, who had been sleeping peacefully the whole time, gave a yawn and rolled over onto its side.

* * *

It was another long trek back to Vermillion, but the girls walked quickly and eventually caught up with Gary. They stayed behind him, but kept a close eye to make sure Ying and Yang didn't escape. Though Ying made at least one attempt, Pidgeotto quickly brought her down and the two eventually made it to the police station in Vermillion while Ashley and Rina went to the pokecenter.

Once inside the pokecenter, they handed over all of their pokemon to be checked over. They made special mention to the nurse, however, to get Blastoise and Charizard checked out. Ashley sat down in one of the chairs to wait while Rina paced around anxiously. After only a few minutes, their own pokemon were ready. They still had to wait around a while for the nurses to finish with Blastoise and Charizard, however. It was almost half an hour before the nurse finally emerged with the two pokeballs.

"We did what we could to help them recover." The nurse explained as Ashley and Rina approached the desk. "It seems as though their bodies were forced to grow into their evolved forms, but they didn't evolve themselves. I had to look through old medical records, but I believe they would have to be trained so they complete their evolution normally. That should heal their injuries from the growth and restore their strength, but there's nothing else we can do for them here..."

"Thanks, miss..." Ashley replied before she and Rina took Charizard and Blastoise's pokeballs respectively and placed them on their belts.

"Looks like you might have to keep Charizard afterall..." Rina said to Ashley. "He seemed pretty mad though...how will you convince him to stay?"

"I'll think of something I guess..." Ashley replied with a sigh. "For now I'll just have to keep him in his pokeball as much as I can." She looked to Rina and grinned sheepishly. "Maybe I could bribe him with food?"

"I think he might be past that stage..." Rina replied, also grinning sheepishly in response. "I guess for now we should try to find a place to stay before all the hotels are booked up for the night."

"Right, though at least we only need to get one room between us." Ashley replied with a light smile as she took her cellphone out of her bag, which Rina was carrying.

"Yeah!" Rina giggled in response. "It'd be awkward travelling with someone you couldn't share a room with, and then getting stuck together because the hotel only has one vacancy..."

"Yeah, really awkward..." Ashley giggled quietly as well as she pictured the scene in her mind, wondering to herself how anyone with that problem could travel together in the first place...

* * *

Author's Notes: I felt a bit guilty when I first put this chapter into concept, as it was seemingly giving Ashley and Rina two very strong pokemon early on. As one might expect at this point, though, they won't be as much help to them as a fully evolved Blastoise and Charizard should be for a while.

Also, made a reference at the end there to a certain event in a certain chapter of a certain story. If you've read it, you'll recognize it ;)


	9. Chapter 9: Shock Trooper

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Nine**

**Shock Trooper**

"Come on! Let go of me already!"

"No way! You've busted through enough gym doors!"

Another day had passed, and Ashley was ready to try for her third badge. However, she had come up against an unexpected obstacle. Rina, who had now watched Ashley throw open the doors of a gym three times, decided she wasn't going to let her do it again. The younger girl was doing her best to restrain Ashley from behind, forced to hold on to her wrists as Rina couldn't reach around her own backpack which Ashley was still carrying for her.

"-Fine, I'll open the door if you two are going to clown around.-" Bulbasaur stated irritably. He pressed his head against one of the two doors leading inside and pushed it open. With the door open, Rina finally released Ashley.

"Killjoys..." Ashley muttered bitterly, stepping past Bulbasaur and into the gym.

"Well I saved one door at least..." Rina breathed a sigh of relief and followed Ashley into the gym. Pippi, who was following along beside Rina, furrowed her eyes as she entered.

"-I sense a great disturbance here...-" Pippi stated quietly.

"Huh?" Rina blinked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"-There's a lot of electricity around this place...-" Pippi stated, nodding to herself.

"That would be because the gym leader uses electric-type pokemon." Rina said to Pippi with a smile. As usual, Pippi and Rina headed over to the bench situated on the sidelines to watch Ashley's match. Rina sat down on the bench and Pippi hopped up into her lap.

Unlike the last two gyms Ashley had challenged, this one looked fairly typical. It had a brown floor with white lines on it marking out the battle area. Several black poles were set up near the edge of the battlefield, looking like some form of grounding rods designed to quickly ground out any electric attacks that escape the battlefield. In the middle of the field was a circle with a yellow lightning bolt inside of it.

"Haha! A little girl dares to challenge me?" On the other side of the gym, a blonde-haired man wearing a military uniform stood up and approached the battlefield. "This will be over quick..."

"Don't you dare call me a little girl!" Ashley shot back. "Don't think for a second I'm going to be a pushover either! I've made it this far and I don't plan to leave without the thunder badge!"

"Then you could be here a while." The man replied, grinning widely. "You face the lightning American, Lt. Surge!"

"-Rina! That guy is just as loud as Ashley!-" Pippi said, giggling quietly. Rina gave a light smile at Pippi's comment.

"Well Lightning American or not, you're just another gym leader I need to beat to get a badge!" Ashley boldly declared to Lt. Surge.

"Heh...I like you, kid. You've got spunk." Lt. Surge replied with a grin. "Alright, you should know the rules already then. We'll use three pokemon each."

"Got it." Ashley drew a pokeball from her belt, having decided already which pokemon she would start with. "Beedrill, I choose you! Go!" Ashley held up the pokeball and pressed the button, releasing her pokemon. Beedrill appeared hovering several feet off the field, its wings flapping so rapidly they created a loud buzzing noise.

"Voltorb, front and center!" Lt. Surge called out like a drill sargeant as he released his first pokemon. What looked like a large pokeball with eyes appeared on Surge's side of the battlefield.

"Voltorb, bring that Beedrill to the ground! Shock Wave!" Voltorb moved forward slightly as it attacked, releasing a wave of electricity from its body in all directions. The wave travelled across the battlefield almost too quickly to follow, blasting Beedrill and sending the bug pokemon crashing to the ground.

"Keep on the attack! Use Sonicboom!" A loud boom echo'd throughout the gym as Voltorb attacked again and created a sonicboom that fired out in the form of several blades towards Beedrill.

"Beedrill, quick! Fly out of the way!" Beedrill quickly got up and began flapping its wings, shooting off to the side on an angle that took it out of harm's way and put it closer to Voltorb as well.

"Now, time to strike back! Attack with Poison Sting!" Beedrill quickly flew the rest of the way towards Voltorb, raising one of his stingers and bringing it down to strike Voltorb. Voltorb rolled back slightly as it was struck, and poison managed to enter its body from the point of impact. Voltorb winced and was briefly distracted, giving Beedrill an opening for a quick attack.

"Attack again while Voltorb's open! Fury Attack!" While Voltorb was still reeling from the poison, Beedrill lashed out with a flurry of blows from each of his stingers. Beedrill landed several light stabs and slashes, but landed enough of them to cause a fair bit of damage to Voltorb. Voltorb rolled back after one final strike from Beedrill, preventing him from following up with further attacks.

"Lucky shot, kid, but we're taking you down now!" Surge called out to Ashley while grinning to himself. "Voltorb, Shock Wave at point blank!"

"Beedrill, jab your stingers into the floor!" Ashley called out her defensive strategy almost before Surge even finished calling out the attack. Beedrill jabbed his two front stingers into the floor as Voltorb rolled forward, leaving only a foot between them, and fired an electric shockwave in all directions. Beedrill shook from the impact, but its grounded stingers helped anchor it and disperse some of the electricity as well to reduce the attack's effectiveness.

"Now, tie Voltorb down with a String Shot!" Ashley commanded Beedrill. "Then put some distance between yourself and it!" Beedrill opened its mouth and fired a sticky white thread, aimed at the base of Voltorb's body. The sticky thread essentially glued Voltorb to the floor to hold it in place while Beedrill withdrew its stingers from the floor. Beedrill flew backwards and up slightly while keeping an eye on Voltorb.

"That won't stop us! Voltorb, attack Beedrill with Shock Wave!" Voltorb made a quick, jerky movement forward as it released the attack but was kept in place by the sticky web. A blast of electricity travelled outwards from Voltorb's body in a wave, unhindered by the web that kept Voltorb in place.

"Beedrill, keep backing up to the edge of the gym, and hurry!" Beedrill flew back faster, moving closer to the edge of the gym while the wave was still gaining on it. Beedrill eventually neared the edge just as the wave caught up with him. By that time, though, it had lost a fair bit of its strength. The electricity struck Beedrill lightly, causing him to drop slightly before he caught himself and started hovering again.

"Not a bad move...for a kid." Surge snickered and said to Ashley. "Voltorb, attack Beedrill with Sonicboom!" A loud boom echo'd throughout the gym as Voltorb sent several white blades flying at Beedrill.

"Beedrill, fly over it and then strike with Aerial Ace!" With the distance between itself and Voltorb, Beedrill was easily able to fly up and avoid the Sonicboom attack. The blades dropped to the ground soon after missing their target. Beedrill then dove down towards Voltorb and used its altitude to build up a tremendous speed, disappearing briefly and then striking Voltorb with one of its stingers. Beedrill attacked with enough force to knock Voltorb back and rip the thread holding it in place.

"Voltorb, now's your chance! Hit that Beedrill with a Shock Wave, full power!" Voltorb rolled forward as if it were about to attack, but it failed to stop and continued to slowly roll. The poison inflicted on Voltorb finally took its toll, knocking the electric pokemon out just in time to stop it from getting in one more attack.

"Looks like we've got to get you back to training if you couldn't even take that hit." Surge said, recalling his Voltorb from the field and quickly drawing another pokeball. "Pikachu, go! You'll have to make up for your fellow cadet's failure!" Surge held up the pokeball and released his pokemon, sending out a Pikachu onto the battlefield.

"Wow...we seem to see Pikachu's everywhere now..." Rina commented, blinking in disbelief. "Though I guess that was to be expected...Lt. Surge is the electric-type gym leader..."

"-Hmph! You say that like its a bad thing!-" Pippi said indignantly to Rina, crossing her arms and turning her nose up.

"Well its just that I..." Rina began, stopping herself midsentence and sighing in defeat. "Nevermind." Rina looked across the field to Beedrill, who was no more than a few feet away from Pikachu. "Still...I hope Ashley can keep this up, she's off to a good start. Her Beedrill seems like he's pretty tough. Strong but silent type I guess?"

_"Ashley is actually handling that Beedrill pretty well for its first real battle..."_ Bulbasaur, who was watching the battle from behind Ashley, thought. _"I'd never admit that to her, of course."_

"Alright, lets keep up the pace Beedrill!" Ashley called out to Beedrill to start off the next round. "Attack Pikachu with Poison Sting!"

"I won't let you poison Pikachu like you did Voltorb. Evade with Quick Attack!" Beedrill lashed out at Pikachu with one of its stingers, but Pikachu disappeared in a flash of movement. Beedrill's stinger struck the empty air where Pikachu's stomach would have been, while Pikachu had moved several feet off to the side.

"Well lets see your Pikachu dodge this! Beedrill, pin it with String Shot!" Beedrill turned to Pikachu and shot out a string of web that managed to hit one of Pikachu's feet. The web formed an adhesive between Pikachu's foot and the floor, keeping it from moving.

"He won't have to dodge that one." Surge stated with a grin, crossing his arms over his chest. "Pikachu, use Double Team." Surge's Pikachu seemingly split into multiple images of itself, copying Pikachu's pose even down to the thread holding it in place. The duplicates formed a line in front of Pikachu and all turned to look at Beedrill with a grin on their faces.

"The original couldn't possibly have moved, so that technique won't work!" Ashley replied to Surge with a knowing smile. "Beedrill, show him! Attack the original with Poison Sting!" Beedrill raised its stinger again and flew towards Pikachu, lashing out with its right foreleg stinger. The stinger passed through Pikachu entirely, causing the fake image to disappear.

"No way!" Ashley cried out with a shocked look on her face. "How could Pikachu have moved with that thread on its foot?"

"You've got one foot pinned, its easy enough for Pikachu to get out of that." Surge explained to her, still grinning. "I could have just used Quick Attack if I wanted to, but it was more interesting to do it this way..."

"If you want to be like that, fine! Beedrill, get ready with an Aerial Ace!" Beedrill flew straight up, putting itself above Pikachu. This was all it needed to do to prepare for its attack, leaving Surge with little time to try a counter attack.

"Pikachu, attack Beedrill with Shock Wave!"

"Beedrill, combine Aerial Ace and Poison Sting! Dive through that attack!"

Beedrill loaded poisonous venom into its right stinger before diving down towards the real Pikachu. Pikachu growled, its cheeks sparking up as it fired a blast of electricity in all directions. Beedrill disappeared as it picked up speed, moving down quickly enough that the Shock Wave attack had little time to take any effect. Beedrill reappeared again as its stinger struck Pikachu, delivering the poison and knocking Pikachu back. Pikachu growled as it got back up, but if the poison took effect it certainly wasn't showing any sign of it.

_"No good...it must have resisted the poison..."_ Ashley thought in dismay. _"Maybe I should try again..."_

"Time to stop screwing around, Pikachu! Attack that bug with Thundershock!" The electric sacs on Pikachu's cheeks sparked up and then released a stream of electricity towards Beedrill.

"Beedrill, quick! Brace with your front stingers against the floor!" Beedrill dug its foreleg stingers into the floor, bracing itself as it did against Voltorb's Shock Wave attack. The electric attack hit Beedrill head on, but some of the electricity was quickly dispersed into the floor through Beedrill's stingers. The rest continued on through Beedrill's body, however, and Beedrill was starting to look a bit exhausted after the electricity passed through him.

"Now lets try Poison Sting again!" Beedrill quickly retracted its stingers from the floor and held one out towards Pikachu as he shot across the short distance between the two of them. Beedrill raised his stinger and made a quick jab against Pikachu, causing the electric pokemon to stagger back slightly. Pikachu then gritted his teeth and growled in pain as poison set in successfully this time.

"Follow it up, now! Fury Attack!" Beedrill quickly followed up its Poison Sting attack upon Ashley's command. Beedrill lashed out at Pikachu with a flurry of slashes and stabs from the stingers on its forelegs. Pikachu grunted with each strike until one stab from Beedrill pushed Pikachu out of immediate range of further attacks.

"Thats enough of that, now! Pikachu, send that Beedrill packing with a Shock Wave attack!" Pikachu growled, moving onto all fours and arching its back as it sent out a shockwave of electricity in all directions. Beedrill was blasted back, having no time to defend itself this time. Beedrill was knocked flat onto its back and looked like it was out for a moment, but Beedrill slowly peeled itself off the floor before Ashley could recall it. Beedrill was in pretty rough shape now, but the battle was still on.

"Beedrill, one more attack, go! Fury Attack!" Beedrill moved towards Pikachu again with the last of its strength and began striking Pikachu with a flurry of stabs and slashes. The attack wouldn't last nearly as long this time, however.

"Pikachu, finish this one off now! Quick Attack!" It only took a brief opening in Beedrill's onslaught for Pikachu to attack. After being slashed one last time by one of Beedrill's stingers, Pikachu shot into Beedrill in a blur of movement. Beedrill was knocked to the ground, down for good this time. However, as with Voltorb, poison did its job again. Being a relatively frail pokemon, Pikachu couldn't take much punishment and collapsed as the last of its strength was sapped by poison.

"So you beat my first two pokemon...but don't think thats anything special." Lt. Surge said to Ashley as they both recalled their pokemon. "You still have to face...the commando." Lt. Surge snickered. "You don't stand a chance this time."

_"The commando?"_ Rina wondered, tilting her head to the side with a perplexed look on her face. _"She still has two pokemon left though...what pokemon could he have that'd actually be able to pose a challenge now, especially after how easily his first two went down?"_

"Storm, get out there and clean house!" Lt. Surge commanded as he raised his final pokeball, which was a pure white ball with a red stripe around its center and circling around the button on the front of it. Surge pressed the button, opening the pokeball and releasing a Raichu out onto the battlefield. When Raichu appeared, he quickly turned to Lt. Surge.

"-Storm Commando reporting for duty, sir!-" Raichu announced clearly, raising his hand to salute Lt. Surge.

"-Oh, wow! That must be a Raichu!-" Pippi stated in amazement. "-I've heard of them before, they're the evolved form of a Pikachu. This is the first time I've actually seen one though!-"

"A Raichu? Well I'm not worried!" Ashley replied, a smirk crossing her lips as she drew another pokeball. "I've still got two pokemon left anyway!" Ashley held up the pokeball, pressing the button on the front to release her next pokemon. "Mankey, you can battle this one! Go!"

"-What? So even when there's three pokemon, I'm last?!-" Bulbasaur growled at Ashley as Mankey appeared on the battlefield to confront Surge's final pokemon. "-That figures...with my luck, Mankey will pull off the win too.-"

"Mankey, start this off with Karate Chop!" Mankey screeched and took off across the battlefield, raising its hand above its head in preparation to strike Raichu.

"Storm, don't let that monkey get near you! Shock Wave!" Storm, the Raichu, quickly turned around and released a wave of electricity in all directions from its body. The wave passed over Mankey, knocking it off its feet and onto its back with the powerful attack.

Mankey wasn't down for long, though. The hyperactive monkey quickly jumped back onto its feet and hopped about in a rage a few times before charging at Raichu again. Mankey raised his hand back and jumped up, bringing it down on top of Raichu's head in a chopping motion. Raichu looked dazed for a moment from the hard hit to the head, but quickly shook it off.

"Storm, give that Mankey some payback with a Slam attack!" Raichu grinned and raised both its hands up, holding them together as if wielding a large blunt object. Mankey tried to move out of the way, but Raichu slammed its fists down on the side of Mankey's head and knocked it onto its side screaming in pain.

"Mankey, trip Raichu with Low Kick!" Mankey lifted one of its legs while lying on its side and aimed a swift kick at Raichu's feet. Raichu was caught off guard and fell onto his back as his feet were kicked out from under him. Both pokemon quickly hopped back to their feet after Mankey's attack and glared at each other.

"Heh heh heh...not bad...your Mankey might actually be able to keep up with my Raichu." Lt. Surge said to Ashley with a grin. "There's just one problem though..."

"Oh really? And whats that?" Ashley asked in more of a challenging tone than one of curiosity.

"My Raichu's most powerful technique. Storm, show em your Thunderbolt!" Storm grinned when he received the command. Electricity charged around Raichu's body, gathering power for his attack in the blink of an eye. The electricity fired out from Raichu's body in a single bolt, firing almost straight into Mankey since they were so close together.

"Mankey, quick! Get out of the way!" Ashley called out desparately, but it was no use. Mankey had no time to react as the electricity poured into its body. Mankey screeched in pain as the electricity passed through its body, lightning it up like a light bulb. Mankey then fell silent when the electricity finally dispersed into the ground, falling onto its back in a smoking heap.

"Mankey!" Rina cried out in surprise as Mankey was dropped in one hit. "What a powerful attack!"

"-That Raichu really is powerful!-" Pippi added in agreement, staring at Surge's Raichu with a mixture of admiration and fear.

"Now do you see why I call him my commando?" Lt. Surge asked Ashley with a grin as the girl recalled her Mankey. "With just one attack, you're down to your last pokemon."

"That may be so, but its not over until that last pokemon falls!" Ashley shot back defiantly. "As long as I still have Bulbasaur I can still win, and your Raichu didn't take Mankey down without taking a few hits itself, so don't think you've won yet!"

"Then show me what you've got, girl." Lt. Surge said to her. "If you think you can still win, then by all means..."

"We WILL win!" Ashley called back, then glanced over at Bulbasaur. "Bulbasaur, get in there!"

"-And here I was worried I wouldn't get a turn!-" Bulbasaur grinned and charged off onto the battlefield. Surge's Raichu rolled its eyes at Bulbasaur's eagerness.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip and grab Raichu!" A pair of vines shot out from the base of the bulb on Bulbasaur's back, crossing the gym and wrapping around Raichu's waist. Raichu did nothing to evade the attack, as if knowing what would come next.

"That was a stupid move, you left yourself open for attack!" Surge scolded Ashley. "Storm, use Thunderbolt and don't hold back!" Electricity charged around Storm's body again as he prepared to attack. Instead of firing out a bolt, Storm sent the electricity straight through the vines latched on to him. The electricity could be seen travelling along Bulbasaur's vines, and the grass pokemon cried out as the electricity finally reached him. He quickly shook it off, however, and was ready to fight back.

"-I can handle taking an electric attack...-" Bulbasaur wheezed out, trying to shake off the effects of the attack.

"-It'll be interesting to see how long that optimism lasts.-" Storm replied with a grin that seemed to mimick the grin that seemed to be continually plastered onto Surge's face.

"Bulbasaur, now! Use Sleep Powder on Raichu!" It was Bulbasaur's turn to wear a smug grin. With Raichu still wrapped up in Bulbasaur's vines, it had nowhere to run as Bulbasaur fired out a cloud of green powder at Raichu. The powder fell down around the electric pokemon. Raichu tried to resist, but its eyelids began to grow heavy and it soon fell over as sleep set in.

"Now lets try out that new attack!" Ashley called out, raising her hand to point at Raichu in an overly dramatic fashion. "Attack Raichu with Razor Leaf!" Bulbasaur shook his body from side to side, firing several sharp leaves from the base of its bulb at Raichu. The sharp leaves sliced across the sleeping pokemon's body, weakening Storm while he slept.

"Enjoy it while you can, kid." Lt. Surge said to Ashley, the grin still having not faded from his face. "As soon as Raichu gets up, he'll pay your Bulbasaur back double."

"Lets see him try then!" Ashley replied, now showing the same unshakeable confidence Lt. Surge seemed to have. "Bulbasaur, use Leech Seed now!"

"-I have a bad feeling about this...-" Bulbasaur muttered to himself. He followed through with the command, despite feeling it was a bad idea. He fired a seed from the bulb on his back, aimed at Raichu. The seed landed on the sleeping Raichu's back and sprouted vines, latching on to him. At that very moment, Raichu opened his eyes and slowly got up on his feet.

"-See! I knew this would happen!-" Bulbasaur growled. The same thing happened at the Cerulean gym everytime he tried to use Leech Seed on the sleeping Starmie.

"Just not our luck with Leech seed..." Ashley said quietly to herself, blinking in disbelief.

"Alright, no more sleeping on the job!" Lt. Surge declared, to which Storm nodded in agreement. "Storm, zap that seed and shock Bulbasaur through the vines again! Thunderbolt!"

"Bulbasaur, let go and retract them!" Bulbasaur unwrapped his vines from Storm, pulling them back just as the electric pokemon was charging electricity for its attack. Raichu dispersed the electricitiy around him, having been aiming to send it into the vines and missing completely as a result. The attack wasn't a total waste, however, as the electricity that was dispersed around Raichu's body served to zap the Leech Seed. The charred seed fell to the floor.

"Storm, charge towards Bulbasaur and hit him with a Slam attack!" Storm got down on all fours and took off running towards Bulbasaur, quickly closing the gap between them. Bulbasaur still had time to try to deter the Raichu's attack, however, and Ashley fully intended to take advantage of this.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip and trip that Raichu!" Bulbasaur extended his vines from the base of his bulb again, stretching them out towards Raichu to attack. Bulbasaur had barely gotten his vines out, though, when Surge called out a new tactic.

"Aerial assault!" Though Lt. Surge didn't seem to call out any actual attack or command, Raichu responded in an instant to the vague order. He jumped straight into the air, showing a surprising amount of agility even for a Raichu as there was seemingly no pause in his movement. Now off the ground, there was no chance of Bulbasaur stopping Raichu with his vines. Storm brought his hands together while in the air, ready to bring them down hard on top of Bulbasaur.

"Bulbasaur, quick! Use Leech Seed again!" Bulbasaur fired the seed straight up, hitting Raichu in the chest and latching on to begin draining the Raichu's energy and feeding it back to Bulbasaur. Raichu was unphased by this technique and continued straight down towards Bulbasaur, landing in front of him and smashing Bulbasaur hard on the top of the head. Bulbasaur grunted from the impact and was smashed into the floor hard, dazed for a moment by the attack.

"You put up a decent fight, kid, but its over now." Lt. Surge said to Ashley. "Storm, finish this! Thunderbolt!"

Sparks danced across the electric sacs on Storm's cheeks as the Raichu gathered electricity in them. Bulbasaur was slowly getting back on his feet when Raichu discharged the electricity from both cheecks, firing it in a single bolt of lightning from its body. The bolt could only be seen briefly before passing into Bulbasaur's body, delivering a massive shock to the grass pokemon. Bulbasaur cried out as the electricity passed through his body until it was finally dispersed into the ground, but was still standing when it was all over.

"Its still standing after that?" Lt. Surge said in a mix of confusion and surprise. His own Raichu was actually looking more beat up than Bulbasaur was. Though Mankey didn't last long against it, the first Karate Chop it landed on Raichu dealt a huge blow to the electric pokemon in addition to the punishment dished out to him by Bulbasaur.

"Sounds like someone underestimated my Bulbasaur." Ashley said with a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "He might not have evolved yet, but he's still one of my strongest pokemon. Bulbasaur, finish Raichu with a Vine Whip!"

Bulbasaur retracted his vines from behind Raichu, still stretched out from when he tried to trip him. Bulbasaur brought his vines up as Raichu finally realized this, turning around as the tips of Bulbasaur's vines came down to smash Storm in the face as if they were both punching him. Raichu winced and stumbled back, falling to the floor. Raichu wasn't moving after, and his eyes had a dazed look.

"Well what do ya know? Guess I underestimated you afterall." Lt. Surge said to Ashley, again wearing his usual grin as he recalled Storm. "Well congratulations!"

"-Alright! Bulbasaur won again!-" Pippi cheered loudly. "-Way to go Bulbasaur!-"

"Yeah, Bulbasaur won again..." Rina mumbled quietly as it began to sink in. _"Thats four gym battles she used Bulbasaur last in, third she won that way..."_ She thought. _"I wonder if she's getting too dependant on him? Even if he's the best choice for her to use, she should give her other pokemon a chance..."_

Lt. Surge started across the gym and was met halfway by Ashley. He reached into his pocket to retrieve a badge, which looked like a crystal sun, and a TM disc. He then held out the two items towards Ashley. "Here, you've earned these kid." He said to her. Ashley took the two items in her hand.

"Don't go thinking you're tough just because you beat me, though." He then cautioned here. "You're not even half way through the Kanto League's gyms."

"Well even if I don't make it, it doesn't matter anyway." Ashley replied with a smile. "My real goal is to be a photographer anyway."

"A...a photographer?" Lt. Surge replied in disbelief, his jaw hanging loosely. "I, Lt. Surge, was beaten by a photograher?!" A brief flash from a camera lit up Lt. Surge's face.

"I think that picture makes up for forgetting to take pictures of the battle!" Ashley held her camera in one hand, stifling a giggle with the other. She let go of her camera, letting it hang around her neck, then turned and waved to Rina. "Lets go, Rina! We're finished here."

"Right!" Pippi hopped out of Rina's lap so she could get up from the bench. Rina then grabbed Ashley's backpack and joined the older girl as she left the gym.

"-Well this is great.-" Bulbasaur commented to himself as he followed them. "-Ashley gets her picture, and I get my badge. Everybody wins!-"

"Damn it...beaten and humiliated..." Lt. Surge growled once the two girls were out the door. "If being a gym leader was anything like being in the army I would have been demoted for sure..."

* * *

"Sorry you forgot to take pictures, Ashley. I guess I should have reminded you, huh?" Rina said to Ashley, now sitting in the waiting room of the Vermillion City pokecenter with Pippi sitting in her lap. They went straight there after leaving the gym and Ashley handed over her pokemon to be healed.

"Don't worry about it, I'll just have to remember next time." Ashley replied, waving her hand dismissively. She was standing next to Rina while she waited. "As a photographer its my duty not to miss shots like that."

"Right." Rina nodded to her. "So now we head back to Cerulean?"

"Well since Saffron City is closed off for whatever reason, I guess so." Ashley replied with a shrug, sighing disappointedly. "Going through the Rock Tunnel to Lavender is our only option. I don't mind taking a detour, I'm in no hurry, but this is absolutely ridiculous!"

"Umm..." Rina looked a bit hesitant to speak after Ashley's comment about the detour. "Well...since we have to take a detour anyway, could we go the long way to Cerulean City?" Ashley blinked in disbelief and looked at Rina curiously.

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could go through Diglett's cave and stop by Pewter City to see Brock." Rina suggested.

"-Brock? That gym leader?-" Pippi asked curiously, perking up her ears. Rina nodded.

"If you want to go see Brock, thats fine with me." Ashley replied, offering a smile. "Taking the long way is fine since we'll have a reason for it."

"Really?!" Rina smiled widely as Ashley nodded to her. "Thanks, Ashley!"

After a few more minutes, Ashley's pokemon were fully healed. The nurse cautioned her again on her Charizard's condition when she handed Ashley her pokemon. The two girls then left the pokecenter, and headed off towards Pewter City through Diglett's Cave.

* * *

Author's Notes: To be fair to her, it wasn't actually Ashley that forgot about the pictures. It was me, and I didn't remember until the end. Going back and editing it in seemed like it'd just look clumsy too, so I decided to just go with having it forgotten this time. I'll have to kick myself into remembering for future chapters.

Also need to remember to make Rina's prescence more known in future gym battles I think. Surge didn't even notice Rina. Just wish I noticed these issues earlier on, but I think Surge will eventually be making another appearance anyway. I'm making an effort to give the gym leaders more appearances.


	10. Chapter 10: Rina Vs Brock!

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Ten**

**Rina Vs. Brock!**

Rina and Ashley made it through Diglett's Cave without incident. Though they left early in the morning, it was now nearing evening. They had been walking for quite a while, but for travelling from Vermillion to Pewter it was a relatively quick trip.

"I can't believe we didn't see a single Diglett in there..." Ashley said in disappointment as they emerged from Diglett's Cave just outside Pewter City.

"They must have been avoiding us." Rina suggested. "They can just hide underground afterall..."

"-What does it matter to you anyway?-" Bulbasaur asked rhetorically. "-Not like you'd actually catch one..."

"So much for solving the mystery of what a Diglett looks like underneath the ground then..." Ashley heaved a sigh, hanging her head in defeat.

"Maybe next time?" Rina suggested in an attempt to cheer Ashley up. The two were quiet for a moment after, which is when Rina took notice of Pippi sniffing the air. "What is it, Pippi? Smell something?" Rina's question got Ashley and Bulbasaur's attention as well, and now all three of them were giving Pippi a curious glance.

"-I smell...smoke!-" Pippi looked off in the direction of Pewter City. "-Its coming from that way!-" Ashley and Rina followed Pippi's direction and saw smoke rising in the distance over Pewter City.

"Its coming from Pewter City!" Ashley announced, pointing out the obvious.

"Come on! Lets go see what it is!" Rina took off running, with Pippi soon following along behind her, but she stopped and looked back when she realized Ashley wasn't following her. "Ashley? Come on!"

"Rina, there's no way I'm running carrying this..." Ashley motioned to the large backpack she was carrying. "You go on ahead, I'll catch up." Rina nodded and took off running again, while Ashley walked as fast as she could with the large, heavy backpack.

* * *

The smoke that the girls could see was coming from a fire in the northern end of the city. Specifically, the Pewter City museum had been set ablaze. Firefighters were gathered around, trying to put out the fire, but the blaze wouldn't die down. The museum was near completely engulfed in flames and the firefighters just couldn't seem to bring it under control. A bit further away from the scene, one firefighter was co-ordinating their efforts.

"I can't believe this...it couldn't have been burning for more than a few minutes!" One of the firefighters said to his partner in disbelief. "If we had a few pokemon ourselves we could have had this under control..."

"A fire this bad had to have been started by a pokemon!" The other firefighter replied. "I just hope no one's trapped inside, I don't think anyone could be alive in there right now!"

A loud roar could be heard from within the museum just before a rocky pokemon broke through the eastern wall of the museum. Shortly after the wall was broken down, several people could be seen leaving the building. Most were staff, but there were a few visitors who happened to be in the museum at the time as well. Aside from a few burns they appeared to be ok, but several paramedics rushed to check them over anyway.

Once everyone was outside, the rock pokemon fully emerged from the museum head first. It was an Onix, and it went straight to a trainer standing far from the burning building once it was outside. The trainer, of course, was the gym leader Brock.

"Onix, is that everyone?" Brock asked his pokemon. Onix gave a nod of its massive head to confirm. Onix had checked both levels of the museum, using its body to protect everyone it found from the flames and debris of the burning museum. Onix was able to get them out before the smoke could suffocate them.

"Good job, Onix." Brock looked past Onix to the burning museum. "Someone had to have set this fire, it couldn't have spread that quickly on its own..."

"Quite the observer, aren't you?" Brock turned around to find a girl about his age with blonde hair standing behind him. She was wearing a pair of black shorts and an orange and yellow shirt with a sort of a flame motif. Over the shirt she had a brown vest with the letters 'GC' and the number 4 in gold on the right side of the vest. Standing next to her was a Flareon wearing the standard Grand Hunter slave collar.

"You're a hunter!" Brock exclaimed angrily when he saw the girl. "You did this, didn't you?"

"Quite the observer indeed..." The girl rubbed under her nose with the side of her index finger. "You may call me Flare, and I only set the museum on fire to draw you out. Burned quite nicely though..."

"You set a museum on fire just to draw me out?" Brock replied in disbelief, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in anger. "You're the lowest!"

"I've set things on fire for less than that." Flare replied with a slight shrug, resting her hands behind her head. "But what can I say? I like watching things burn."

"Well congratulations, you got my attention." Brock stated sarcastically. "As gym leader of Pewter City and a representative of the Kanto League, I'm taking you in!"

"You're welcome to try." Flare replied with another shrug. "You'll just bring me closer to my objective.

_"What is her objective?"_ Brock wondered, calming himself down enough to think through his next course of action. _"She's definitely one of the Grand Hunters, and they're notorious for stealing pokemon. She must be after one of my pokemon then, and Onix would be the obvious choice."_

After thinking over his situation carefully, Brock managed to reach a decision on what he should do next. He quickly drew Onix's pokeball and turned to the side to face his pokemon. "Onix, return!" Brock held out the pokeball towards Onix and pressed the button. The pokeball opened up and pulled Onix inside, safely storing the pokemon within its pokeball.

"You're smarter than I gave you credit for." Flare said smugly, removing her arms from behind her head and folding them over her chest. "Of course, you now have no pokemon to stop me with. Unless you plan to release your Onix to fight my Flareon, I'm going to burn down every building in the city one at a time until you give in."

"I still have Geodude!" Brock replied, drawing his only other pokeball and holding it up to release his pokemon from it. "Geodude, go!" The pokeball opened up, and Brock's Geodude emerged from within. Geodude appeared just in front of Brock, putting itself between Brock and Flare.

"Oh, shoot...I forgot about that one..." Flare said, feigning a surprised look. "Not! Your Geodude doesn't stand a chance against Flareon."

_"I need to buy more time..."_ Brock thought. _"If those firefighters can get the museum fire under control, then they can turn their hoses on that Flareon."_

"Geodude, attack Flareon with Rock Tomb!"

"Flareon, jump!"

Geodude slammed its fists into the ground, causing the ground below Flareon's feet to start to crack and fissure. The ground split open and several rock pillars shot up, moving to surround Flareon. Flareon quickly jumped up out of the rocks as they began to collapse around it. The rocks formed a cone-shaped structure, which Flareon then landed on when it came down from its jump.

"You see, your Geodude just isn't much of a threat to my Flareon." Flare explained in a bored tone. "Flareon, attack Geodude with Fire Blast." From atop the rocks, Flareon spat out a fireball that quickly expanded until it was about twice the size of Flareon's head. The fireball seemed to grow arms, legs, and a head as it approached Geodude, looking somewhat like a stick figure.

Brock dove to the side to avoid getting hit by the blast himself, due to Geodude's proximity. Geodude, however, wasn't quite so fortunate. Being so slow to move, it was forced to brace itself against the incoming attack. The fireball pushed back against Geodude, continuously burning it until finally it exploded in a small burst of flames that engulfed Geodude entirely. The attack left Geodude pretty badly scorched and already looking tired.

_"Geodude's not holding up at all..."_ Brock thought as he got back to his feet. _"But we need to hold out as long as we can..." _Brock then cast his gaze towards Flareon and frowned. _"If only there were some way I could remove that collar..."_

"Geodude, attack Flareon with Dig!" Geodude curled its arms around its body and began spinning around, drilling down into the ground and disappearing into a hole.

"Flareon, stay where you are." Flare commanded, again sounding bored with the battle. "Geodude can't reach you while you're on top of those rocks." Geodude approached Flareon from underground, eventually popping up unseen inside the tomb formed by its previous attack.

"Geodude, bust out of there with a Tackle attack!" Geodude threw himself into one of the large rocks forming the tomb, knocking it over and jumping out. The impact threw the remaining rocks off balance as well, causing them to collapse under Flareon and throw it to the ground. Flareon seemed to be stunned for a moment and was knocked off its feet, giving Geodude time to attack it.

"Geodude, now! Rock Throw!" Geodude quickly picked up one of the rocks from the recently collapsed tomb and threw it at Flareon. The rock shattered into several pieces after smashing against Flareon's body, sending Flareon rolling onto its back. Flareon was stunned for a brief second but quickly got up, looking little worse for wear.

"Not a bad trick...too bad it didn't amount to anything." Flare said to Brock with a smug grin. "Flareon, finish that Geodude off with a Shadow Ball!"

Flareon focused on a point just in front of it, forming a ball of shadowstuff. Flareon then made a quick forward movement, flinging the ball at Geodude. Geodude recoiled as the ball struck it head-on, dispersing in a blast of shadowstuff. Geodude was knocked onto its back and weakly tried to pull itself upright, but had no strength left.

"And now your Geodude is defeated..." Flare stated, again with that smug grin of her's. "Now, you can either send out your Onix...or I'll set every building in Pewter on fire. I'll even start with the pokecenter!"

"Damn it...running out of options here..." Brock glanced over his shoulder to the firefighters, but they were struggling to put out the remaining fires from the museum. A small crowd had gathered nearby to watch what was going on, but no one seemed to be making any attempt to help Brock. He was alone against Flare, his Geodude already defeated. Brock recalled his Geodude and tried to figure out a plan of action. Fortunately, help arrived from an unexpected source.

"Pippi, disable Flareon with Thunder Wave! Berg, attack with Water Gun!" Rina had managed to sneak up from behind Flare, surrounding her and Flareon on either side with her Blastoise and Pichu. Both moved before Flare could react, Pippi firing a static-pulse of electricity that paralyzed Flareon immediately and Berg knocking Flare to the ground with a quick but powerful Water Gun.

"Ow!" Flare cried out, landing hard on her butt."Who the hell are you?!" Flare angrily demanded as she looked up at Rina. She moved to get up but both Berg and Pippi were already poised to attack her, looking more than a little upset at the hunter.

"My name's Rina, and you're under arrest!" Rina replied, trying her best to look and sound authorative despite her small stature.

"Right..." Flare sneered at her. "Sorry, kiddy, but I won't be sticking around..." Flare took a standard Grand Hunter smokeball from her belt and raised it above her head, preparing to smash it against the ground.

"Pippi, Quick Attack!" Pippi nodded and jumped towards Flare in a blur of movement, striking her hand.

"Agh!" Flare cried out as Pippi struck her hand, causing Flare to drop the smoke ball. Flare grabbed at her hand in pain as the ball fell to the ground and broke open. Rina wasn't particularly worried about this at first, as Flare couldn't possibly get up and run away that quickly after being struck. However, when the smoke cleared, Flare and Flareon were gone.

"But...but thats impossible!" Rina stammered in shock. "We had her right here!"

"Rina, I don't know why you're back here, but your timing couldn't have been better..." Brock said to her with a smile. "Quite the impressive catch, too." He added, casting a glance towards Blastoise. "He looks like he's in rough shape though, you oughta take him by the pokecenter..."

"Its a long story..." Rina said to Brock, rubbing the back of her head. "Blastoise was one of the hunter's pokemon, forced to evolve through some kinda serum made by Team Rocket." Rina added a defeated sigh. "I thought for sure I had that Flare cornered..."

_"Rina's been fighting hunters?"_ Brock thought, frowning to himself. _"I wonder how much stronger she's gotten then..."_

"Rina, I wouldn't get too worried about how Flare escaped. From what I heard, they pull things like that off all the time." Brock reassured her.

"-Even I don't quite remember how those work...-" Berg added, nodding to Rina. "-Its as though my memory of what happens between the smoke ball being dropped and arriving in the storage area of their headquarters is missing. I believe they may have used the collars in some way to prevent us from remembering these things, in the event that we are either released somehow or sold...-"

"In any case..." Brock continued, once Berg was finished speaking. Brock couldn't understand a word of it, but he knew Rina could. "Rina, I would like to challenge you to a battle under the rules of a gym match."

"Wh-what?!" Rina stuttered in her surprise. "Right now? Why?"

"I want to see how strong your pokemon are." Brock replied in a serious tone. "We'll head back to my gym and battle there. By the way, where's Ashley? Weren't you two travelling together?"

"Well..." Rina began to reply, but a timely arrival by Ashley and Bulbasaur made it unnecessary.

"Its over already? Ugh..." Ashley groaned in exasperation. Brock finally looked back at the burning museum behind him, only to find it wasn't burning anymore. The fire was out and the battle was over. "I was hoping to get pictures too..." Ashley finally looked between Brock and Rina, noticing the tension in the air.

"Ok, what happened?"

* * *

Rina and Brock quickly explained the situation to Ashley after she arrived late to the scene. Ashley was as dumbfounded as Rina to hear how Flare had escaped, vanishing as soon as a smokeball was dropped like any other hunter they had encountered. Ashley snapped a picture of the burnt remains of the museum before they left the scene, even though she didn't think it'd be worth anything to anyone.

Brock lead the two girls to his gym and unlocked it, having closed it up for the day earlier. Ashely sat down on the bench at the side of the gym once they were inside, taking Pippi and Bulbasaur with her, while Rina moved to the challenger's square at the front of the gym. Brock went into the back of the gym to heal his pokemon before the match.

"Well this is a new experience..." Ashley noted as she sat on the bench, plopping Rina's heavy backpack on the floor. Pippi stood on the bench next to her and Bulbasaur sat on the floor. "I'm on the sidelines, and Rina's battling the gym leader..."

"-I want to battle a gym leader...-" Pippi mumbled bitterly, scuffing her foot against the wooden bench.

"-Forget it, kid, you wouldn't have any attacks you could use against Brock anyway.-" Bulbasaur said to Pippi. Pippi sighed in defeat and nodded. She knew Bulbasaur was right, thats why she was on the sidelines instead of with Rina.

After only a few minutes, Brock emerged from the office at the back of his gym. He was holding a pokeball in his hand as he approached the gym leader's platform on the otherside of the field. "I take it you know the rules, Rina?"

"Two pokemon each, no substitutions by the gym leader." Rina replied, as if she had heard it many times before. Brock nodded to her affirmatively. Rina took a pokeball from her belt at that point as well.

"Geodude, go!" Brock held out the pokeball he had in his hand, pressing the button and releasing his first pokemon for his match with Rina. Geodude appeared on the battlefield and smashed his fists together, making a showy entrance.

"Ok! Against Geodude, I'll use Berry!" Rina pressed the button on her own pokeball and released her Butterfree, Berry, onto the battlefield. Berry hovered over the battlefield when she appeared, her compound eyes having a serious look to them despite the smile on her small lips.

_"She has a Butterfree too? Rina's been busy since she left..."_ Brock thought to himself. "Ok, Geodude! Start off with Rock Throw!" Geodude raised both his arms behind his back, producing a rock and then hurling it at Berry. Berry's distance from Geodude gave her plenty of time to react, though. She flew over a few feet to the side, taking her out of harm's way.

"Good dodge, Berry! Now attack with Confusion!" Berry's eyes seemed to flash as she focused her psychic powers around Geodude. Her power manifested as psychic energy blasted Geodude from all directions, stunning Geodude briefly with the mental attack. The rock pokemon was able to quickly recover, however, looking little worse off after enduring it.

"Geodude, use Rock Throw again!" Brock commanded Geodude. "Aim to hit it from above!" Geodude produced another rock and hurled it at Berry again, aiming high. Again, Berry had time to react before the rock would reach her. She flew forward and down slightly, putting herself only two to three feet above the ground. This seemed to be exactly what Brock had planned for.

"Now! Follow it up with Rock Tomb!"

"Ack! Berry, use Harden!"

Geodude slammed his fists into the ground, causing a small crack to rip across the gym towards Berry. Berry focused inward, stiffening her body against the incoming attack. Several rocks shot up out of the ground as the crack stopped under her, shooting up and then crashing down onto her from all sides and dragging her down to the ground. Berry was trapped under the rocks, at least for the moment.

"Berry! No!" Rina called out frantically. Berry was clearly in pain even with her increased defenses. She looked back at Rina and smiled weakly. Rina choked back a sob at seeing Berry trapped under the rocks.

_"Rina doesn't seem to be very used to pokemon battling."_ Brock noted, her reaction not going unnoticed to him. _"I hate to do this, but she and her pokemon need to be serious battlers if they're going up against the Grand Hunters..."_

"Geodude, use Rock Throw again!" Geodude produced another rock and hurled it at the trapped Berry. Berry squealed in pain as the heavy rock landed on her, leaving only her head visible above the pile of rocks now as it struck her body.

_"Isn't Brock being kinda harsh?"_ Ashley thought. _"Whats with wanting to see how strong Rina's pokemon are anyway? Does it really matter this much to him? He's taking it as serious as a gym match..."_

"Berry..." Rina was stunned for a moment and gritted her teeth as the seriousness of the battle began to dawn on her. "Berry, attack Geodude with Giga Drain!"

"-G-got it...master!-" Berry focused on Geodude and it wasn't long before a thick, green stream of energy was pulled away from Geodude. The attack dealt a tremendous amount of damage to Geodude and drew away a large portion of its life force, restoring some energy to Berry and stunning Geodude briefly as it recoiled from the powerful attack.

"Again! Giga Drain!" Rina called out again. Berry happily obliged, already starting to feel a lot better from the drained energy. It wouldn't get much back this time, however, as it absorbed the last of Geodude's lifeforce. Another green stream of energy flowed from Geodude to Berry, much smaller this time. Geodude fell forward, rolling onto his face as he was knocked unconcious.

"Your Butterfree has a strong technique in Giga Drain, I'll give you that." Brock said to Rina as he recalled his defeated Geodude. "There's more to winning pokemon battles than powerful techniques and strong pokemon, though."

"I know that!" Rina shot back. "Strategy is important too!"

"Its easy to say that, but how well can you come up with one?" Brock asked her in response. He placed Geodude's pokeball on his belt and retrieved his only other pokeball, the one containing Onix. "Onix, go!" Brock called out, holding up the pokeball and releasing the huge rock snake pokemon Onix out onto the battlefield.

"Berry, you've done enough for now! Take a rest!" Rina recalled Berry, finally freeing the bug pokemon from the pile of rocks she was trapped under. Rina quickly swapped Berry's pokeball on her belt. "Berg, your turn now!" Rina held up the pokeball and released her Blastoise onto the battlefield. Berg appeared on the field facing Onix, his twin water cannons popping out of the cracked holes in his shell and immediately training them on the rock pokemon.

"Onix, start off by using Dig!"

"Berg, hit Onix with Water Gun before it can escape!"

The rocks that formed Onix's body began spinning like a drill as the pokemon made its move. Onix dug its head into the ground and began spinning like a drill, its long body quickly disappearing underground. Berg shot off a quick blast of water from each cannon, landing a glancing blow with one of the shots on Onix's tail section just before it disappeared into the ground.

_"Ok, think. When Brock used Dig against Ashley, his pokemon would dig under the gym and then pop up under Ashley's pokemon. So to counter that, I should..."_ Rina quickly went over Berg's attack list in her head, or what she could remember of it at least. She couldn't think of any that could attack Onix now, but she knew she could at least defend against its attack.

"Berg, use Withdraw and lie on your back!" Berg withdrew his guns, arms, legs, and head into his shell and fell onto his back. Berg had barely hit the ground when Onix emerged from underneath him, slamming into his shell and flipping Berg over as he was pushed aside. Onix only emerged partially from the hole, though, raising the top half of his body to tower over Berg.

"Berg, now's your chance! Get up and use Blizzard!" Blastoise quickly rolled onto its feet and extended his two cannons, quickly taking aim at Onix.

"It couldn't possibly..." Brock had a look of shock on his face as the possibility dawned on him, remembering where Rina received her Blastoise. "Onix, quick! Back into the hole!"

Onix began to spin its body, slowly reversing back into the hole. It was moving far too slowly, though. When Berg fired the blast of cold air, snow, and ice from his two cannons, Onix took almost the full blast. Onix roared and recoiled in pain but continued spinning, pulling its body back into the hole while enduring the Blizzard attack. Onix managed to endure long enough to escape, leaving a frozen landscape behind.

_"To have such a powerful attack...and yet Onix survived it?"_ Brock thought in disbelief but then nodded in understanding. _"Right...I bet whatever the Hunters did to force it to evolve must have left it in a weakened state, that would explain why its body looks so beat up. I wonder why a trip to the pokecenter wouldn't fix it up, though?"_

"Ok, Berg! Same thing again, Withdraw!" Berg withdrew into his shell again and rolled onto his back, ready to defend himself against another underground attack from Brock's Onix. Brock, however, wasn't going to fall for the same trick twice.

"Onix, surface in front of it and Bind it!" Onix emerged almost as soon as Brock had finished speaking. The rock snake rose from the ground in front of Blastoise and moved to wrap his body around the perimeter of Blastoise's shell. Onix's body had Berg's arms, legs, and head trapped inside its shell while Onix started squeezing on it from all sides.

_"Not good! How am I going to get out of this one?"_ Rina thought. Examining the situation, she quickly realized Berg could still get his cannons free. While he wouldn't be able to attack Onix directly, spray from a Blizzard attack would reach it.

"Berg, attack with Blizzard!" Berg's cannons quickly popped out of the holes in his shell. Cold air and ice began to pour out of the barrels, spreading out in all directions. The blast struck a glacing blow over the top of Onix's body, as Rina had intended, forcing the rock snake to let go of Berg so it could get out of the way.

"Now! Water Gun!" Released from Onix's Bind attack, Berg quickly got back on his feet and turned his guns on Onix. Berg took aim at Onix's head and fired a quick blast of water from each cannon. Onix let out a pained roar as both blasts struck simultaneously, collapsing to the ground. The last of Onix's strength had left it. As Onix lay still in defeat, Ashley took a quick picture.

"Rina defeating Brock...that'll be one for the scrapbook for sure!" Ashley said after taking the picture. Her camera printed it off in no time.

"-Whats a scrapbook?-" Pippi asked Ashley, forgetting for a moment that Ashley couldn't understand her.

"-I think its something humans put pictures in.-" Bulbasaur replied with a light shrug.

"Your pokemon are strong, and have powerful techniques, but there's still room for you to improve on a personal level." Brock said to Rina as he recalled Onix. "I would still be careful about challenging the Hunters though if I were you..."

"So thats what this was about?" Rina asked in response. Brock nodded to her.

"It might not be pretty if you were to lose to them, especially not with that Blastoise of your's." Brock said to her.

"We've already had a hand in capturing two of the Hunters though!" Ashley enthusiastically said to Brock. "Its not like we're purposely going after them, but we're not going to back down either. We both have our reasons for wanting to take them in."

"Well you can both tell me more after dinner." Brock said with a light smile. "I have a new pizza recipe I wanted to try out..."

"I can't wait! I love pizza!" Rina cheered in response.

_"Didn't Rina make a pizza the last time we were in Pewter City?"_ Ashley wondered, thinking back to her first visit. _"Brock usually looked after her...I wonder if he's the one that taught her to cook?"_

* * *

After the battle at Brock's gym, everyone left and headed to Rina's place. Brock and Rina immediately headed off to the kitchen when they arrived, and Ashley decided to take a shower while they were getting the pizza ready. Bulbasaur and Pichu waited in the living room and ended up arguing over what to watch on tv. Bulbasaur wanted to watch nature documentaries, which Pichu found boring.

By the time Ashley was out of the shower, which was considerably longer than it needed to be, the pizza was almost ready. While waiting for the pizza to cook they stepped outside for a moment and fed their pokemon. As usual, Rina wasn't satisfied just feeding her pokemon normal food and tried adding various spices and seasonings. It didn't go over well, and the pokemon ended up eating their usual food anyway.

When the pizza was finally ready, everyone sat down in the living room to eat. The pizza was just a peperoni and cheese pizza, however Brock cooked the peperoni separately to season it and rolled cheese into the crust of the pizza. Rina had taken notes when he was making it, adding to her list of recipes. Most of the recipes Rina had were actually pizza, though she did have others as well such as the tomato soup she made at Mount Moon.

While everyone was eating, Rina was excitedly telling Brock what she had been through since leaving Pewter. She told him all about the hunters they had run into, the pokemon she caught, and mentioned the Snorlax outside Vermillion as well. She even went into detail about Ashley's gym matches.

"...but Lt. Surge wasn't expecting an unevolved Bulbasaur to be able to take his Raichu's attacks! Bulbasaur shrugged off the Thunderbolt and then finished Raichu with one Vine Whip!" Rina finally finished her story with the end of Ashley's battle against Lt. Surge. Everyone had long since finished eating by then.

"-What can I say? I'm a real piece of work!-" Bulbasaur grinned widely as Rina finished her story. Pippi gave him a playful slap to the back of the head to bring him back down to Earth.

"Sounds like you two are really climbing the ladder." Brock commented when Rina was finished. "Almost a full team each and already beat three gym leaders." Brock grinned as he looked over at Ashley, sitting on the other side of the couch. "Sounds like you and your friends from Pallet Town are quite something, glad you didn't stick to just being a photographer now?"

"Well...I still plan on being a photographer..." Ashley smiled lightly and rubbed the back of her head. "Getting badges on the side certainly doesn't hurt though, and I bet with strong pokemon I could get into some pretty dangerous places to take pictures."

"-Yeah, and while you're going into dangerous places you can try catching some strong pokemon there.-" Bulbasaur added bitterly.

"-Why do you want Ashley to catch so many pokemon anyway?-" Pippi asked curiously.

"-She's supposed to be working on a pokedex for Professor Oak.-" Bulbasaur explained. "-The old guy's been raising me all these years, so I feel like I at least owe him that much as well. Ashley isn't nearly as interested in catching pokemon though.-"

"-Oh...-" Pippi tilted her head to the side, pondering Bulbasaur's statement. "-But...what about Rina? Couldn't her pokemon count too?-"

"-Well...-" Bulbasaur began to reply, but Rina cut him off.

"Hey, thats a great idea Pippi!" Rina said. Pippi smiled at the praise. "Ashley, why don't you record my pokemon on your pokedex? Then you don't have to go out of your way to catch pokemon and still get pages added to your pokedex!"

"That is a good idea! Thanks, Pippi!" Ashley reached down and patted Pippi on the head.

"-Oh, wonderful, now she has an excuse to be lazy...-" Bulbasaur grumbled irritably.

"I should probably take off, I have a gym to run in the morning afterall." Brock stood up from the couch, but paused when he saw Rina's backpack in the corner of the room.

"...I'll leave after I help you pack a smaller backpack." Rina blinked in surprise at Brock's suggestion and Ashley mouthed a silent 'thank you' to him.

* * *

Author's Notes: Took a brief break from writing this one. As I mentioned in earlier notes, I'm trying to cut down on the number of pokemon I'm having trainer's catch. One would reason, then, that there should also be a reduction in the number of same-type pokemon. So I ended up re-doing the list of pokemon I planned to have Ashley and Rina catch.

I still have one character getting two water pokemon, but I figure they'll be distinguished well enough from each other. Originally it would have ended up with two normal pokemon, two fire, and two water on Ashley's team and two water on Rina's team. This also resulted in some changes to the plot. The first of these changes will appear in the next chapter.

Something to consider: When a fire burns, it needs a fuel source and oxygen. For a fire pokemon to make sense from a biological standpoint it would...well, actually, I don't know if you could really make sense of it in any form. Worst, though, is the 'tail fires' of pokemon like Charmander and its line. In the anime we see these pokemon with small fires, revealing a flat tail. That would suggest that their tail fires have NO fuel source!

Obviously we could go on for hours about the magical nature of pokemon in light of their attacks/abilities/etc, but this is just one I've been thinking a lot on lately. The reason I bring this up? Well, a fire with such properties as that produced by a pokemon might not be easily put out. Though one also has to wonder whether or not it'd actually burn anything...


	11. Chapter 11: Thats No Hat

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Eleven**

**Thats No Hat**

"Well here goes nothing I guess..." Ashley took a deep breath and removed a pokeball from her belt, the pokebakk containing the Charizard she retrieved from Yang several days ago. She had decided it was finally time to confront Charizard and explain the situation to it.

"Don't worry! We've got you covered if something goes wrong!" Rina assured Ashley. Pippi and Berg were both standing at the ready next to her. Rina was hoping Berg might be able to talk to Charizard, since they were both enslaved. Bulbasaur was standing next to Ashley as well, also ready to lend a hand. Or rather, vine.

Ashley said nothing as she held up Charizard's pokeball and pressed the button on the front. She aimed a good distance away from herself, and Charizard emerged halfway between Ashley and Rina as a result. The two girls and their pokemon had Charizard fenced in between them.

"-Well its about time...-" Charizard grumbled, stretching his wings and arms. "-Feels like I've been in that ball forever. Its about time you released me. Filthy human...-"

"-You're not being released.-" Berg said to Charizard.

"-What?! What do you mean I'm not being released?-" Charizard snorted angrily in response, steam shooting out of the fire pokemon's nose.

"-We need to stay with the humans if we're going to get better.-" Berg explained to Charizard. Rina had taken the time to explain it to Berg already. "-We need to reach a point where we can evolve again to restore the damage caused by the hunters.-"

"-Then I'll evolve on my OWN! Without humans!-" Charizard shot back, growling angrily.

"Pokemon don't often evolve in the wild though..." Rina chimed in. "Your chances of evolving are better if you stick with Ashley."

"-I ain't staying with you filthy humans another second!-" Charizard growled, spreading his wings and getting ready to take off. A pair of vines wrapped around them, though, preventing Charizard from gaining any lift.

"-Look, pal, I understand completely where you're coming from on this whole 'I don't like humans' thing.-" Bulbasaur began, making an attempt of his own to neogitate with Charizard. "-Unfortunately, they're right. Your best chance at getting better is to stay with them!-"

"-It was humans who did this in the first place, I won't stand for their solutions!-" Charizard roared furiously. He turned to attack Bulbasaur with an Ember attack, but a sudden blast of water squirted Charizard in the face first. His attack was doused before he could even launch it, and he was briefly blinded by the water in his eyes.

"-You're going to PAY for that!-" Charizard growled, shaking his head to clear out the water from his eyes. When he could finally see again, he thought nothing of the small, rounded water pokemon that stood before him. The pokemon had a blue body with no distinct head or neck, just eyes and a mouth. On its stomach it had a black and white swirl pattern.

"Where did that come from?" Ashley wondered, noticing the pokemon standing next to her for the first time.

"-Yeah, who the hell ARE you?!-" Bulbasaur asked it increduously. The pokemon had snuck up next to Bulbasaur without him even noticing as well. The pokemon turned to Bulbasaur and smiled innocent, tilting its head to the side.

"-Hat!-" The pokemon replied simply. "-Me want hat!-"

"-You'll get your hat...-" Charizard growled. The water pokemon turned to face him again. "-Cause I'm about to turn you into one!-" Charizard raised his claws, ready to take a swipe at the strange pokemon. It'd never get the chance, however. Charizard stopped suddenly as the pattern on the pokemon's stomach seemed to spin. The spinning motion hypnotized Charizard, and soon the fire pokemon fell over and was fast asleep.

"-Look, you!-" Bulbasaur growled at the pokemon. "-I don't know who you think you are but we were trying to negotiate with that guy! Kinda hard to do that when he's ASLEEP!-" While Bulbasaur was yelling at the pokemon, Rina, Berg, and Pippi were approaching the group to see what was going on. Ashley took out her pokedex to scan it as well.

"Poliwag, the Tadpole Pokemon." The pokdex read. "Its newly grown legs prevent it from walking well. It appears to prefer swimming over walking."

"Hey! You're getting in our way!" Rina called out to Poliwag as she finally reached Ashley. Poliwag quickly glanced at the two pokemon to arrive with her, Berg and Pippi, and took off running away from them.

"-No hat today!-" Poliwag called back as it ran from them. For supposedly not being able to walk well, it was running at quite the pace.

"Rina, did you happen to catch anything that little troublemaker was saying?" Ashley asked Rina, watching Poliwag run away and noting mentally that the pokedex seems to have been wrong.

"It just kept mentioning something about a hat so far as I could tell..." Rina replied, blinking in confusion and scratching the back of her head.

"-If he comes back I'll hat him...-" Bulbasaur grumbled.

"-He looked younger than me though...-" Pippi noted curiously. "-I don't think that's very nice, Bulbasaur...-"

"-Since when do I care about nice?-" Bulbasaur growled in response. "I don't care if he's a hatchling, I'm whipping him the next time I see him!"

"Well, we can try again inside Mount Moon I guess, I doubt we'll run into that Poliwag in there" Ashley said quietly, disappointed that their attempt to negotiate with Charizard was foiled by the young pokemon. She held up Charizard's pokeball and recalled the sleeping pokemon. "Lets stop by the pokecenter first though..."

_"Didn't seem like negotiations were going that well anyway..."_ Berg thought, shaking his head sadly. _"That Charizard is as stubborn and hot headed as they come..."_

* * *

Rina and Ashley recalled their pokemon and headed off towards the pokecenter just outside Mount Moon. They handed their pokemon over to be healed, but couldn't find a place to sit down and wait. The pokecenter was crowded with trainers, whose conversations were drowning each other out. You could barely hear a thing in the pokecenter.

"Rina, this pokecenter wasn't this crowded last time we were here, was it?" Ashley asked, blinking in disbelief as she looked through the waiting room. There was barely even room to stand, let alone a chair to sit in. Rina just shook her head in response, not taking her eyes off the crowd.

"Excuse me!" Ashley called out as she approached the closest girl to her. Most of the trainers gathered were girls. "Could you tell me whats going on here?"

"You mean, you haven't heard?" The girl asked increduously. Ashley shook her head in response. "Someone released a Poliwag near here recently. Its been causing a lot of trouble so there's a bounty on it. 1000 to anyone who manages to catch it alive."

"Don't get any ideas, the bounty is as good as mine." A gruff, male voice stated. The individual was standing just behind the girl Ashley had been talking to. His features were hard to make out. He was wearing some sort of green cardboard costume that looked almost like it was supposed to be armor. He even had a helmet with an orange t-shaped visor made from plastic. It almost looked like something out of a movie.

"And who do you think you are?" Ashley asked, raising an eyebrow at the figure in the cardboard armor. Despite sounding rather gruff, he didn't seem to be any older than Ashley was.

"The name's Noda Thrett, and I'm the best there is." The boy replied.

"Yeah, well we'll see about that!" Ashley shot back. "It takes more than a cardboard suit to catch a pokemon!"

"Whatever you say..." The boy shrugged and walked past Ashley towards the door. He stopped for a moment before leaving and looked back at Ashley, quickly looking her over. "Say what you want about my armor...but you're far worse off." He chuckled to himself and then left the pokecenter.

"So...what did this Poliwag do exactly to get a bounty on him?" Rina asked the girl Ashley had been speaking with. "I don't know much about bounties but they never seem like anything good on tv..."

The girl was about to reply, but at that particular moment the nurse signalled Ashley that their pokemon were restored. Ashley grabbed the pokeballs from the nurse and then took Rina's hand roughly, dragging her out of the pokecenter.

"Come on, Rina! We're going after that Poliwag!" Ashley declared. Rina pulled her hand free by the time Ashley reached the door.

"Ashley! Don't you think we should at least find out what the Poliwag did to deserve a bounty on it?!" Rina asked Ashley, sounding both surprised and outraged that Ashley was just going to rush off and catch it.

"Why? Its not like we're causing it any harm!" Ashley shot back in response. "They want it captured alive, so I'll just catch it in a pokeball and that'll be it."

"I guess you have a point..." Rina replied with a sigh. Ashley started out the door, with Rina following behind her.

"Wait! You don't know what you're getting yourself into!" The other girl called out after them, but her plea fell on deaf ears. "Well, I guess they'll find out soon enough then."

* * *

"Ok, now I'm REALLY sure this is a bad idea!" Rina shouted frantically as Ashley reached for Charizard's pokeball. She hadn't even released Bulbasaur yet. Rina had released Pippi only moments before, the small electric pokemon's cheeks were already sparking in preparation to attack if Charizard turns hostile again.

"You worry too much..." Ashley replied, waving her free hand dismissively and holding the pokeball in the other. "Besides, I have this all figured out!"

"Y-you do?" Rina stuttered out in response. Though Ashley sounded sure of herself, the notion was making Rina feel very uncomfortable.

"Yep!" Ashley said with an affirmative nod. "Charizard might not like us, but I bet he's furious with that Poliwag now." Ashley explained while casually tossing the pokeball up and down in her hand. "Poliwag didn't run away when Charizard tried to attack either, so obviously he's not afraid of a fire pokemon."

"Well when you put it that way...maybe it does make a bit of sense..." Rina said thoughtfully.

"-I don't trust that Charizard!-" Pippi growled quietly. "-He's so silly! Thinking all humans are the same as the hunters! Rina's been nothing but nice to me and Ashley's not a bad person either!-"

"I don't think thats what Charizard thinks..." Rina said quietly to Pippi, bending down to talk to her. Pippi calmed down, slightly, and looked up at Rina curiously. "If Charizard really thought all humans were like that, he'd probably be a lot more hostile. He just doesn't trust humans..."

"-But still...that isn't fair!-" Pippi whined.

"Thats just how some people, and pokemon, are..." Rina replied with a shrug. She stood back up again to address Ashley. "By the way, even if Charizard will listen to you, how do you expect to find Poliwag?"

"Thats easy." Ashley replied, grinning and looking over her shoulder at Rina. "Poliwag came out of nowhere and attacked Charizard last time, so maybe he'll do it again."

"I don't think that will work..." Rina said to Ashley, shaking her head. "I doubt Poliwag would attack Charizard a second time..."

"We won't know if we don't try!" Ashley pressed the button on the front of Charizard's pokeball, finally releasing it. Charizard appeared several feet out in front of Ashley, spreading his wings and bellowing loudly in a rage.

"-WHERE IS THAT WATER BRAT?!-" Charizard shouted as he bellowed again, seething with rage. "-That kid will PAY for making a fool out of me!-"

"-See, he isn't very nice at all...-" Pippi whispered timidly to Rina. Rina nodded in agreement, staring wide-eyed at Charizard in response to his threats against Poliwag.

"I bet you're pretty upset about that Poliwag, huh?" Ashley said to Charizard. Charizard quickly turned around to face her with an enraged look in his eyes.

"-OF COURSE I'M UPSET!-" Charizard raised his head to the sky and roared loudly. "-That Poliwag made a fool out of me by defeating me so easily! I will NOT stand for this!-" Ashley looked to Rina for an explanation. Rina nodded affirmatively to confirm Charizard's response.

"Well what do you say we work together on this one?" Ashley suggested to Charizard. Charizard looked back at her intently. "If you stick around, that Poliwag might drop by again. I have my own reasons for wanting to catch it anyway..."

Charizard paused for a moment and thought over Ashley's proposal. His left eye twitched angrily as he considered it. Despite not liking the idea of working with a human again, he eventually nodded to Ashley in response.

"Great! I knew I could count on you!" Ashley replied with a grin. "Just you wait, Charizard. I'll show you how a real trainer battles!"

_"There's no deterring that attitude of her's..."_ Rina thought, smiling lightly.

"Now all I need is a pokeball. Rina?" Ashley looked at Rina expectantly, and Rina stared back blankly. After a moment, Ashley got the message.

"Right, sorry...old habit..." Ashley reached into her bag, hanging at her side, and pulled out a pokeball. Rina was carrying her own bag now, which was a lot smaller. Brock had managed to talk Rina into carrying fewer supplies.

With Charizard willing to co-operate, and a pokeball in hand, all that was left was to wait and see if Poliwag would take the bait. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long. Poliwag crept up from behind Charizard, who was still facing Ashley and Rina and also blocking Poliwag from view. When he was only a few feet away, Poliwag jumped up and blasted Charizard in the back of the head with a Water Gun attack.

"-DAMN IT!-" Charizard growled in a rage, quickly turning to stare down Poliwag. Steam rose from the back of his head and neck, where Poliwag had hit him with the Water Gun. "-I'm getting tired of your games, boy!-"

"-This time, hat!-" Poliwag replied with a cheerful smile.

"Charizard, quick! Cover yourself in a Smokescreen!" Ashley called out without missing a beat. "That should protect you from Poliwag's sleep attack!" Charizard opened his mouth and spewed out a thick, black cloud of smoke. The smoke quickly surrounded both itself and Poliwag, making it difficult for them to see each other.

"-Why it dark?-" Poliwag wondered aloud, trying to peer through the black smoke surrounding it.

"-I hope Ashley takes it easy on him...-" Pippi said to Rina with a small frown. "-He's just a child...-"

"You're right...it hardly seems to know what its doing at all..." Rina noted, nodding in agreement.

"Good, looks like thats worked so far." Ashley said to herself. "Ok, Charizard! Attack with Iron Tail!" Charizard's tail gained a metallic coating as he lifted off the ground. While Poliwag was still confused by the cloud of smoke, Charizard quickly swung around and smacked Poliwag hard with his tail. Poliwag was sent rolling back from the impact, rolling to a stop just outside the smokescreen.

"-Owie...-" Poliwag mumbled. Hopping back onto his feet he peered through the smoke, but couldn't see Charizard. Looking around it, however, he could still see Ashley. "-She making this hurt...I make her take nap!-" Poliwag nodded to himself and skirted around the edge of the smokescreen, moving towards Ashley.

_"Maybe this girl isn't so bad for a human..."_ Charizard thought with a grin. He was taking just a bit too much enjoyment in beating up the little Poliwag. "-Alright, so whats next?-" Charizard peered back through the smoke, looking to Ashley for his next attack. Ashley, however, seemed to be quite out of it.

"-Hey, you alive in there?-" Charizard asked her, raising an eyebrow. When he saw Poliwag standing in front of her, his jaw dropped.

"-WHAT?! You little brat!-" Charizard raised his claws to strike down Poliwag. By then, the smokescreen was quickly dispersing and left Charizard quite visible Poliwag turned to face him, the pattern on his belly already spinning. With no defense against the sleep attack, Charizard slowly fell into a deep sleep. His claws came a few inches short of striking Poliwag.

"That Poliwag outsmarted them again..." Rina said, blinking in disbelief. "Ok, Pippi! Get in there and bring Poliwag down with a Thunder Wave, we don't want to hurt him."

"-Ok! I'll get him for sure!-" Pippi announced before charging towards Poliwag. Unfortunately for Pippi, Ashley was in the way and unable to move. Pippi had to go around to get into range to attack. By that time, Poliwag was ready for Pippi with the spiral on his stomach spinning. Before Pippi could attack she felt her eyes grow heavy and fell forward onto the ground, fast asleep.

"Pippi...not you too!" Rina groaned in frustration. She reached for a pokeball but paused and thought carefully over which pokemon to send out with her gaze fixated on her belt. She eventually settled on Clyde, realizing he could use Sing to put Poliwag to sleep. Rina took the pokeball in her hand and turned back towards Poliwag in time to see he had snuck up on her. The last thing Rina remembered as seeing Poliwag's spral spinning...

"-Now I'll get hat!-" Poliwag smiled widely and walked back towards Ashley.

* * *

"Ugh...how long was I out for?" Ashley wondered aloud, slowly sitting up with her knees bent under her. She couldn't help but feel she was missing something once she was sitting, and a cold breeze soon confirmed it. She froze in fear when she heard a yawn behind her.

"That Poliwag got me too?" Rina mumbled as she sat up. Pichu and Charizard were starting to stir as well. As Rina sat up she noticed Ashley's face was beet red. "Ashley...umm...are you ok? Your face is looking kinda red...that Hypnosis could have had a bad side effect on you or something..."

"I'm...I'm fine..." Ashley stuttered in response, slowly standing up while keeping holding her skirt tightly against her. "E-excuse me...I have to go do something...alone..." Ashley walked, rather awkwardly, to some bushes at the base of a steep hill and ducked behind them. It didn't take Rina long to figure out what Ashley's problem was.

"This all could have been avoided." Rina said to herself, shaking her head sadly. "Given Poliwag's height, it would have been able to see them under her skirt...she should at least wear shorts. And I bet this has to do with Poliwag's bounty..."

"-What was that about a bounty?-" Pippi asked in a tired voice, sitting up and rubbing her eyes with the back of her paws.

"Someone is willing to pay for that Poliwag's live capture." Rina explained for Pippi, who hadn't been present in the pokecenter to hear that.

"-So thats why Ashley wants to catch it?-" Charizard growled as he rose from lying on the ground to his full height standing up. "-Damn humans...that sounds exactly like something the hunters would do. Just when I thought I might be able to tolerate you two...to an extent.-"

"H-hey! Thats not it at all!" Rina replied quickly, holding up her hands defensively. "Ashley's trying to catch that Poliwag legitimately, and if they just want it caught because its being a nusiance then I bet she might even keep it. I can understand Poliwag so I know what its after, and I'm sure you know how annoying it is yourself!"

"-That is true enough...-" Charizard responded with a low growl. He clenched his clawed hand into a fist. "-I will inflict as much pain on that Poliwag as I can for making me suffer through this humiliation...-"

Rina heard rustling in the bushes where Ashley had gone off and looked over to see her getting out from behind them, sighing to herself in relief and no longer taking measures to keep her skirt down. "Had a spare pair?" Rina asked her, giggling amusedly.

"Yes, I always keep a pair incase some pokemon suddenly decides to snatch one..." Ashley replied sarcastically. "What would a pokemon want with a girl's panties anyway?!"

"A hat?" Rina suggested with a light shrug. "Maybe it has the wrong idea for a hat, and used Hypnosis to get you to...well...you know..."

"Well I don't care what he wanted them for, I want them BACK!" Ashley shouted back, stomping her foot against the ground.

"-Someone want to fill me in here?-" Charizard asked, confused by the antics of the two girls.

"-I'm not sure either...-" Pippi replied with a light shrug.

"Where do we start this time, though?" Rina wondered aloud. "Poliwag's not going to be interested in us anymore I don't think. How are we even going to catch something so sneaky and prone to using Hypnosis?"

"I've already got a plan for catching it..." Ashley replied with a nod. "All we have to do is find it, and we have at least three perfectly good scouts anyway." Ashley removed two pokeballs from her belt and held them up to release the pokemon inside them. "Pidgeotto! Beedrill! Come on out!" Ashley called out, releasing both winged pokemon into the air.

"Oh! I see what you're talking about now!" Rina took a pokeball from her belt as well. "Ok, Berry! You help too!" Rina held up the pokeball and released her pokeball, sending Berry out with Pidgeotto and Beedrill. Berry smiled happily, but shrank back when she saw Beedrill.

"-I don't like that guy, master...-" Berry whispered to Rina. "-He's giving me that look again...-" The 'look' Berry was referring to was a quiet, unassuming stare.

"He doesn't mean anything by it...I think..." Rina replied, trying to comfort Berry although unsure of herself. "And I told you before, don't call me master!"

"Ok, you three! Split up and search for Poliwag! Report back here in ten minutes, or sooner if you find it!" The three pokemon nodded and flew off in separate directions to search for the rogue Poliwag. Charizard watched them take off and thought to himself quietly for a moment before spreading his wings and taking off into the air as well, flying off in another direction.

"Is Charizard helping too?" Ashley wondered aloud. "I wasn't going to ask him because I didn't think he'd bother..."

"Charizard doesn't like that Poliwag much either, he probably wants to find it himself..." Rina explained to Ashley. Ashley nodded in agreement and both of them waited for their pokemon to return from their search.

It was close to ten minutes when the first of their pokemon, Butterfree, returned from an unsuccessful search. Beedrill returned next, followed by Pidgeotto. Neither pokemon had found Poliwag either.

"This is hopeless..." Ashley said, heaving a defeated sigh. "I wonder if Charizard had any better luck than they did..."

"-I highly doubt that dragon's eyes are nearly as fine tuned as mine. I can spot a Caterpie on a tree from half a kilometer away!-" Pidgeotto proudly boasted, beating his wing against his chest.

"-HEY! Look out below!-" Everyone looked up as they heard Charizard roaring above them. In his hands he was carrying a small blue pokemon. Charizard dropped the pokemon, sending it plummeting towards the ground. It hit the ground hard only a few meters away from the group, leaving it dazed for a moment. It was Poliwag, and it was wearing a white pair of panties on its head.

"GIVE THOSE BACK!" Ashley angrily demanded of the dazed Poliwag as she reached for a pokeball. "Mankey, go! Get that Poliwag's hat!" Ashley held up the pokeball and released Mankey from it as Poliwag was getting back onto his feet. Mankey hit the ground running as he emerged from the ball.

"-NO! No take hat!-" Poliwag frowned and began using its Hypnosis technique to stop the charging Mankey. Unfortunately for Poliwag, Ashley had chosen to use Mankey specifically because it was immune to sleep attacks. Mankey tackled Poliwag to the ground and pulled the panties from his head, then ran back to Ashley and handed the garment to her.

"Thank you..." Ashley mumbled quietly, taking them Mankey and quickly stuffing them into her bag. Having lost his hat, and running into a pokemon that his Hypnosis wouldn't work on, Poliwag turned and tried to flee. Charizard quickly dropped down from the sky in front of him with a heavy thud, blocking Poliwag's only escape route. Poliwag was cowering in fear now before the fire pokemon that towered over him.

"Ashley, take it easy on the little guy..." Rina whispered to Ashley. "He doesn't know what he's doing is wrong..."

"Fine..." Ashley muttered, reaching for yet another pokeball. "Bulbasaur, your turn now!" Ashley held up Bulbasaur's pokeball and pressed the button. The ball opened up and Bulbasaur emerged, materializing on the ground in front of Ashley.

"-Wow, I think thats the longest I've ever been kept in a pokeball.-" Bulbasaur noted quietly and then took a quick look around, noticing every one of Ashley's pokemon were also out of their pokeballs. "-Last to get out too, go figure...and I see we've found that Poliwag again...-"

"Bulbasaur, time to give that Poliwag a taste of his own medicine! Sleep Powder!" Bulbasaur nodded, a wide grin spreading across his face. Bulbasaur ran out towards Poliwag, stopping when he was about ten feet away and releasing a burst of green powder. Poliwag turned around and blinked in confusion as the powder fell around him.

"-Green snow?-" Poliwag stated in bewilderment. As the powder came into contact with Poliwag's skin, he began to feel tired. His eyes closed over and he fell onto his stomach, fast asleep.

"I doubt it'll put up much of a fight now..." Ashley quickly bent down and scooped up a pokeball off the ground, having dropped it when Poliwag put her to sleep earlier. She tossed the pokeball at the sleeping Poliwag, and it opened up and pulled Poliwag inside when it hit. The pokeball closed around it and began to roll around as Poliwag struggled against it, but after a few moments it closed tightly and sealed Poliwag inside.

"Alright! Good job, everyone! We caught the Poliwag!" Berry, Rina, and Pippi cheered ecstatically for Ashley and her pokemon. Ashley's pokemon didn't seem overly impressed by what seemed like, to everyone but Charizard and Bulbasaur, a rather simple task that they had little part in. Ashley ran forward to pick up Poliwag's pokeball, the sixth pokemon she had caught now.

"-So, you still plan to go off on your own?-" Bulbasaur asked Charizard.

"-I'll tolerate the human girl until I get this 'natural evolution' thing taken care of.-" Charizard replied with a snort. "-After that, we'll see...-"

"Well now that thats over with, lets head back to the pokecenter." Ashley announced, placing Poliwag's pokeball on her belt. "Charizard, everyone, thanks for your help." Ashley held up each pokemon's pokeball and recalled them one by one, until only Bulbasaur remained. Rina recalled Berry as well, the only pokemon she had out of its pokeball.

"So what now?" Rina asked Ashley. "I mean, what do you think will happen to that Poliwag once you take it in for the bounty?"

"If they just wanted it captured and aren't actually interested in the Poliwag itself, I'll keep it." Ashley replied. Rina stared in disbelief. "What? If I get it a real hat I'm sure he'll behave himself!"

"Well I guess thats true..." Rina replied, lightly rubbing the back of her head.

Ashley, Rina, and their two pokemon started back towards the pokecenter. They didn't get very far before a Growlithe suddenly jumped out of the tall grass and blocked their path. Everyone stopped in their tracks as the Growlithe growled menacingly and barked at them.

"-Ok, should I take this one or do you want to have a go?-" Bulbasaur asked Pippi, loudly enough for Growlithe to hear Bulbasaur mocking it.

"A Growlithe? Is this another pokemon released by a trainer?" Ashley wondered, blinking in disbelief.

"Not quite..." A male voice answered as a cardboard-armored figure rose from the grass and took his place behind Growlithe. "I've been waiting for you to catch that Poliwag for me. Now, hand it over, and we won't have any trouble..."

"You want Poliwag?" Ashley took the pokeball from her belt containing the recently caught pokemon. "You'll have to fight it first." Ashley released the pokemon, sending it out a few feet in front of her. Poliwag blinked and looked around in confusion.

"Ashley are you sure this is such a good idea?" Rina asked Ashley, who ignored her and kneeled down next to Poliwag.

"Poliwag, here's the deal..." Ashley began, getting the Poliwag's attention. "If you'll behave yourself, and do exactly what I tell you to do, I'll buy you your own hat. Deal?" Poliwag blinked at Ashley for a moment and gave an enthusiastic nod. Ashley smiled and stood up again to face the 'bounty hunter', Noda Thrett.

"What are you hoping to accomplish with that, girl?" Noda asked her in a mocking tone. "That Poliwag couldn't hope to match Growlithe in a straight up fight."

"We'll see then, won't we?" Ashley replied, glaring back at him. "Poliwag, attack Growlithe with Water Gun!" Poliwag opened its small mouth and sprayed a quick blast of water. Growlithe yelped in surprise and reeled back as the water hit it. As Growlithe shook it off, Ashley noticed the fire pokemon already looking a fair bit weakened by the attack.

_"That Growlithe doesn't look that tough..."_ Ashley thought to herself. _"I bet this guy is all talk." _Ashley smirked to herself, a rather mean plan of action coming to mind.

"Growlithe, don't let that Poliwag push you around. Ember!" Growlithe quickly shot out a small fireball that struck Poliwag almost instantly. Even after what it had been through that day, though, Poliwag managed to shrug off the attack and blinked in disbelief at how little it actually hurt.

"Poliwag, Water Gun again! Aim for the trainer this time!" Rina's eyes went wide with shock as Ashley ordered an attack on the trainer. Poliwag followed through without hesitation, jumping up and firing a Water Gun attack at Noda. Noda staggered back as he was hit square in the chest, the water becoming absorbed rather quickly by the cardboard.

"What the hell?! You crazy..." The boy began to say as he sat up, but he noticed the movement was shredding his cardboard suit. He stared at the rip that formed in the wet spot for a moment before it finally began to sink in.

"You...you broke my costume..." The boy stated in disbelief, sounding almost on the verge of tears. "You...you witch! You'll regret this!" The boy cried out in a high-pitched, whiny voice. He suddenly recalled Growlithe and ran off, not wanting to confront Ashley further and risk more damage to his costume.

"Ashley...that was mean..." Rina mumbled quietly.

"Hehe...yeah...it was..." Ashley admitted, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Anyway, you did good there, Poliwag! Once we get to Cerulean we'll get you your hat."

"-I get hat!-" Poliwag cheered excitedly.

With the would-be rival out of the way, the group continued on their way back to the pokecenter.

"-You know, I could have handled that easily...-" Bulbasaur mumbled quietly as they went on their way.

* * *

Ashley and rival soon arrived at the Mount Moon pokecenter. They turned over their pokemon to be healed, but not before Ashley showed the Poliwag to the nurse. After running a few checks to confirm its identity, Ashley was given the reward for its capture and was allowed to keep Poliwag. Some of the girls in the pokecenter began whispering about why Ashley might want to keep it, but neither she nor Rina paid them any attention.

Once their pokemon were healed, the two girls stepped outside and Ashley took a pokeball from her belt. She held up the pokeball and released Charizard again. The fire pokemon looked around in confusion, not finding itself in a confrontation like it had expected by now, and focused his gaze on Ashley.

"So, Charizard, now that we're on good terms, think you could fly us past Mount Moon?" Ashley asked her pokemon with a pleading look. "Please? Its just over the mountain, you can drop us off on the other side..."

"-Fine...-" Charizard grumbled in response. "-Don't expect me to make a habit of this though.-" Charizard nodded and turned his back to her, moving his flame-tipped tail to the side so it wouldn't be in her way.

"That was...kinda easy..." Rina blinked in disbelief.

"Even pokemon can't resist a girl's charms!" Ashley boasted proudly before climbing onto Charizard's back.

_"Right...once I evolve, I'm out of here..."_ Charizard thought to himself with a low growl. Once Ashley and Rina were both on Charizard's back and holding on tightly, the fire pokemon began flapping its wings. The relatively weak evolved pokemon took a moment to gain enough momentum for takeoff, but soon it was taking into the air and flying low around Mount Moon to take the girls towards Cerulean City.

* * *

Author's Notes: Originally this chapter was going to involve a Jigglypuff, but one of Ashley's pokemon made it rather redundant. So I used a similar idea for the plot, a mischevious wild pokemon that has a bounty on it and steals Ashley's panties, with Poliwag. Poliwag seemed to fit the role well enough anyway.

Next week's chapter might end up a bit late, depending on how things go, as I am going to be away for the weekend and might not be able to work on it towards the end of the week.

Also, I've been running into a lot of random Star Wars references lately. Does it show?


	12. Chapter 12: Vs Shocks

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Twelve**

**Vs. Shocks**

Charizard flew over the last stretch of Mount Moon and began to slowly glide down, travelling another several hundred meters past the mountain before skidding to a halt on the ground. Charizard stopped in an upright position, allowing Rina and Ashley to hop off his back.

"Thanks Charizard, we can walk from here." Ashley said to him, patting him on the back. She took Charizard's pokeball in hand, preparing to recall him.

"-Not like I was taking you any further anyway.-" Charizard replied gruffly before being recalled into his pokeball.

"Charizard still doesn't seem to like you..." Rina noted a bit sadly.

"I'm just glad he'll listen to me a bit, honestly. Maybe by the time he evolves he'll...warm up to me?" Ashley grinned at Rina. Rina rolled her eyes at Ashley's obvious attempt at a pun.

Safely on the ground now, Rina took a pokeball from her belt. Ashley, realizing what she was doing, followed suit. Rina released Pippi from the pokeball she grabbed, and Ashley released Bulbasaur from her's. They had kept them in their pokeballs to make the flight easier on Charizard.

"-Past Mount Moon already?-" Bulbasaur said as he noticed the mountain behind them. "-What'd you do, teleport?-"

"Charizard flew us over." Rina explained to Bulbasaur, smiling.

"-Huh. Go figure.-" Bulbasaur gave a light shrug. "-Seems to be awfully helpful all of a sudden...-"

"Hey! I bet Sarge would like to be out of his pokeball here!" Rina unclipped Sarge's pokeball from her belt. "This was where I caught him afterall..." Rina held up the pokeball and released Sarge. The Sandshrew immediately glanced around curiously and recognized its location.

"-My old stomping grounds...-" Sarge said fondly. "-Is there a particular reason we're here?-"

"We're just passing through." Rina informed him.

"-I see...-" Sarge nodded to Rina. With three of their pokemon now following along with them, the two girls continued towards Cerulean City. It wasn't much further, and would only take them half an hour or so at most to get there. However, they would have one more distraction before leaving Cerulean.

As they reached the tall grass near where Rina caught her Sandshrew on their first pass through, Sarge came to a stop. When she realized Sarge wasn't following them, Pippi stopped as well and tugged on Rina's pant leg to get her attention. Sarge's ears were perked up, listening intently to his surroundings.

"Sarge? What is it?" Rina asked her pokemon. Ashley and Bulbasaur finally stopped as well when Rina spoke up. Pippi's ears perked up as well as she tried to pinpoint what Sarge was hearing.

"-I hear movement...in the grass...-" Sarge said quietly in response, glancing off to his left. "-A pokemon is sneaking up on us...-"

"-Yeah, I hear it too!-" Pippi shouted. Sarge shot her a glare. Both pokemon could tell whatever it was had stopped now and was hiding in the grass nearby. Pippi covered her mouth with her small paws when she realized her mistake.

"-I will handle this. Rina, be prepared for a battle.-" Rina nodded, and Sandshrew ran off into the grass to find his target.

"Ok, I'm confused. Whats going on, here?" Ashley asked, raising an eyebrow at Rina.

"Pippi and Sarge heard something moving in the grass." Rina explained to her. "Sarge is going to investigate."

Suddenly, a purple snake pokemon came into view as it was tossed onto the path in front of Rina and Ashley a good 30 ft ahead. The snake hissed angrily and searched around for something. Sarge came out of the tall grass next, twenty feet away and putting itself between the trainers and the wild Ekans.

"-We meet again, foul snake.-" Sarge said bitterly to the wild pokemon.

"-I thought for sure I had seen the last of you, hssss.-" The snake pokemon replied, narrowing its yellow eyes at Sarge. "-You were foolish enough to allow yourself to be caught by a child trainer, hssss. I had assumed you would be long gone, hssss.-"

"-Your days of attacking passing trainers ends now, Ekans...-" Sarge glanced back towards Rina. "-Rina, are you ready?-"

"Ready when you are!" Rina replied, smiling widely.

"-Then, as my trainer, you may call the shots.-" Sarge turned his gaze back to Ekans. "-Ekans, you will be caught by this very same trainer, I promise you this...-"

"-We shall see, hssss!-" Ekans shot back before charging towards Sarge, moving as quickly as it could while slithering across the ground. As soon as Ekans was near Sarge it lunged at the ground pokemon and began coiling its body around him.

"Sarge, quick! Use Defense Curl!" Sarge quickly curled up into a ball before Ekans could tighten enough to prevent Sarge from moving. Curling up in a ball did nothing to help Sarge, however, as Ekans was still wound tightly around it and preventing it from moving or even uncurling.

"Wait, what just happened here?" Ashley asked no one in particular, blinking in disbelief at the battle taking place. "We're walking along and then all of a sudden Rina's Sandshrew finds an Ekans and now Rina's battling it with Sandshrew? This came out of nowhere!"

"-I wouldn't quite say it came out of nowhere...-" Bulbasaur corrected her.

"-Yeah...me and Sarge could hear it coming, remember?-" Pippi added.

_"I really should have thought this out more!"_ Rina thought, looking on nervously. _"Sarge doesn't have any room to slip out, like I thought he would. He's trapped by Ekans now! Isn't there anything I can do?"_ Rina looked to Pippi briefly but quickly turned away and shook her head.

"No! Sarge obviously knows this Ekans! I'll beat it somehow without using any other pokemon!" Rina thought determinedly. _"Ok, Ekans has a tight grip on Sarge, but maybe he can still try to wiggle free anyway? If Sandshrew can move up a bit then I think the pressure Ekans is putting on him should push him the rest of the way..."_

"-You are finished now, 'Sarge', hsss...-" Ekans hissed at Sarge, pressing tightly around his curled form. Ekans was actually doing very little harm to Sarge, though, even with the immense and constant pressure.

"Sarge, try wiggling free!" Sarge tried to wiggle from out of Ekans grasp. Although Sarge's body was smooth while curled up, it wasn't smooth enough. The friction from Ekans body was preventing him from moving much at all.

"-You see!-" Ekans snickered at Sarge. "-You can't get free. You're faith in your trainer will be your final downfall, hssss!-" Ekans raised its head over and opened its mouth, coming down towards Sarge and bitting into his backside. Sarge grunted in pain, but that was about all he could do.

_"That didn't work..." _Rina thought with a frown. "Sarge, try uncurling and overpowering Ekans!" Sarge pushed back against Ekans as hard as he could, actually managing to uncurl his body a bit but still wasn't gaining much ground. However, it was enough for Sarge to try to get his claws positioned towards Ekans. Sandshrew then relaxed, allowing Ekans to push back against Sarge's claws

"-GRAHHHHHHHHHH!-" Ekans cried out in pain, his mouth releasing Sarge and his body's grip on him loosening enough fro Sarge to jump free.

"Great job, Sarge! Now, attack Ekans with Metal Claw!" Sarge landed just outside the ring still formed by Ekans body. As Ekans turned a cold glare on Sarge it was met by his steel claws, raking Ekans across the face. Ekans hissed and recoiled in pain from the strike.

"-You will PAY for that!-" Ekans hissed at Sarge.

"Ok! Follow up with Scratch!" With the metal on his right claws fading, Sarge followed up with a strike from the left. Ekans reeled back again as Sarge's claws struck it, this time from the other side. Ekans hissed and shot a glare back at Sarge. Suddenly Sarge felt his body grow weak and collapsed onto one of his knees, struck by a paralyzing glare.

"-A curse on you and your dirty tricks...-" Sarge grumbled. He tried to stand up but was having trouble. His body was completely wracked with paralysis.

"-I'm not finished yet...-" Ekans grinned, revealing his fangs dripping with venom. Ekans lunged forward and bit onto Sarge's arm, injecting the ground pokemon with venom. Sarge winced and cried out in pain as the wild Ekans latched onto him again.

"Sarge, use Metal Claw again!" Sarge flexed the claws on his left hand again, giving them a metallic appearance as he did. With his claws now covered in metal he slashed at the side of Ekans' head, causing the snake pokemon to let go of Sarge's arm and recoil in pain. Ekans hissed at Sarge but said nothing. It was starting to look fairly tired and was taking deep breaths.

_"I think Sarge wanted me to catch this Ekans for some reason..."_ Rina thought to herself, reaching back and feeling around for the side pouch of her backpack. She opened it up and retrieved a pokeball. _"Well here goes nothing..."_

Rina lobbed the pokeball at the weakened Ekans. The pokeball bounced off its body and opened up, firing out a red beam that pulled Ekans into the ball. The pokeball closed around Ekans and then dropped to the ground, beginning to roll around as Ekans tried to break free. It would never get the chance, however, as the pokeball soon locked tight with Ekans inside.

"Alright! We got it!" Rina cheered excitedly.

"-It was far too easy...-" Sarge stated quietly.

"You caught it too? Now I'm really confused..." Ashley scratched the back of her head, staring in bewilderment.

"Sorry Ashley..." Rina smiled sheepishly. "I'll explain what happened along the way..."

* * *

With the distraction of the wild Ekans out of the way, Ashley and Rina continued off towards Cerulean City. Along the way, Rina quickly explained to Ashley what the situation with Ekans was.

As soon as they had reached the city, the two girls split up. Rina headed off to the pokecenter to heal her pokemon, but Ashley didn't see the point as she had just done so and hadn't been in any fights. So instead, she went to the store. Inside the store, Ashley went straight for a wall rack displaying several hats.

_"I can't believe I'm buying a hat for a pokemon..."_ Ashley thought to herself. _"This would be easier if I could let Poliwag out of his pokeball to look, I guess I'll just have to choose something I think he'd like..."_

She cast her gaze up and down the rack, looking over the assortment of hats. It was only a small rack, so she was hoping to just find a hat quickly to keep Poliwag happy at least until she got to Celadon City. Whether or not she'd need to pick up another there would depend entirely on how much Poliwag liked the hat she'd get him. The department store in Celadon would have a much larger selection.

_"I wonder where he would have gotten the idea of wearing panties as a 'hat' anyway?"_ Ashley wondered. _"Even if he saw his trainer wearing them, they wouldn't have been on her head...I hope..."_ Ashley looked over the selection again and sighed. Based on Poliwag's habits, a toque would have been perfect. However, there weren't any. In fact, most of the hats were baseball hats.

"Well lets just try something white and see how Poliwag likes that..." Ashley muttered, her cheeks darkening slightly as she took a plain white baseball hat from the rack. She grabbed a few more items, including pokemon food and a few pokeballs, and headed for the checkout. Once all the items were paid for she left the shop and stopped just outside.

"-About time. What'd you get me?-" Bulbasaur asked Ashley when she came out of the store.

"Bulbasaur, you know full well I can't understand a word you say..." Ashley replied, walking past him and taking Poliwag's pokeball from her belt.

"-Of course I know that. Just makes it easier to mess with you.-" Bulbasaur said with a wide grin.

"Poliwag, come on out!" Ashley called out, ignoring Bulbasaur. She held up the pokeball and released Poliwag from its confinement. The small water pokemon appeared next to Bulbasaur and peered about curiously and taking an interest in all the people walking around.

"Poliwag!" Ashley called out her pokemon's name sharply to get his attention. Poliwag turned and looked at her expectantly, at which point Ashley held out the hat to him. Poliwag looked at the hat curiously, not immediately recognizing it as such.

"Its a hat." Ashley explained to him, once she realized he wasn't catching on. Ashley held it out to Poliwag and placed it on his head. "See?"

"-Hat!-" Poliwag chirped happily, smiling as he looked up at the beak of his new hat. It was a bit loose, but Poliwag didn't seem to mind.

"Well you seem to like it at least..." Ashley said to him. Poliwag nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "Well since thats done with, lets go meet up with..." Before Ashley could finish, the sound of electricity filled the air accompanied by a brilliant flash nearby.

"What was that!?" Ashley shouted in surprise. Looking in the direction of the sound and light, she saw a familiar building. "That came from outside the Cerulean City gym!"

"-So someone is battling outside the gym and using an electric pokemon, whats the big deal?-" Bulbasaur rolled his eyes. "-Seriously, it doesn't mean a damn thing...-"

"-Big light...-" Poliwag noted curiously, following Ashley's gaze. It was too short to even see the gym though it looked anyway.

"Come on! Lets go check it out!" Ashley ran off towards the gym, with Poliwag and Bulbasaur following behind her.

"-Is there REALLY any point to this?!-" Bulbasaur growled in annoyance. As they made it around a building leading over to the street the gym was on, the group spotted the source of the electric attack. A Jolteon with a slave collar, and the Grand Hunter Shocks standing behind him. Both had their backs to Ashley and her pokemon. Across from them was Misty and her Starmie, which looked like it was in pretty rough shape.

"-On second thought...I think this will be worthwhile afterall...-" Bulbasaur narrowed his eyes at the enslaved Jolteon, remembering how he was barely standing after just a single Thunderbolt attack. Bulbasaur now looked forward to a chance to get back at it. Bulbasaur took a step towards Jolteon, but was quickly pulled around the corner by Ashley.

"We can't just rush in there without a plan..." Ashley said to Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur shot her a glare, but Ashley remained firm on her stance. "Look, I want to get back at them just as much as you do, but I don't want Shocks to get the chance to run away."

"-Fine...I guess you have a point...-" Bulbasaur muttered bitterly.

"Poliwag, its too dangerous for you out here now. I'm going to return you to your pokeball." Poliwag nodded in understanding. Ashley held up his pokeball and recalled Poliwag into it, taking his new hat with him.

"Now its time you and your Starmie parted ways!" Shocks announced to Misty, taking a folded metal collar in his hand. Shocks gave the collar one good toss, sending it like a frisbee towards Starmie.

"Starmie, Swift attack!" Starmie intercepted the collar with a ray of star-shaped burst. The collar was knocked aside, but was largely undamaged.

"Still has some fight left in it, eh?" Shocks said with a grin. "Jolteon will soon take care of that. Thunderbolt, take it down!" The fur on Jolteon's body bristled and sparked with electricity. A bolt of lightning shot out from Jolteon's body, moving across the ground towards Starmie.

"Starmie, Rapid Spin! Get out of the way!" Starmie began spinning the back of its body to try to fly out of the way, but it wasn't able to move at all. It was clear that Starmie wouldn't be dodging the Thunderbolt attack. Fortunately, it wouldn't have to. A small brown ball rolled in front of Starmie and uncurled as a Sandshrew stood in front of it. The Sandshrew took the attack head-on, its own body discharging the electricity harmlessly into the ground.

"What?! Who dares to get in my way? Show yourself!" Shocks growled, looking around for his attacker. Spotting a flash of movement he looked to his left. The blur moved past him, becoming visible as it grabbed the smokeball from his belt. The pokemon, a Pichu, landed on the ground and scampered off towards an alley down the road from Ashley.

"Jolteon! Get the ball back!" Shocks angrily commanded his enslaved pokemon. Jolteon turned around without a sound and charged towards Pichu. The Pichu used a Quick Attack to make a sudden jump closer to the alley and rounded the bend. Jolteon was quickly gaining on it, but another pokemon came out of the alley to intercept Jolteon. The pokemon was a Clefairy that opened with a Sing attack, quickly putting Jolteon to sleep.

_"Sandshrew...Pichu...Clefairy..."_ Ashley listed off the pokemon that had appeared so far in her head. _"Those are all pokemon Rina has...could she be doing this?" _Ashley soon had her answer as Rina stepped out of the same alley down the road, standing behind her Clefairy.

"I'm not letting anymore of you hunters get away from me!" Rina declared to Shocks. "Whoever you are, we're taking you and your Jolteon down and then you're going to jail!"

"Real cute, kid, but you're out of luck if you think you're going to catch me." Shocks replied in an unamused tone. "Jolteon, awaken." The gems on the collar lit up, waking Jolteon from his sleep. His eyes snapped open and he quickly got back to his feet.

"We're not afraid of you!" Rina shot back. "Clyde, get ready and attack with..."

"Rina, wait!" Ashley cut her off. Rina was startled when she saw Ashley and Bulbasaur emerging from the alleyway just ahead of them. Ashley turned to face Shocks once she was out in the open, and Bulbasaur was facing Jolteon. The two of them were between Shocks and his Jolteon. "Rina, Bulbasaur and I have some unfinished business with this one, so we'll take it from here!"

"Ok...if you say so, Ashley. All your's then!" Rina nodded quickly and smiled back at her.

"-I suppose I will simply have to wait for my chance to get back at these hunters.-" Clyde said, rolling his small shoulders in a shrug.

"Ha! You again? Didn't you learn your lesson last time, girl?" Shocks taunted Ashley, grinning widely. "Jolteon here will toss your Bulbasaur aside just like he did then."

"We'll see about that!" Ashley shot back. "Rina, keep an eye on him while we battle Jolteon. We're going to do this the right way!" Rina nodded and circled around behind Ashley to keep an eye on Shocks while Ashley turned to face Jolteon with Bulbasaur.

"Ashley! Rina! Don't try to be heroes, he's too dangerous! Get out of here while you still can!" Misty called out to them, but her plea fell on deaf ears. Ashley and Rina weren't going anywhere.

"Suit yourself, kids." Shocks stated with a light shrug, folding his arms over his chest. "Jolteon, put them down. Attack Bulbasaur with Thunderbolt!" Jolteon quickly turned around to face Bulbasaur. Having had no command to do so, it had remained stationary all this time. Jolteon's fur bristled with electricity, which it then fired at Bulbasaur in a single bolt.

"Bulbasaur, take it and strike back with Stun Spore!" Bulbasaur took a direct hit from Jolteon's attack, wincing as the electricity coursed through his body. Bulbasaur had grown much stronger since the last time it faced Shocks' Jolteon, and as a result he simply shrugged off the bolt and fired a burst of spores from his bulb. The spores landed on and around Jolteon, and the electric pokemon staggered as he lost his balance momentarily.

_"Can they really beat his Jolteon like that?"_ Misty wondered, cradling her weakened Starmie. _"They could easily take him if they both attacked, but can Ashley's Bulbasaur take on his Jolteon alone?"_

_"Her Bulbasaur shrugged Jolteon's attack off so easily? But how?!"_ Shocks wondered, gritting his teeth. _"Damn it! Whats with these trainers? One day you mop the floor with them and the next they're able to take it!"_

"Jolteon, don't back down! There's no way it can survive another Thunderbolt!" Shocks commanded, determined not to lose after having beaten Ashley so easily the last time. Electricity danced through Jolteon's fur as it regained its footing, getting ready to attack Bulbasaur.

"Bulbasaur, dodge it and use Poison Powder!" Bulbasaur watched Jolteon intently, waiting until just before Jolteon fired to roll to the side and charge forward. The Thunderbolt attack blasted the ground where Bulbasaur had been standing, leaving a scorch mark on the pavement. Bulbasaur then stopped only fifteen feet away from Jolteon and fired a burst of powder. The purple powder rained down around Jolteon like snow, inflicting poison as it touched the electric pokemon.

_"Damn it! Even if I do beat her Bulbasaur, Jolteon will be defeated by any other pokemon they throw at it and it'll be all over for me! I gotta get out of this somehow..."_ Shocks shifted his eyes to look around. He was hoping to spot the pokemon that had run off with his smoke ball, but it was nowhere in sight. When his eyes fell back on Ashley and Rina, however, he suddenly had an idea and grinned wickedly.

"Jolteon, Thunderbolt! Attack the two trainers!" Ashley and Rina gasped in shock when they heard Shocks commanding Jolteon to attack them. Electricity charged around Jolteon's body and fired out in a single bolt towards the two girls. Bulbasaur tried to jump into the path of the bolt to intercept it, but was too slow.

"-Damn it!-" Bulbasaur growled, watching helplessly as the bolt continued towards its intended targets. Clyde suddenly jumped out from behind Ashley, putting itself between the girls and the incoming lightning bolt. A blue barrier formed around Clyde's body as it used Protect, defending both itself and Ashley and Rina from the attack. The electric attack struck the barrier and dispersed harmlessly against it.

"-Seems my prescence was forgotten, too bad for...-" Clyde turned back towards Shocks to see him charging towards Rina. He quickly bounded towards him, raising his fist and striking Shocks in the gut with a Pound attack just as he was reaching out to grab her. Shocks gasped as the wind was knocked out of him from the punch and staggered back, clutching his stomach.

"-As I was about to say...its too bad for you that I am still here.-" Clyde stood in front of Rina protectively, glaring at Shocks.

"Clyde...thanks. We owe you!" Rina breathed a sigh of relief and patted Clyde on the head.

"Damn it...that didn't work at all..." Shocks gasped out, still catching his breath.

"Even if you're going to try dirty, underhanded tricks like that, I'm still going to beat your Jolteon in a straight up battle!" Ashley declared to Shocks, her focus not leaving the area where Bulbasaur and Jolteon were. "Bulbasaur, lets not waste anymore time! Leech Seed, aim for the collar!"

_"Maybe I was wrong about this one..."_ Bulbasaur thought as he turned back towards Jolteon. He fired a seed from the bulb on his back, aiming as Ashley had directed. The seed landed on the collar on the back of Jolteon's neck, sprouting vines to latch onto Jolteon with the seed itself still on his collar. The seed immediately began draining Jolteon's energy and feeding it back to Bulbasaur like a continuous but weak Absorb attack.

_"Why is Ashley taking such risks to fight Shocks in a straight battle?" _Rina wondered. _"Does beating him mean that much to her and Bulbasaur?"_

"Ok! Now, attack with Razor Leaf!" Ashley called out next. Even after having a Thunderbolt directed at her, she hadn't lost her pace. She was taking the battle in stride, as if it were no different than battling a gym leader.

"Jolteon...block with Thundershock..." Shocks commanded weakly, still hurting from Clyde's punch. Bulbasaur and Jolteon launched their respective attacks, Bulbasaur firing a barrage of sharp leaves and Jolteon firing a blast of electricity. The electricity struck the leaves and blasted them into pieces. The attack stopped when it struck the leaves as well, leaving both attacks effectively negated.

"Bulbasaur, Bullet Seed!" Bulbasaur and Ashley were quick to follow up on the blocked Razor Leaf with a Bullet Seed attack. Bulbasaur spat out several green seeds at Jolteon, four striking him in all. Each one landed a direct hit on Jolteon's face, and he staggered back as each one hit him until the last one knocked him off his feet. Jolteon slowly struggled to get back up, but the combined effects of paralysis, poison, and Leech Seed were weighing down on him.

"Now! Follow it up with another Razor Leaf attack while Jolteon's down!" Bulbasaur nodded and quickly fired off several sharp leaves from the base of his bulb. Jolteon was in no position to attack, and so the leaves went unhindered as they slashed across the electric pokemon's body. Jolteon growled and fell to the ground again, but this time hopped right back onto his feet. Though he looked like he could barely stand, he was ready to try one more attack. He waited only for the command to do so.

"Jolteon, take that thing down already! If Thunderbolt won't work, then use Shadow Ball!" A purple, shadowy ball began to form in front of Jolteon. When the ball reached its full size Jolteon made a quick, forward movement. The Shadow Ball attack was flung at Bulbasaur, striking him head-on. Bulbasaur recoiled back as the attack hit him, bursting on him and quickly dissapearing. Bulbasaur shook it off, though, and was ready for more.

"Bulbasaur, finish it off! Vine Whip!" Bulbasaur quickly extended his vines, moving them forward quickly and smashing Jolteon in the face with the tips. Jolteon staggered back and then collapsed onto his side. Jolteon showed no sign of movement, and the seed on his collar fell off as well. Jolteon was out cold, and Bulbasaur had emerged from the battle victorious.

"Great job, Bulbasaur!" Ashley congratulated him and then turned to face Shocks. "Now, as for you, looks like you're under arrest!"

"Damn it..." Shocks muttered, clenching his fists. He turned to run, but came face to face with Misty.

"You're not going anywhere." Misty said to him. "As gym leader of Cerulean City, I'm taking you in!" Misty's Staryu moved out from behind her, as did Sarge. They stood on either side of Shocks, ready to attack if he moved to flee. Misty reached into the pocket of her jacket, which she was wearing over her swimsuit along with a pair of shorts, and took out a cellphone to call up the police department.

"So I guess all thats left now is to free that Jolteon..." Ashley noted.

"-Uh...try again...-" Bulbasaur said to her, pointing to Jolteon with a vine as Ashley turned back around. The collar that had been around Jolteon's neck had come off on its own and he was slowly coming to.

"-Ugh...what happened to me?-" Jolteon muttered as he slowly opened his eyes and shook his head. "-Thats right...I fought that Bulbasaur and lost...and...-" Jolteon's eyes fell on Shocks. He let out a snarl as he recalled everything that had happened up until that point. He tried to move forward, eager to pay Shocks back for what he had done, but Jolteon barely had the strength to stand.

"-Damn you, Shocks...-" Jolteon growled, choking back a sob. "-Damn you for what you made me do! I'll KILL YOU FOR IT! If its the last thing I ever do, I'll KILL YOU!-"

"-I don't mean to be rude, here, but what did you do exactly?-" Bulbasaur asked him.

"-That bastard...-" Jolteon growled. "-That bastard...made me kill her...made me kill my own trainer...-" Bulbasaur was horrified when he heard this. Rina, who had heard the whole conversation, was left stunned.

"Rina, whats he saying?" Ashley asked Rina.

"How could he..." Rina said quietly. As she got over her initial shock she turned to Shocks in a rage. "HOW COULD YOU BE SUCH A CRUEL AND HEARTLESS JERK!? HOW COULD YOU ORDER A POKEMON TO KILL ITS OWN TRAINER?!"

"You don't seem to realize who you're dealing with, kid." Shocks replied coldly. "We have a reputation for being ruthless for a reason..."

"I've heard enough. You're coming with me, now." Misty snapped at Shocks, putting her phone away and grabbing him roughly by the arm. "Ashley, Rina, thanks for your help. I'll take it from here, but I'm leaving that Jolteon in your hands now. Take care of it..." Misty pulled Shocks away, leading him towards the police station with Staryu keeping an eye on him from behind.

"How could anyone...do something like that?" Rina sobbed, falling onto her hands in knees. Images flashed through her head of her parent's pokemon, slave collars strapped around their necks and being ordered to kill their own trainers just like Jolteon was.

"Rina..." Ashley couldn't think of anything else to say to her to comfort her at this point. She kneeled down next to her and pulled her into her arms in a gentle hug, letting Rina cry on her shoulder. Clyde and Sarge turned their gaze down sadly, feeling they could do nothing to help their trainer either. Ashley didn't notice Bulbasaur reach into her bag with a vine and pull out a pokeball.

"-Look, Jolteon, I can't say I know how you feel, but I know you feel pretty cruddy at the moment.-" Bulbasaur said to him while retracting the vine holding one of Ashley's empty pokeballs. "-Ashley might not be the best trainer, but she's far from cruel. Her and Rina are making it their goal to take down the hunters. What do you say about joining us, as Ashley's pokemon?-"

Jolteon looked at the pokeball Bulbasaur was holding, giving it serious consideration. He saw how the two trainers handled Shocks and how Bulbasaur was able to fight him solo. Jolteon slowly rose on his feet and nodded to Bulbasaur. "-I'll go with you, then. The least I can do now is ensure no other pokemon, or trainers, will go through what I did...-"

"-Well then, welcome to the club.-" Bulbasaur held the pokeball up to Jolteon and used his other vine to press the button. The pokeball opened up, firing a red beam at Jolteon that pulled him in. The pokeball then closed and locked shut without any struggling from Jolteon, who was willingly going with Ashley and Bulbasaur.

"-RINA!-" Pippi rushed out of the alley she was hiding in, still clutching the smokeball she swiped from Shocks. She dropped the smokeball, leaving it rolling along the ground as she ran towards Rina and latched onto her side.

"-Rina! I don't want to be forced to hurt you! I don't want to fight these guys anymore!-" Pippi cried out, shaking Rina desparately.

"No...we have to..." Rina choked back a sob and lifted her face from Ashley's shoulder. "They can't be allowed to get away with that...I won't let them..."

"-But...but Rina!-" Pippi looked up into Rina's eyes, both of them fighting back tears.

"-Pippi, she's right.-" Clyde said to her. "-Though what they do is cruel, it is for that very reason that they must be stopped.-"

"-I agree.-" Sarge added. "-Those thugs have no honour. I will gladly see them brought to justice...-"

"-But...-" Pippi sniffed sadly. She realized now no one was going to change their mind.

"Ashley...sorry about this..." Rina quietly apologized to her.

"Don't worry about it, Rina..." Ashley replied, smiling lightly. "Sometimes you just need to let it all out like that..." Ashley looked back to where Jolteon had been, but saw only Bulbasaur. "Where did Jolteon run off to?"

"-I caught him in one of your pokeballs.-" Bulbasaur explained to her. He no longer had the pokeball, however. Since Jolteon was Ashley's seventh pokemon it was immediately sent off to storage.

"Bulbasaur said he caught it in one of your pokeballs..." Rina explained to Ashley. Both trainers finally got up and Rina rubbed her eyes on her sleeve.

"So then...where's the pokeball?" Ashley asked him. She mentally slapped herself when she realized the answer. "Right...Jolteon makes seven pokemon, so it was sent off to storage..."

"So what now then?" Rina asked Ashley.

"Another trip to the pokecenter, and then off to the Rock Tunnel I guess." Ashley replied with a light shrug. "If Misty needed us to go with her for some reason I'm sure she would have said so."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Rina took two pokeballs from her belt and turned to Clyde and Sarge. "Thanks for your help, guys! You two can rest now." The two pokemon nodded to her, allowing Rina to return them to their pokeballs. Rina placed the two pokeballs on her belt and picked up Pippi, holding her close to her like a baby and petting her lightly.

"Lets go then. I need to get my pokemon checked out now, and withdraw Jolteon. Then we'll head to the Rock Tunnel."

"We're not going to stay in Cerulean any longer?" Rina asked, blinking at Ashley in confusion.

"I think we've stayed here long enough..." Ashley replied, smiling sheepishly. It was because she lost her first match against Misty that they spent so much time in Cerulean.

"I guess you're right." Rina replied with a nod.

The two girls headed back to the pokecenter, with Bulbasaur following Ashley and Rina still carrying Pippi. It would be their last detour before they finally headed towards the Rock Tunnel.

* * *

Author's Notes: Really late with this one...going to have to try to get caught up again now. I'll have far fewer distractions now, aside from college. Though I'll be on a computer most of the time there anyway.

This chapter makes a lot more sense than my original, where they randomly decide to visit Bill and the battle between Ashley and Shocks takes place there. Rina also caught an entirely different pokemon than she was originally going to get in this chapter. She's still going to get that pokemon, but I had to change how to clean things up a bit.

Not much else to say here. Hope it was worth the wait!


	13. Chapter 13: The Green Monster

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Thirteen**

**The Green Monster**

After leaving Cerulean City, Ashley and Rina continued on their way towards the Rock Tunnel. They stopped just outside a small pokecenter set up just outside the cave, setting up a tent each and sleeping outside for the night. The next morning, they dropped off their tents at the center and prepared to head off into the Rock Tunnel.

"Its kinda different, going into a pokencenter and not getting my pokemon healed." Ashley commented to Rina as they were leaving the center. Bulbasaur and Pippi followed behind them.

"Yeah, but they had a full night's sleep and didn't have much action since we left Cerulean City yesterday anyway." Rina replied to her. "I don't really trust those machines anyway, so I'd rather it this way. Doesn't a machine that can only function while a pokemon is in its pokeball strike you as the least bit suspicious?"

"I don't think too hard on it." Ashley replied with a shrug, looking off ahead of them. "So thats the Rock Tunnel...it looks like its as dark as people say it is..." Up ahead was a large rocky hill that seemed to go on for miles, and in the side of the hill was the entrance to a cave. Inside the cave it was pitch black, not even a hint of light.

"Wow...it really does..." Rina blinked in disbelief. "I don't even think the light goes very far past the entrance! Its a good thing we both have an electric pokemon with us..."

"-What am I supposed to do anyway?-" Pippi asked, tilting her head to the side.

"You just have to keep sparks flowing to provide light, once we're inside the cave that is." Rina explained to her. Pippi smiled brightly and nodded. She then concentrated briefly to practice a bit, causing a small build-up of sparks around her cheeks. Her inabiltity to control her power showed through, though, as the sparks suddenly erupted into a full bolt of electricity and blasted a nearby rock.

"-Oops...-" Pippi smiled nervously and rubbed the back of her head. "-Maybe I should work on that a bit...-"

"Umm...yeah...you do that..." Rina replied, rubbing the back of her head as well.

"We still have Jolteon anyway." Ashley reminded Rina. "Though he seemed a bit nervous after yesterday, I'm sure he'll be able to handle it just fine."

"We should have just brought flashlights..." Rina mumbled quietly to herself. Unfortunately for her, Ashley heard her.

"What kind of trainers would we be if we chose to use flashlights instead of relying on our pokemon!" Ashley scolded Rina. "Trainers on tv rely on their pokemon for everything, so I won't use a flashlight either!"

_"She watches too much tv..."_ Rina thought, twitching nervously. The group approached the entrance to the Rock Tunnel, walking a few feet into the darkness within before Ashley drew Jolteon's pokeball from her belt and released Jolteon into the dark cave.

"Ok, Jolteon, we need some light! So...uhh..." Ashley scratched her head, trying to think how to word it. "Store a charge in your fur or something..."

"-I think I understand what you're asking.-" Jolteon nodded to Ashley and charged electricity in his fur as if he was about to attack. He held the charge, emitting a glow that lit up the cave for about a dozen or so feet away. The light startled several Zubat that were hanging around on the ceiling, causing several of them to swoop down and attack the two trainers.

"Pippi! Quick, use Thundershock!" Pippi jumped out in front of the Zubat swarming towards the group, five of them in total. Pippi fired a blast of electricity from her cheeks, striking two of the Zubat. The two Zubat she struck fell towards the ground but managed to catch themselves before landing. The group of Zubat quickly flew off, not wanting anymore trouble from Pippi.

"Good one, Rina!" Ashley said excitedly. "We'll probably run into more of those on the way, so we'll need to be ready incase they attack too..."

"Umm...Ashley...we're not safe yet..." Rina said nervously, pointing towards the ceiling. Ashley followed her gaze and saw what Rina was talking about. On the ceiling was a green Golbat with its pink wings spread out. Unlike its unevolved form, the bat-like pokemon Zubat, Golbat had eyes. And it looked pretty unhappy that it had a light shining in its face right now.

"That Golbat..." Ashley mumbled quietly in disbelief. A wide grin slowly spread across her lips. "I'm definitely catching that!"

"Well I think you'll get your chance, cause here it comes!" Rina cried out in fear as the green bat pokemon dislodged itself from the ceiling towards Jolteon.

"-Don't worry! I've got this one too!-" Pippi reassured Rina, charging up electricity in her cheeks to attack. Golbat heard this and took aim at Pippi as it dove down.

"-BAH! Try me, pipsqueak!-" Golbat fired a high-pitched soundburst from its large mouth. Pippi recoiled back as the soundwaves struck it and had a dazed expression as she became confused. Golbat quickly took aim at Jolteon and used the same attack again with a similar result, leaving Jolteon confused and causing him to lose focus on the electricity he had charged. The cave quickly darkened again.

"-Bah! You see? No match for me!-" Golbat called out in the dark and then turned around to fly away. It didn't get very far before Bulbasaur grabbed it, wrapping its vines around Golbat's body. Bulbasaur narrowly made the grab as he couldn't see Golbat in the dark, only hear him.

"-I'm not letting you get away that easily!-" Bulbasaur growled at it. "-Ashley only shows an interest in catching pokemon once in a blue moon, so I'm not letting this opportunity get away!-"

"-Bah! Say what you want, I'm outta here!-" Golbat bit down hard on Bulbasaur's vines, which were wrapped around his large, open mouth just as much as they were around his body. Bulbasaur cried out in surprise and let go, giving Golbat the chance to flee further into the cave.

"-Damn it...it got away...-" Bulbasaur grumbled, retracting his vines.

"Jolteon! Pippi! Snap out of it!" Ashley called out to the two pokemon. Though Ashley and Rina couldn't see them, Pippi and Jolteon were rolling around in the darkness. The two pokemon had quickly turned on each other in their confusion, biting and scratching at each other.

"I told you we should have used a flashlight!" Rina called out to Ashley before setting to the task of trying to pull Pippi away from Jolteon.

* * *

It took about a minute for the confusion inflicted on the two pokemon to wear off. Rina and Ashley retreated back to the pokecenter at that point to get Jolteon and Pichu checked out. Rina also made a point to get ahold of a pair of flashlights before they set off back into the cave.

"Ok, this time we'll do it MY way!" Rina said to Ashley, glaring at her. She turned the flashlight on, startling a pair of Zubat that had moved back to the cave entrance and sending them scurrying off further into the cave. "Both Jolteon AND Pippi will take care of the Zubat and that Golbat if we see it again. Otherwise they'll just keep confusing our pokemon.

"-I won't let THAT happen again...-" Jolteon growled defiantly.

"-Me neither, I hate Golbats now!-" Pippi added in agreement, sparks briefly dancing around her cheeks.

"Fine..." Ashley replied, folding her arms over her chest. "But real trainers don't use flashlights..."

"REAL trainers don't try to fit in with everyone else either!" Rina snapped back. "Now turn your flashlight on already..." Ashley grumbled to herself as she pushed the button on the side of the flashlight and turned it on. The light from her flashlight lit up a bit more of the cave for the two girls.

"-Next time we see that Golbat, I'm grabbing it first thing.-" Bulbasaur muttered to himself. "-Grab it by the wings this time so it can't bite me...-"

The two girls and their pokemon continued off further into the cave. While there was no sign of the Golbat they had run into before, or any other Golbats, there was no shortage of Zubat. Most fled when the light shone on them, but a few brave Zubat tried to attack Ashley and Rina because of the flashlights. These Zubats were quickly dispatched by Thundershock attacks from Pippi and Jolteon. While Jolteon could easily have defeated them with Thunderbolt, Rina just wanted to scare them off.

"Pippi! Jolteon! You two know the drill!" Ashley called out as another four Zubats dove down towards the girls. The two pokemon took point in front of their trainers and charged electricity, firing it in a short burst. Two of the Zubat dodged, with the three remaining bats getting hit hard. All five quickly scattered after enduring the attacks and flew off further into the cave, disappearing into the darkness.

"All these Zubat are getting a bit annoying now..." Ashley commented with a sigh.

"Yeah, they're not very tough..." Rina nodded and smiled lightly. "Well Pippi and Jolteon are getting a good workout anyway!"

"-Workout? You call this a workout?-" Jolteon asked rhetorically. "-I'm barely working up a sweat here...-"

"-Speak for yourself, some of us aren't evolved!-" Pippi shot back, growling at Jolteon. The constant barrage of Zubat were starting to annoy her.

"Well, enough talk. Lets keep going." Ashley interrupted the two pokemon before Jolteon could respond to Pippi. They nodded and started forward, but only took a few steps before they heard a pair of screams further ahead in the darkness. Ashley and Rina held their flashlights forward, trying to see what it was. Two trainers, a boy and a girl both wearing a green shirt and matching shorts that looked like some youth club uniform, ran out from the depths of the cave with a swarm of Zubat following behind them.

"HELP! We don't have any pokemon left!" The boy called out. The two trainers ran past Ashley and Rina, taking refuge behind them.

"Ok, Jolteon! Thunderbolt, aim in front of the Zubat!" Ashley commanded, quickly taking control over the situation.

"-With pleasure!-" Jolteon charged a large amount of electricity in his fur and fired it across the Zubat's path, sending a bolt of lightning towards the ceiling and striking a glancing blow on the two lead Zubat. Several others were struck by rocks falling from the ceiling where Jolteon's Thunderbolt hit. The swarm paused, reconsidering for a moment before heading back into the cave and giving up the chase.

"Another easy one..." Ashley sighed and turned to the two trainers. "You two ok? And what about your pokemon?"

"We're fine...thank you!" The girl replied, bowing respectfully to Ashley. "We were trying to get back to the pokecenter to get our pokemon healed when that crazed Zubat swarm came out of nowhere and attacked us..."

"Umm...that might have been our fault..." Rina admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "We've been driving them back with our electric pokemon..."

"What happened to your pokemon anyway?" Ashley asked them.

"We were on our way to Lavender Town when we ran into this mean lady with a Vaporeon..." The boy replied. "She challenged us both at the same time, but her pokemon was still too strong...she beat us easily! Then she said our pokemon weren't worth anything to her and she was after 'bigger prey'...whatever that means..."

"What an odd trainer..." Ashley commented, blinking in disbelief. "She almost sounds like..."

"Like a hunter..." Rina interrupted Ashley. Jolteon growled and his fur bristled at the notion. "If you two want to go to Lavender, you can come with us. We're heading there ourselves." Rina said to the two trainers.

"-What could a hunter possibly be after in this cave?-" Bulbasaur wondered aloud. "-There's nothing here except Zubat and...-" Bulbasaur's eyes widened. "-The Golbat!-"

"What was that Bulbasaur?" Rina asked him, not understanding what he was getting at.

"-You saw that Golbat! Thats not their normal color!-" Bulbasaur replied to Rina. "-That hunter is after that Golbat, I'm sure of it! What else would she be looking for in the Rock Tunnel?-"

"W-wait! You can understand it?" The male trainer asked in surprise.

"Yep! Since I was born." Rina replied with a light smile. "And he has a point. Ashley, that hunter is probably after the Golbat we ran into earlier..."

"What?!" Ashley growled and shook her fist. "No way! I won't let her, that Golbat is MINE!"

"She was going off towards the eastern part of the cave after we lost to her..." The female trainer explained.

"But Lavender Town is to the south...hmm..." Ashley folded her arms over her chest as she thought it over for a moment. "Ok, Rina. You take those two to the south exit. I'm going after that Golbat and the hunter. I have Jolteon and Bulbasaur with me, so if she's using a Vaporeon then she doesn't stand a chance!"

"Are you sure we should split up?" Rina asked Ashley in a concerned tone. "I don't think you should take a hunter so lightly..."

"She was tough, but that Jolteon looks tough too. I think you can take her!" The girl said to Ashley.

"-Well, thank you for noticing.-" Jolteon grinned at the praise. "-I'm with Ashley, I'm itching to take a shot at these guys.-"

"Don't worry Rina, we'll be fine. I'll meet you outside the Rock Tunnel later." Ashley turned and nodded to Bulbasaur and Jolteon. "Ok guys, lets go!" The two pokemon nodded back and followed Ashley as she ran off into the cave.

"I hope you're right Ashley..." Rina whispered quietly, feeling as though she might regret letting Ashley go off alone. She put on a determined expression as she turned to address the two trainers.

"Ok you two, lets go. Pippi and I will take you outside." The two trainers nodded and followed Rina as she set off into the cave as well. As they were walking, the boy caught up with Rina and walked along beside her.

"So...uh...you come here often?" The boy asked her, giving a sheepish grin. Before Rina could respond, the female trainer grabbed him roughly by the ear. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

_"What was that about?"_ Rina wondered, not realizing the boy was trying to chat her up.

* * *

"That Golbat either went really far into the cave or she caught it already..." Ashley commented after having been running for about 10 minutes. Heaving a sigh, she sat down near the wall of the cave. "I need to rest..."

"-Hey! We can't stop now, or we'll lose them for sure!-" Bulbasaur extended his vines, holding them above Ashley. "-Don't make me whip you!-"

"-You two don't get along very well, do you?-" Jolteon asked him. Bulbasaur shook his head, keeping his gaze locked on Ashley.

"Fine...I'm going..." Ashley muttered. She quickly got back on her feet and turned the flashlight down the cave. No Zubat in sight nearby. It had been fairly quiet, in fact. The swarm of Zubat they had encountered earlier seemingly disappeared.

"-Wait...-" Jolteon perked up his ears and moved in front of Bulbasaur and Ashley to stop them while he listened ahead. "-I hear something...I think there's a fight up ahead...-"

"-Then what the heck are we waiting for?-" Bulbasaur asked with a growl. "-Lets get a move on it!-" He charged past Jolteon, bolting off into the cave.

"HEY! Bulbasaur!" Ashley called out to him and chased after him with the flashlight.

"-I should be upset that they run off, but I suppose he has a point.-" Jolteon muttered to himself before chasing off after the two. The source of the sounds Jolteon heard weren't much further away. The light from Ashley's flashlight soon revealed a Vaporeon and a green Golbat, the one Ashley saw earlier, in the midst of battle. The Vaporeon had a hunter's slave collar around its neck.

"Vaporeon, attack with Shadow Ball." An older woman with short, blue hair was standing nearby, commanding Vaporeon. She had a long, brown trenchcoat on over a pair of black pants and boots. A visor with a red lens was wrapped around her head, providing her with infrared vision so she could easily see everything around her. She turned her head slightly to look at the new arrivals as Ashley and her pokemon arrived on the scene.

"-Bah! Too easy!-" Golbat fired a high-pitched sound pulse at Vaporeaon before it could launch the attack. When the sound reached Vaporeon's ears it paused for a brief second, but then continued on to launch the Shadow Ball at Golbat. The ball knocked Golbat back, but it managed to stay in the air.

"You! Stop right there!" Ashley called out to the hunter.

"Its getting a bit crowded in here..." The woman muttered, reaching for a metal ring at her side. "Time to end this." She threw the ring at Golbat, but Bulbasaur was ready for it. He quickly extended his vines and grabbed the slave collar out of the air before it could reach the bat pokemon.

"-Bah! What the heck?-" Golbat wondered aloud. "-Too crowded here indeed! I'm gone!-" Golbat flew off again, heading further east into the cave. The hunter watched as Golbat escaped and turned to Ashley, glaring angrily from under her visor.

"You're going to pay for that, girl." The hunter growled at Ashley. "It seems some trainers just don't know enough to stay away from one of the Grand Hunters."

"We know all about you!" Ashley shot back. "Jolteon, attack Vaporeon with Thunderbolt! Bulbasaur, follow it up with Razor Leaf!"

Neither pokemon hesitated in their attack. Jolteon charged up electricity and fired off a bolt of lightning at Vaporeon. The electricity arced through the air towards Vaporeon and struck the water pokemon without error. Vaporeon cried out in pain as the electricity flowed freely through its body, though it was still looking like it was in good shape even after taking the bolt.

Once Jolteon's Thunderbolt attack was out of the way, Bulbasaur followed up with a Razor Leaf. He sent out a barrage of sharp leaves from the base of his bulb, sending them slicing across Vaporeon's body. Again, Vaporeon endured the attack and looked only a little worse off for it.

_"This girl seems to know quite a bit about us..."_ The woman thought. _"Fortunately, Vaporeon is known for its durability. However, that Jolteon..."_ The woman hummed thoughtfully for a moment and reached for a smoke ball hanging at her side.

"Perhaps you will learn your lesson another time then." The woman said to Ashley. "The name is Aqua, you won't soon forget it." She threw the ball at the ground, causing it to burst and shroud herself and Vaporeon in a thick cloud of smoke. When the smoke finally dispersed, both of them were gone.

"Should have grabbed that smokeball while I had the chance..." Ashley grumbled, snapping her fingers.

"-Well we chased her off anyway.-" Bulbasaur said with a shrug. "-Now lets get after that Golbat already!-"

"We should get back on that Golbat's trail now, since thats out of the way." Ashley said, completely oblivious to the fact that Bulbasaur just suggested the same. "It couldn't have gotten far, lets go!"

"-Funny, I just said the same thing...-" Bulbasaur muttered. The three of them quickly took off in the direction Golbat went in.

* * *

"Finally! I thought I might never see the sun again..." The female trainer that Rina had been escorting out of the cave stretched her arms into the air as she left the cave. The sun was high in the sky as it neared noon.

"Ha! I wasn't worried at all!" The boy proudly boasted, standing just in the shadow of the cave next to Rina.

"Oh yeah? Who was the one crying when our pokemon were defeated?" The girl asked, her question quickly deflating the boy's ego.

"Umm...hey, you two think you'd be ok to go the rest of the way to Lavender on your own?" Rina asked them, glancing back into the cave.

"Actually I think we'd be better off if you...mph!" The boy was quickly silenced before he could finish as his friend placed her hand over his mouth.

"We'll be fine." The girl replied to Rina, shooting the boy a glare. "There shouldn't be any wild pokemon between here and Lavender anyway."

"I'm going back in to find Ashley then. I hope your pokemon will be ok!"

"Thanks for your help! Good luck!" The girl waved to Rina as she ran into the cave. Once Rina was out of earshot she turned to her male friend and glared at him.

"You and I need to talk, mister!"

* * *

"How are we ever going to find Ashley now?" Rina asked in dismay, waving her flashlight around to look down each of the two tunnels that branched off from where she was. There were two other tunnels, but one lead back to Lavender town and the other they had already come through.

"I know Ashley was heading east but she could have went anywhere from there." Rina sighed. "Its hopeless now...I just hope she's ok..."

"-But Rina, I can sense which tunnel leads to her Jolteon!-" Rina blinked in disbelief and looked at Pippi curiously. "-Electric pokemon can sense electricity in the air, and Jolteon is the strongest source in this cave. So he has to be down this tunnel!-" Pippi pointed to the tunnel to the left of Rina.

"I hope you're right, Pippi..." Pippi nodded and ran off down the narrow corridor, with Rina running after her. The corridor eventually opened up into another large cavern. Rina and Pippi stopped for a moment once they were in the cavern and Rina shone her flashlight around. A metal glint near the middle of the cave caught Rina's attention, so they ran over to investigate.

"Its...a slave collar!" Rina said when she finally got a good look at it. "Ashley must have beaten that hunter then...but where did she go from here?"

"-Rina! Follow me!-" Pippi ran off again, sensing a source of electricity. Rina followed behind her.

* * *

"We've got it now! There's nowhere for it to run!" Ashley and her pokemon, meanwhile, had finally cornered Golbat in a deadend cave.

"-Bah! You'll never catch me!-" Golbat wasn't about to give up, even after getting itself trapped. It turned to Bulbasaur and fired a high-pitched soundburst at it. As the sound reached Bulbasaur's ears a dazed look overcame him and he looked a bit wobbly on his feet.

"Jolteon, quick! Use Thunderbolt!" Electricity sparked along Jolteon's body as he gathered it in his fur. The electricity then shot off towards Golbat, striking it and causing it to fall to the ground as electricity coursed through its body. It didn't stay down for long though and was soon flapping its wings quite rapidly, lifting itself up off the ground.

"Bulbasaur, return!" While Jolteon was on the attack, Ashley had retrieved Bulbasaur's pokeball from her belt. She recalled the grass pokemon before he could do any harm to either himself or Jolteon in his confused state.

"-Bah! I can just do it again!-" True to his word, Golbat fired off another high-pitched sound burst. The sound reached Jolteon's sensitive ears, inflicting confusion on it just like what happened to Bulbasaur. Jolteon seemed fine for a moment, but then started spinning in a circle as if trying to chase his tail.

"Jolteon, return!" Ashley quickly drew Jolteon's pokeball, recalling it as well now that confusion had set in. However, she still had Bulbasaur's pokeball in hand. Once Jolteon was recalled into its ball she placed the ball back on her belt and released Bulbasaur again. Bulbasaur shook his head as if just recovering from the confusion and seemed to be fine after having been in his pokeball.

"Ok, Bulbasaur! Lets teach this guy a lesson! Sleep Powder!" Bulbasaur wasted no time in attacking Golbat. Before the bat pokemon had another chance to use Supersonic, Bulbasaur fired a burst of powder from the bulb on his back. The powder filled the air around Golbat before sprinkling to the ground. Golbat soon fell to the ground as well, sleep set in rather quickly once the powder made contact with Golbat.

"-Too easy.-" Bulbasaur commented, grinning to himself.

"I kinda feel bad for catching it like this, since it was already weakened from its battle with that hunter..." Ashley commented to herself as she took an empty pokeball from her travel bag.

"But thats not going to stop me! I've already decided that Golbat is mine and this seals the deal!" Ashley lobbed the pokeball at the grounded and sleeping Golbat. The pokeball opened up on contact and pulled the Golbat inside, then fell to the ground and started rolling. After a few tense moments, the pokeball locked shut with Golbat sealed inside.

"And that takes care of that!" Ashley said with a grin. The pokeball containing Ashley's newly caught pokemon glowed white and then vanished, sending Golbat off to storage. "Alright! We caught Golbat!" Ashley cheered and pumped her fist into the air.

"-And you did even less than usual.-" Bulbasaur commented with a shrug. "-At least its another pokemon caught. Now we need to get out of here though...-"

"Ashley!" More light illuminated the area of the cave Ashley was in as Rina finally caught up with them. Rina looked around the cave and was confused when she saw only Ashley and Bulbasaur.

"Rina? How'd you find us so quickly? And where are the other two?" Ashley asked her, blinking in disbelief at Rina's sudden arrival.

"They're outside...the exit actually isn't far from here..." Rina replied, turning her attention to Ashley. "Pippi helped me find you...but where's the hunter? Or the Golbat for that matter?"

"The hunter escaped..." Ashley replied regretfully. "She did that smoke ball thing. I just caught the Golbat though." Ashley paused for a moment. "Why'd you come back in anyway?"

"I was worried you might have run into trouble...guess I wasn't needed afterall though..." Rina rubbed her head in embarassment.

"I told you I could handle myself." Ashley replied, grinning widely. "But since you're here, you can show me the way out."

"Oh! Right!" Rina nodded to Ashley and smiled. "Ok, follow me! I think I remember the way..." Rina started off out of the cave, her flashlight lighting the way ahead. Ashley and Bulbasaur followed along behind her, and Pippi waited for Bulbasaur to walk next to him. Their business in the Rock Tunnel finished, the group continued on towards Lavender Town.

* * *

Author's Notes: Bit of a short chapter, served mostly to introduce Aqua and for Ashley to catch Golbat. In earlier drafts I toyed with the idea of Ashley getting a Zubat in Mount Moon or Ashley and Rina eavesdropping on a conversation between Aqua and Team Rocket in the Rock Tunnel. This is what came out in the final draft, though. Also ended up jumping around a bit towards the end, though maybe a bit more than planned due to the lingering focus on the two unnamed trainers before Rina ran off. I had the 'camper' sprite in mind for those two, if that wasn't apparent.

Have quite a bit planned for next week's chapter, so it should be something to look forward to for sure!


	14. Chapter 14: Girly Ghostbusters

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Girly Ghostbusters**

_"This whole town gives me the creeps..."_ Ashley thought to herself. She looked up at the tall tower standing before her. _"I was hoping to just quickly pass through but..."_ Ashley lowered her gaze to Rina, who was standing just in front of the entrance and waiting for her with Pippi. Bulbasaur was standing next to Ashley, waiting for her to move forward.

"Ashley, hurry up already..." Rina said to her in a solemn tone.

"I'm coming, I'm coming..." Ashley replied with a sigh, glancing down at Bulbasaur. "I have a bad feeling about this..."

"-For once, I agree.-" Bulbasaur said, nodding to Ashley in agreement. "-This place gives me the creeps, but Rina really wants to go in...-"

Rina entered the tower with Pippi, and Ashley and Bulbasaur followed behind. Neither were in a hurry to go inside, though. The tower was Pokemon Tower, a pokemon gravesite in Lavender Town. It was also a place where ghost pokemon commonly hung out.

The first level of the tower, just inside the entrance, was more or less a reception area. The first floor was almost entirely empty as well, however. There were pictures on the walls, some of which depicted an old man that founded the tower a long time ago. There were a few people gathered on the first floor to pay their respects, and a set of stairs leading to the upper levels.

To Ashley's dismay, Rina wasn't intent on staying on the first floor of the tower. In fact, Rina ignored everything on the first floor outright and continued towards the stairs. Ashley was left with little choice but to follow her up to the next level. The next level, and every level after, is where the pokemon graves would be.

_"I should have just let her go alone..."_ Ashley thought as she went up the stairs. _"But if I did, then I'd just end up feeling bad..."_ Ashley wasn't paying attention to where she was going as she climbed the stairs and nearly bumped into Rina, who had stopped at the top. Fortunately, Bulbasaur grabbed Ashley with his vines, which prompted her to look up.

"Out of my way..." Rina said. At first, Ashley thought she was saying it to her, but then she realized Rina was looking into the room ahead.

"Hey now! Whats with all the hostility?" Ashley heard a familiar voice respond. She looked past Rina and saw Gary standing in the room, in the middle of a wide empty space between rows of graves. Despite Rina's hostility, Gary was grinning from ear to ear. Of course, he wasn't interested in Rina. He figured Ashley would be with her, and soon spotted her behind Rina.

"Still lagging behind me as always, Ash." Gary taunted her. "I've already been through the tower and captured a few ghost pokemon!"

"Rina, I'll deal with him." Ashley whispered to her. "You go on ahead, I'll catch up after." Rina nodded and moved out of Ashley's way so she could enter the room and face Gary. Without saying a word, Rina continued on past him and went up another flight of stairs at the far end of the room.

"What are you doing here anyway? Your pokemon doesn't look dead." Gary asked Ashley while looking down at Bulbasaur.

"-Oh, REAL funny.-" Bulbasaur growled back at him.

"Rina wanted to come here." Ashley replied. "Why is hardly any of your business..."

"I don't care about her anyway." Gary replied coldly, taking a pokeball off his belt. "I'm challenging you to a pokemon battle, three pokemon each! I'm going to show you just how strong my new pokemon are!"

"Fine by me! You're not the only one with new pokemon..." Ashley took a pokeball from her belt as well to battle Gary with. _"Besides...anything to delay going further into the tower at least a little longer..."_

"-And I suppose I'll be sitting on the sidelines for this one...-" Bulbasaur grumbled, sitting on his hind legs behind Ashley.

"Kadabra, time to show her just who she's messing with! Go!" Gary pressed the button on the pokeball he was holding, releasing the yellow, humanoid psychic pokemon Kadabra. Kadabra twirled a spoon in its hands when it appeared and held the spoon out in a fighting stance.

"Jolteon, you start this off! Go!" Ashley released her pokemon as well, sending out Jolteon from its pokeball. Jolteon stood ready for battle when he appeared before Ashley.

"Jolteon, start this off with a Thunderbolt attack!"

"Kadabra, dodge it with Teleport!"

Jolteon charged electricity in his fur and fired a Thunderbolt attack at Kadabra. As the bolt raced through the air, Kadabra concentrated and disappeared before the attack could hit it. Jolteon's attack struck the floor where Kadabra had been standing, leaving Kadabra unharmed. The psychic pokemon reappeared standing on top of a grave in the middle of the eastern half of the floor.

_"Battling here really doesn't feel right..."_ Ashley thought. _"I'll have to be careful not to hit any of the graves..."_ The graves were spaced very close together and there was no dirt for the pokemon to be burried in. Instead, each gravestone was standing in an indent on the floor. The pokemon themselves were stored in special ceremonial pokeballs in a sealed compartment inside the stone itself. The stones were kept in the Pokemon tower so they wouldn't be eroded over time.

"Now, Kadabra, attack Jolteon with Confusion!" Kadabra's eyes flashed as it focused its psychic power on Jolteon. A blast of psychic energy blasted Jolteon from all sides, causing Jolteon to give a pained yelp. Despite having obviously been hurt by the attack, Jolteon showed no signs of being weakened by it after.

"Jolteon, use Quick Attack to attack Kadabra before it can Teleport!" Jolteon jumped and shot forward towards Kadabra in a blur of movement, slamming into it and knocking it off the grave. Jolteon continued on past Kadabra and landed between a row of graves further away, managing to avoid hitting any. Kadabra, likewise showing such respect, used its psychic powers to catch itself before it landed on another grave.

"Oh yeah? Lets see you try that again! Kadabra, use Disable to prevent it from using Quick Attack!" Kadabra's eyes flashed as it prepared to use its pasychic powers on Jolteon, a yellow glow starting to surround the electric pokemon.

"Jolteon, attack Kadabra with Shadow Ball while you have the chance!" Ashley commanded, looking to take advantage of Kadabra's attack to get a good hit on it before it could teleport away.

Jolteon formed a purple ball of shadowstuff, unhindered by the Disable technique that was causing it to temporarily forget Quick Attack. Jolteon jumped up and threw the Shadow Ball down towards Kadabra. The attack was too late to prevent Kadabra from suceeding with Disable, but it landed a good hit on Kadabra that pushed it into the floor hard. Kadabra was down for a moment before slowly climbing back to its feet, looking pretty weak from the attack.

"What?! Shadow Ball? No way!" Gary said in anger and disbelief of Jolteon's Shadow Ball technique.

"Yes way!" Ashley shot back with a smirk. "Jolteon, now! Finish it with Thunderbolt!" Electricity danced through Jolteon's fur as the electric pokemon quickly prepared to attack.

"Kadabra, dodge with Teleport!" Kadabra closed its eyes and focused just as Jolteon was firing the Thunderbolt attack. Kadabra was too slow, however. The bolt of electricity struck Kadabra just as Teleport was taking effect. Kadabra disappeared, reappearing back in the aisle between the two grave sections still being shocked by the attack. Kadabra quickly collapsed, smoke rising from its unconscious body.

"Hmph...my pokemon was weak..." Gary grumbled, recalling his Kadabra. He placed the pokeball back on his belt and chose another. "My next pokemon will make up for it! Exeggcute, go!" Gary held up the pokeball and released his next pokemon, sending out five egg-like pokemon with eyes and a mouth. Some of the eggs looked cracked and broken and seemingly had permanent, but different, facial expressions.

"Jolteon, good job! You can rest now!" Ashley called out as she recalled Jolteon, returning him to his pokeball. She then switched Jolteon's pokeball with another one on her belt. "Ok, Golbat! Lets see what you can do!" Ashley released her green Golbat from its pokeball. The pokemon quickly looked around and, spotting Exeggcute, realized what was going on.

"-Bah! I have to fight for this stupid trainer now?-" Golbat grumbled angrily. "-This sucks!-" Golbat turned to Ashley and gave her the raspberry, then turned back to face Exeggcute.

"-I find myself fully in agreement with this guy.-" Bulbasaur mumbled.

"Ha! I bet that one won't even listen to you!" Gary taunted Ashley. He was jealous, however, that she had managed to catch a shiny pokemon. He had an opportunity to catch a shiny pokemon himself once, but it managed to escape.

"We'll see about that then!" Ashley shot back. "Golbat, attack Exeggcute with Supersonic!" Golbat let out a high-pitched shriek, inflicting all six of the Exeggcute with confusion. To Gary's disappointment, he was wrong about Golbat. Although it clearly didn't like having a trainer, it was still willing to follow orders in battle.

"Well even if it will listen to you, my Exeggcute will still win! Exeggcute, use Leech Seed!" One of the Exeggcute, managing to focus enough to attack, moved to fire a seed at Golbat. It was tackled by one of the others, and a dogpile soon followed as the group of Exeggcute, making up a single pokemon, turned on each other.

"Whose pokemon won't listen?" Ashley said to Gary. It was her turn to taunt him. "Golbat, now! Attack with Wing Attack!" Golbat dove down towards the group, wings stretched out. It flew by the group, striking all six of them simultaneously with its right wing and then pulling up again.

"Exeggcute, use Hypnosis and put Golbat to sleep!" All six Exeggcute turned towards Golbat as it also turned back towards Exeggcute. Exeggcute's eyes began to glow as it used the attack. To Golbat, their eyes appeared to be six pairs of swirling whirlpools. Golbat soon dropped to the ground, falling fast asleep.

_"It knows Hypnosis?"_ Ashley thought. _"That could be a problem..."_

"We've got it now! Use Leech Seed next!" One of the Exeggcute, with a large hole cracked into the top of its head, moved to the front of the pack. It opened its mouth and fired a small seed at the sleeping Golbat. The seed sprouted vines and latched on to Golbat, then started draining energy from Golbat and feeding it back to Exeggcute. Even with this happening, Golbat continued to sleep.

"-Now if I tried that, it would have woken up...-" Bulbasaur grumbled.

"Don't let up! Confusion!" Any lingering effects of the confusion they had been inflicted with earlier was clearly gone as the Exeggcute performed their attack without any difficulty. The eyes of each of the Exeggcute's flashed purple as they focused on their psychic attack. A blast of psychic energy struck Golbat from all directions, inflicting quite a bit of damage on it in its sleep. The attack also seemingly caused Golbat to wake up. It shook off the blast and glared at the group of Exeggcute.

"Golbat, lets get this battle under control again! Use Supersonic!" Golbat let loose another high-pitched sound burst at Exeggcute. The group of Exeggcute, lacking hands, tried to huddle together to shield each other from the sound. It didn't work, however. A bit of a dazed look soon appeared in the eyes of each of the Exeggcute.

"Confusing my pokemon won't help you now!" Gary said to Ashley in a smug tone. "Exeggcute, attack Golbat with Confusion!" Despite suffering from confusion, each of the Exeggcute were able to focus. Their eyes flashed and psychic energy blasted Golbat from all directions, smashing it into the floor. Golbat stayed down for a brief moment before pushing itself back up with its wings. It was still able to fight, but it was clearly growing exhausted.

_"We need to end this battle fast, if not then either Exeggcute or the Leech Seed will finish Golbat!"_ Ashley thought before issuing another attack. "Golbat, use Bite!" Golbat jumped forward, using its wings to propel itself further and bring itself closer to Exeggcute. Golbat opened its mouth and clamped down on its targets. With Golbat's large mouth, and the Exeggcute so close together, It was able to bite down on two of them at once. The two Exeggcute it had attacked were unconscious when Golbat released them, leaving only four more Exeggcute.

"Exeggcute, lets finish this! Use Confusion!" Exeggcute didn't follow through with Gary's command. They all looked at each other with perplexed looks on their faces and then jumped at each other in another dogpile. Exeggcute was attacking itself in its confusion again.

"No, I think we'll be finishing this one! Golbat, Wing Attack!" Golbat raised its right wing and struck out at the gathered Exeggcute. Becuase they were all gathered in one spot, Golbat was able to hit them all in one blow. The Exeggcute were knocked back and scattered, left unconscious on the foor. Gary recalled each of the six fainted Exeggcute one by one.

"You just got lucky..." Gary muttered, placing Exeggcute's pokeball back on his belt.

"Luck is just another part of a pokemon battle." Ashley replied smugly.

"Your Golbat is still weak enough for my next pokemon to finish off, and luck won't save you now!" Gary shot back as he took one last pokeball from his belt. "Growlithe, go!" Gary released his final pokemon from the pokeball he grabbed. An orange furred, canine pokemon materialized before him and growled angrily at Golbat. Golbat was no more than a few feet away from Growlithe and looked a bit intimidated by its appearance.

"Golbat has done enough for now, so he won't be fighting your Growlithe!" Ashley held out Golbat's pokeball and recalled it before the Leech Seed, still attached, could faint it. She placed Golbat's pokeball back on her belt and drew another one in one quick motion.

"Poliwag, your turn now! Go!" Ashley held up the pokeball and pressed the button on the front. The pokeball opened up and released Poliwag out into the aisle. Poliwag was still wearing the hat Ashley had bought for him. Seeing the Growlithe, Poliwag hopped up and down happily, expecting an easy fight after its previous experience with a Growlithe.

"What a wimpy looking Poliwag." Gary said to Ashley. Poliwag, hearing this, stopped hopping around and looked saddened.

"Don't pay any attention to him, he's just a big jerk." Ashley said to Poliwag, but loud enough for Gary to hear here. "We'll see how wimpy he thinks you are when you beat his Growlithe! Attack with Hypnosis!" Poliwag nodded and soon began its attack on Growlithe. The black and white swirl pattern on Poliwag's stomach began to spin, hypnotizing Growlithe until it fell asleep.

"You and your cheap tactics..." Gary muttered. "Just you wait until my Growlithe wakes up, he'll mop the floor with that pipsqueak!"

"I don't think so!" Ashley called back. "Poliwag, attack with Water Gun!" Poliwag sprayed out a small, quick burst of water at the sleeping Growlithe. Growlithe recoiled slightly in its sleep as the water hit it head on, but still remained asleep in spite of it.

"Ok! Now, use Water Gun again while moving closer and then follow up with Doubleslap!" Following Ashley's instructions, Poliwag shot another quick burst of water at the sleeping Growlithe. Once again, Growlithe recoiled from the attack. Growlithe was starting to wake up when Poliwag reached him and was fully awake when he started slapping Growlithe with his tail. He only got in three attacks before Growlithe backed up and out of reach of further attacks.

"Growlithe, take that Poliwag down with a Bite attack and don't let go!" Growlithe lunged towards Poliwag and snapped its jaws tight around Poliwag's body. Poliwag cried out in pain and his hat was knocked off by the force of Growlithe's attack. To Gary's dismay, Poliwag was tougher than he thought. Not by much, however. Poliwag looked like it was weakened quite a bit by that single attack, indicating that it was much better on the offense than defense.

"Poliwag, I need you to focus here!" Ashley called out to him. Poliwag nodded slowly, its eyes closed shut from the pain of Growlithe's jaws clamped around it. "Ok, finish it off with another Water Gun!" Poliwag opened its mouth and fired a short burst of water, aiming straight down at Growlithe's head. Growlithe yelped and let go of Poliwag, staggering back from the attack and then collapsing onto its side.

"Damn..." Gary muttered to himself. He held out Growlithe's pokeball and recalled his Growlithe. "Well so what if your pokemon are a bit stronger and luckier than mine? I bet I have a lot more than you do anyway."

"Oh yeah? And how many do you have?" Ashley asked him.

"I've already caught over 60 types of pokemon!" Gary replied with a grin.

"Six...sixty types!?" Ashley stammered in disbelief.

"Anyway, I'm done wasting time with you. Move aside, I'm out of here." Gary walked past Poliwag, Ashley, and Bulbasaur and stopped at the top of the stairs. "Smell ya later, losers!" Gary called back and then left down the stairs.

"That guy hasn't changed one bit..." Ashley muttered. She turned to Poliwag and saw him struggling to put his hat back on. Ashley walked over to him and picked up the hat, then placed it on Poliwag's head.

"Poliwag, great job out there. You really got that Growlithe good." Ashley congratulated him and held out his pokeball. "You can take a rest now." Poliwag nodded to Ashley and allowed her to return him to his pokeball. She placed the pokeball on her belt and looked back at Bulbasaur.

"Ok, lets go catch up with Rina now."

"-Fine by me.-" Bulbasaur got up and followed behind Ashley as she started towards the other flight of stairs leading up. "-You know, I bet thats about all the excitement there will be today and I missed out...-"

Ashley reached the bottom of the flight of stairs and started up to the second floor. She and Bulbasaur were taking their time now, neither overly eager to go any higher into the tower. When Ashley reached the top of the stairs she glanced around the second level. There was no sign of Rina, though she did notice that the graves were far less clustered on the third floor. There was still a single aisle through the center, leading to the next set of stairs, but there was also room for more graves.

Ashley kept on going, hurrying through the third floor to reach the stairs. Again, she climbed the stairs slowly with Bulbasaur following behind her. When they reached the top, Ashley could see Rina and Pippi standing in the middle of the aisle with their backs to her. She also noticed that the graves on the fourth floor were even more spaced out, suggesting there were going to be less graves the further she went up the tower.

"Hey, Rina!" Ashley called out to her, making her way across the aisle towards her. "What'd you stop here for? Change your mind?" She then asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

"Go back now...or you will never leave alive..." Rina said to Ashley, her voice sounding cold and distant. Ashley and Bulbasaur stopped in their tracks, realizing now that something was very wrong.

"Rina...? Are...are you ok?" Ashley asked her, slowly backing away. Bulbasaur took up point in front of her, extending his vines.

"Go back now...or else..." Rina and Pippi finally turned around to face her, and Ashley and Bulbasaur caught a glimpse of the blank look in their eyes. Pippi took up point in front of Rina as well, as if she intended to battle Bulbasaur.

"Is...is she possessed?!" Ashley wondered in disbelief, backing up further now until she was almost back to the stairs.

"-So much for this place being boring...-" Bulbasaur muttered.

"Pichu...attack them..." Rina commanded Pippi coldly. Pippi nodded, her cheeks sparking with electricity. She fired out a small blast of electricity at Bulbasaur, but Bulbasaur hardly flinched from the attack.

"-In the past week, I've taken Thunderbolts from a gym leader's Raichu and a powerful Jolteon...-" Bulbasaur grinned at Pippi. "-So I hope you can do a lot better than that, kid.-" Bulbasaur stood up on his front legs and fired a burst of green powder from his bulb. The powder hit both Rina and Pippi in the face, but didn't seem to affect either of them.

"-What? But that should have worked...unless...-" Bulbasaur growled and looked around the room. "-Alright! I know there's a pokemon behind all this, now show yourself!-"

Pippi's eyes suddenly closed and she fell to the floor. Rina's eyes closed as well and she started to fall, but Bulbasaur shot out his vines to wrap around her arms and slowed her fall so she wouldn't hurt herself.

"-Well, well, well...seems you're quite the observer, love...-" Bulbasaur looked around for the source of the voice. A purple, gaseous-looking pokemon with two clawed hands and a large mouth faded into view over Bulbasaur, hovering in the air. Ashley relaxed a bit when she saw the pokemon appear.

"That pokemon...is that responsible for all this?" Ashley asked.

"-Yeah, so much for possession.-" Bulbasaur replied with a nod. "-Listen, you! Those were friends of our's you were messing with!-"

"-You don't say?-" The ghost pokemon replied, a wide, toothy grin spreading across her face. "-But it was nothing but harmless fun. Afterall, no one was hurt.-"

"What pokemon is that anyway?" Ashley wondered, taking out her pokedex to scan it.

"Haunter, the gas pokemon." The pokedex read. "Because of its ability to slip through walls, it is said to be from another dimension." Ashley also noted, from the pokedex screen, that Haunter was a ghost and poison type pokemon.

"Well, we're not going to let it get away with what it did to Rina and Pippi, right Bulbasaur?" Bulbasaur nodded in agreement. "Alright then! Attack it with Leech Seed!" Bulbasaur launched a seed from the bulb on his back, landing it on the back of one of Haunter's hands. The seed sprouted vines and latched onto it.

"-Oh dear...well if you're going to be like that, then I will be leaving.-" The wild Haunter vanished, though the Leech Seed remained visible and attached to the Haunter. The seed could be seen flying up towards the ceiling as Haunter attempted to escape. Haunter tried to go through the ceiling, but while it could pass through the floor the seed was still attached very firmly to her hand. The seed acted as an anchor and strained against the ceiling as Haunter tried to go through, eventually forcing it to drop down and become visible as she tried to remove it with her other hand.

"Looks like Haunter's not going anywhere!" Ashley commented with a smirk. "Ok, Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf now!" Bulbasaur nodded and fired several sharp leaves from the bulb on his back. The leaves slashed across Haunter's body, causing the ghost pokemon to wince slightly. She didn't appear to be any weaker visibly from the attack though, only somewhat annoyed.

"-Well, if you're going to play that way...-" Haunter held out her left hand towards Bulbasaur, the one that didn't have the seed latched onto it. A dark aura surrounded her hand and Bulbasaur, and a similar aura seemed to gather in front of Haunter. It formed into a pin and stabbed through Haunter's body, then disappeared. The pin left no visible sign of damage on Haunter's body, aside from leaving her looking pretty exhausted, but Bulbasaur felt a chill go through his body as Haunter's Curse set in.

"-That was a dumb move.-" Bulbasaur said to Haunter. "-That hurt me more than it hurt you. You won't last another five seconds with that seed on you now...-"

"-That will be longer than I will need, my dear.-" Haunter's eyes began to glow a light purple as the dark aura faded from around her hand. The aura remained around Bulbasaur, however, with the curse continuously taking effect. "-Now look into my eyes...-" Bulbasaur unwittingly followed Haunter's instructions, looking into the ghost pokemon's eyes. Bulbasaur saw her eyes as swirling whirlpools, hypnotizing him and putting him to sleep. Bulbasaur was left defenseless as the curse continued to drain his life force.

_"Bulbasaur's down for the count..."_ Ashley thought. _"But it won't matter now...that was a Curse attack Haunter used, and it has that Leech Seed on it as well. So its just a matter of time now, I'll leave Bulbasaur out there until then..."_

"-Now lets see how you like...uck!-" Haunter was cut off from using another attack as the Leech Seed finished her off, draining the last of her strength. Haunter floated down to the floor, rendered unconscious and incapable of fighting now. The seed withdrew its vines, fell off, and then withered and died. The dark aura around Bulbasaur faded as well, leaving him to sleep peacefully.

"Rina!" With Haunter out of the way, Ashley ran to her friend's side, kneeling next to her. She was about to put her hand on Rina's neck to check for a pulse, but stopped herself when she heard a soft snoring noise. "She's just asleep..." Ashley sighed in relief and smiled lightly. Hearing a yawn, she looked over at Pippi and saw that the small electric pokemon was starting to wake up.

"-What happened?-" Pippi rubbed her eyes with her small paws and looked around slowly. "-The last thing I remember is running into...-" Pippi stopped when she saw the wild Haunter, unconscious on the floor near a sleeping Bulbasaur. "-Wh...what?-" Pippi looked back at Rina and Ashley.

"-RINA!!-" Pippi cried out and quickly got up, running over to Rina and standing in front of her face. "-Rina! Rina! Please get up! PLEASE!-" Pippi looked on the verge of tears as she grabbed onto Rina's face and tried shaking her.

"Pippi! Relax! She's just asleep!" Ashley said to Pippi. Pippi stopped for a moment and looked at Rina. She could hear Rina's snoring now that she had calmed down and realized Ashley was right.

"You have done well, child..." Ashley looked up, hearing an eldery woman's voice speaking to her. Standing near the wall, at the bottom of the stair's, was an old woman dressed in purple robes and wearing an excess of odd charms. She held a stick topped with a piece of paper in her hand, the paper on the top of the stick looking like some sort of Japanese scroll.

"Who are you?" Ashley asked, blinking in disbelief. "And how long have you been standing there? I didn't hear anyone coming down the stairs!"

"I am Cleo, a channeler." The woman replied. "I felt a mischevious spirit at work on a lower level and came down to investigate, but I see you have already dealt with it..."

_"A channeler?"_ Ashley thought with a look of disgust. _"Just my luck I'd run into one of those spirit-talking weirdos here..."_

"It is fortunate you and your friend arrived when you did." The channeler, Cleo, continued. "The spirits of this tower have been disturbed. The source of this disturbance is on the top level of this tower with Mr. Fuji as we speak. I believe you would know them as Team Rocket..."

"Team Rocket? That criminal organization?" Ashley asked, sounding unconvinced. "What could they possibly want here though? Its nothing but pokemon graves!"

"-Who's Team Rocket?-" Pippi wondered aloud.

"-They're another criminal organization, like Ashley said...-" Bulbasaur mumbled in response as he started waking up. "-They're dangerous, but after dealing with the Grand Hunters they'd be a piece of cake by comparison...-"

"-Oh...-" Pippi blinked and looked over at Bulbasaur curiously. "-Wait, how come we're both awake already and Rina isn't?-" Pippi asked him next. Bulbasaur shrugged, not knowing why either.

"Mr. Fuji has a flute they are after, but he will not give it up." Cleo explained to Ashley. "Many pokemon here were killed by Team Rocket, and as such their prescence here is making their spirits restless. Neither Mr. Fuji nor myself have pokemon that can deal with them. If the spirits are to be calmed, the three from Team Rocket must be driven out of the tower first..."

"So you want me to beat them for you?" Ashley asked her.

"Precisely..." The channeler replied, nodding. "There was another trainer here recently who I had asked to do so, but he refused. Said he didn't believe in any 'spirit mumbo jumbo' and said a few Team Rocket grunts were not worth his time..."

"That sounds like Gary..." Ashley muttered. "Well I'd help you, but..." Ashley looked back at the sleeping Rina. "I can't just leave her asleep here..."

"Allow me to help you with that..." The channeler approached Rina and kneeled down next to her. Reaching into her robe, she took out a few small brownish leaves from a pouch. She opened Rina's mouth and placed the leaves on her tongue, and then stood up. Rina seemed to stir in her sleep, and then suddenly bolted up and started spitting violently.

"Gross! Gross! GROSS!" Rina cried out, sticking her tongue out and scraping the leaves off. "Bleh! The taste won't go away!"

"-Rina! You're awake!-" Pippi cried happily and jumped into Rina's lap. Rina seemed almost paralyzed by the horrible taste in her mouth though.

"I apologize for the herb's taste, but it was necessary to wake you up." Cleo said to Rina. Rina blinked and looked around with a confused expression when she spotted Cleo, Ashley, and the unconscious Haunter.

"I'll explain on the way...I guess..." Ashley said to her, grinning wryly.

"Before we go, I suggest you catch that Haunter..." Cleo informed Ashley. "Mischevious as she is, I feel she will prove herself to be a competent battler."

"If you say so...having a ghost pokemon couldn't hurt, I guess." Ashley reached into her travel bag and had to feel around a bit before she found a pokeball. It was her last one. _"I'll pick up more in Celadon I guess..."_ She thought to herself as she drew the pokeball. She then gave it a light toss towards the unconscious Haunter. The ball pulled the ghost pokemon inside and locked it in without any struggling. The ball then glowed white and vanished, sending Haunter off to storage.

"Now, let us be off..." The channeler held her strange stick in front of her and started back towards the stairs. Ashley and Bulbasaur followed along behind her, but Rina hesitated for a moment and only slowly followed behind them with Pippi in tow.

"Wait, where ARE we going?!" Rina asked, still greatly confused by the whole thing.

* * *

Ashley, Rina, and their pokemon accompanied the channeler up the tower. Ashley explained to Rina what was going on, and where they were going. As they walked, Cleo remained silent, holding her odd stick in front of her face and concentrating. As they went from floor to floor, they noticed there were fewer and fewer graves as well. They also ran into no other pokemon or any 'spirits' while they went on their way up the tower, a fact which left Ashley and Rina both a bit confused.

"I don't get it, where are all the pokemon?" Ashley wondered aloud.

"Ghost pokemon, like restless spirits, can be driven away with the right wards and charms." Cleo explained while trying to maintain her concentration. "As long as I am with you, they will not approach us."

"Oh..." Ashley blinked in surprise.

"How much further is it?" Rina asked in a whining tone. "My legs hurt...why couldn't this place have an elevator?"

"There is only one more set of stairs." Cleo replied. The group was in the middle of the room, on the floor just before the top floor. As they neared the stairs, Cleo suddenly stopped.

"I sense...a powerful, vengeful spirit..." Cleo informed the group. "My wards will not repel it! It is blocking our path!"

"What?" Ashley looked ahead of them. "There's nothing there...lets just keep going already."

"No. Its too dangerous." Cleo said to Ashley. Ashley ignored her warning, however, and continued on. As she neared the stairs, she felt a chill go down her spine. She stopped and looked around fearfully.

"Begone...intruders..." A cold voice bellowed throughout the room. Several Gastly, ghost pokemon looking like a face inside a gaseous cloud, suddenly appeared and converged into one point in front of the stairs. Ashley quickly backed away from the cloud of gas that formed from the Gastly seemingly combining. The cloud in front of the stairs began to take shape, forming into a humanoid pokemon with a tail, skull mask, and a bone club.

"Its the spirit of a recently deceased Marowak!" Cleo exclaimed. "It was killed by Team Rocket while trying to protect its baby Cubone. Now it seeks revenge, and its spirit is strong enough to influence the Gastly!"

"If its just a bunch of Gastly then we can beat it!" Ashley declared, reaching with both hands to draw pokeballs from her belt.

"Ashley, wait!" Rina suddenly ran out in front of her, putting herself between the spirit of Marowak and Ashley. "Let me try to talk to it...maybe I can calm it down..."

"No way! Thats way too dangerous!" Ashley replied, shaking her head. "Its not like a normal pokemon, you can't just reason with it..."

"No, let her try..." Cleo removed one of her charms from around her neck. The charm consisted of three gems that formed a circle, one red gem, one blue, and one green. She held out the charm to Rina. "Wear this and the spirit cannot harm you. The Gastly, however, still can. As a trainer I doubt that will be a problem for you..."

"Thanks, I'll do what I can." Rina placed the charm around her neck and took two pokeballs from her belt. There were six Gastly in all forming the fake Marowak, so she wanted to be ready. "Berry! Clyde! Go!" Rina held up the two pokeballs and released her pokemon. Clyde the Clefairy and Berry the Butterfree appeared before her. When they saw the ghostly Marowak they moved back slightly, looking fearful.

"-That creature is not of this world!-" Clyde exclaimed, moving into a defensive stance.

"-Its...its scary...-" Berry whimpered, hiding behind Clyde.

"Its just a bunch of Gastly." Rina explained to them. "Pippi, Clyde, Berry...if those Gastly attack, I need you to stop them. I'm going to try to talk with the Marowak..." Clyde and Berry nodded, relaxing slightly at the notion that the ghost Marowak was just a bunch of Gastly. Berry was still nervous, though. She realized Rina meant to talk with a ghost Marowak that was involved with the Gastly somehow.

"-Ok! I won't be caught off guard with another Hypnosis!-" Pippi nodded and grinned determinedly.

"Rina...be careful..." Ashley warned her. Rina slowly approached the Marowak, her three pokemon moving with her. The Marowak raised its club, ready to attack her. Rina didn't stop until she was standing only a bit less than ten feet away.

"Marowak, I know how you feel right now..." Rina said to it in a soothing tone. "I know you want revenge, but you need to calm down! Let us handle it!"

The Gastly gave a cry that sounded like a deep, echoing growl that mimicked what a real Marowak might sound like. It raised its bone club over its head and threw it towards Rina, sending it spinning like a boomerang on a curved path towards her. Clyde jumped out in front of Rina and formed a blue, transparent bubble around itself. The bone bounced off Clyde's bubble and was deflected back towards the Marowak, who then caught it.

"Thanks, Clyde..." Rina whispered to him. She looked sternly at Marowak, trying to figure out how to best approach him. If it were a normal, wild pokemon it would be no problem for her. Pokemon had a tendency to listen when they suddenly realize she can understand them. The shock of such a revelation would have weakened a real pokemon's resolve, but Marowak was hardly a normal case.

"Marowak, please! Listen to me!" Rina pleaded with it. "If you just let us through then we can deal with Team Rocket ourselves!" The Marowak seemed to hesitate a moment, as if Rina's words had managed to reach it. It gave another ghostly growl though and jumped towards Rina, raising its club to attack.

Berry quickly intercepted Marowak's attack, flapping her wings and kicking up a Whirlwind that caused Marowak to drop down too early to attack Rina. Clyde then jumped towards Marowak, punching it with a Pound attack. Marowak staggered back a few steps from the attack. It was plenty close enough to attack Clyde, however, and raised its club over Clyde to strike him.

Fortunately for Clyde, Pippi followed up his attack with a Volt Tackle. An aura of electricity surrounded Pippi as she dashed forward, slamming into Marowak as it tried to get up, moving more like a Marowak then a bunch of Gastly combined together. Pippi's attack didn't seem to do much damage to Marowak at all, as if the Gastly were somehow mimicking its ground typing as well, though the force of the impact pushed it back to the bottom of the stairs.

_"Something tells me negotiations aren't going over too well..."_ Bulbasaur thought. _"If that Marowak doesn't calm down I'll thrash it myself, seems like its still a ground type anyway..."_

"Marowak, you can't keep this up!" Rina yelled at it. "You gave your life to protect your baby Cubone, right? Now let us help you! Let us get by to deal with Team Rocket!" Rina's words finally reached Marowak as the ghost recalled its death, how it had fought off Team Rocket while sustaining life threatening wounds from a gun one of them had all so that her Cubone could escape. She could not rest peacefully, however, as Team Rocket were still at large...

Finally accepting Rina's assurance that Team Rocket would be dealt with, Marowak closed its eyes. Marowak's spirit departed to the afterlife, and the Gastly finally separated. The three ghosts looked at each other in confusion at first and then spotted Rina and her pokemon. The Gastly quickly scattered to avoid a battle. Rina breathed a sigh of relief.

"Rina, you did it!" Ashley cheered as she ran up to her. "I didn't think it'd work but you did it!"

"I was kinda nervous for a bit there..." Rina admitted timidly, rubbing the back of her neck.

"This is no time for celebration." Cleo cautioned the two. "We must keep going. Team Rocket is still on the top level, just above us..." Ashley and Rina nodded and followed behind Cleo again as they went up the stairs. Rina kept both Clyde and Berry out of their pokeballs, knowing full well there was a battle ahead. After only a bit more walking they reached the top floor of the tower.

The top floor was different than the other floors of the tower in that it was completely devoid of graves. Rather, it was set up more like a sanctuary with a bell at the far end of the room. There was an older, bald-headed man on the other side of the room on the floor with three men in black uniforms and white boots standing over him. One of them had a flute in their hand that looked like it had a pokeball on the end.

"No one says no to Team Rocket, gramps, and don't you forget it!" The grunt holding the flute said to the man lying on the floor, kicking him in the side to emphasize his point.

"HEY! Stop right there!" Ashley called out from across the room. The three rockets left Mr. Fuji and turned to face the girls.

"And who's going to make us, huh? You?" The three grunts snickered in unison.

"Thats the idea..." Rina replied rather sternly. Berry, Clyde, and Pippi took up point in front of her and Bulbasaur moved out in front of Ashley.

"Lets see you try then, kiddies!" Each of the three grunts took a pokeball in each hand. They released their pokemon, sending out two each. One grunt sent out a Zubat and a Golbat, one sent out a Drowzee and a Koffing, and the last one sent out a Rattata and Raticate. Ashley reached for two more pokeballs as well to even things out.

"Charizard! Mankey! Come on out!" Ashley held up each of their pokeballs and released her pokemon. Charizard and Mankey appeared before her, both pokemon looking ready for the fight ahead. "Charizard, aim for the Drowzee with Iron Tail! Mankey, attack Raticate with Karate Chop! Bulbasaur, attack Rattata with Razor Leaf!"

Mankey and Charizard charged across the room, Charizard's tail taking on a metallic appearance and Mankey holding up his hand in a flattened position. Bulbasaur attacked Rattata with Razor Leaf from afar, firing out several sharp leaves at the small rat pokemon. Rattata squeaked in pain and nearly collapsed after just one attack from Bulbasaur.

"Berry, attack Koffing with Confusion! Clyde, attack Zubat with Pound! Pippi, attack Golbat with Thundershock!" Rina called out, her own pokemon quickly moving to attack.

Clyde charged across the room, following alongside Charizard and Mankey. Berry's eyes flashed and Pippi's cheeks sparked as both pokemon attacked from a distance. A blast of psychic energy struck Koffing from all directions, nearly fainting it in one attack. Koffing almost fell to the floor from the attack. Golbat, on the other hand, held strong against Pippi's electric attack. It took quite a hit, but hardly faltered as the electricity briefly coursed through it.

"Drowzee, attack Charizard with Headbutt! Koffing, attack that Butterfree with Tackle!" The grunt owning Drowzee and Koffing called out as Charizard was nearing his pokemon.

Charizard delivered a powerful blow to Drowzee when it finally reached the small psychic pokemon, smashing it on the head from above. Drowzee staggered back from the attack, looking stunned briefly but quickly shaking it off. Drowzee jumped back at Charizard, smashing head first into Charizard's jaw. Charizard reeled back from the impact but shook it off. Koffing, meanwhile, quickly hovered across the field and slammed into Berry. Berry was knocked back but remained hovering, easily recovering from the weak attack.

Meanwhile, Mankey was nearing his target as well as the grunt owning Raticate and Rattata called out his pokemon's attacks. "Raticate, attack Mankey with Hyper Fang! Rattata, go and strike Bulbasaur with a Quick Attack!"

Mankey quickly delivered the Karate Chop as it reached Raticate, delivering a powerful blow to Raticate's face. Raticate struck back with a powerful blow itself, however, as it clamped down hard and sank its two front teeth into Mankey's body. Mankey squealed in agony and furiously tried to pull itself free. Meanwhile, Rattata ran across the battlefield and then became a blur of movement as it neared Bulbasaur. It shot forward, slamming into Bulbasaur hard. Bulbasaur growled and staggered back, he was still weak from his previous battle.

"Zubat, counter attack with Bite! Golbat, attack that Pichu with Bite as well!" The last grunt called out his attacks as well as his own pokemon was about to come under attack from Clyde.

The Zubat tried to attack Clyde with Bite as he neared it, but it just ended up getting a mouth full of fist instead as Clyde jumped into the attack. Zubat became the first pokemon knocked out in the brawl, as Clyde struck a rather harsh blow. The grunt growled as he recalled his pokemon, but grinned when he saw his Golbat clamping its large jaws down on Pippi.

"I see now...they're grunts because they're no good with tactics." Rina commented to Ashley. "Pippi, you have Golbat where you want it so use Volt Tackle! Berry, finish Koffing off with Confusion! Clyde, help Mankey out and use Follow Me!"

Pippi couldn't help but grin, even while being trapped in Golbat's mouth, when Rina commanded her to use Volt Tackle. Electricity charged around her body and she took off running, pushing Golbat along ahead of her until she smashed into the wall. Golbat's eyes went wide from the impact and it let go of Pippi, crumpling to the ground. The Golbat's trainer recalled it after it had fainted, looking surprised at the Pichu's technique. The smug grin was wiped off his face.

Berry focused again, her eyes flashing purple as she used her psychic powers on Koffing. Psychic energy blasted Koffing from all directions, knocking it away from Berry when the attack was over. Koffing's levitation gave out as it was knocked unconscious, causing it to fall to the ground. The Koffing's trainer recalled his pokemon, leaving half Team Rocket's pokemon knocked out.

"-Hey, you! Why don't you pick on someone your own type?-" Clyde taunted Raticate in an effort to get the pokemon's attention. The trick seemed to work as Raticate suddenly let go of Mankey, turning towards Clyde and hissing at him.

"Yeah, have to agree with you there Rina!" Ashley replied to her with a smirk. "Bulbasaur, finish Rattata off with Vine Whip! Charizard, attack Drowzee with Bite! Mankey, use Karate Chop again!"

Bulbasaur quickly extended his vines towards the Rattata standing before him, striking the rat pokemon at nearly point blank range and sending it rolling back. Rattata landed on its side and tried to roll back onto its feet, but it lost consciousness before it could. The grunt owning Rattata recalled it, leaving only two pokemon on their team.

Charizard opened its mouth and quickly lunged towards Drowzee, clamping its jaws tightly around its snout. Drozee tried to pull itself free, but not before Charizard tossed it off to the side. Drowzee landed on its face just to the side of Charizard and was also knocked out, forcing its trainer to recall it. Now only one more pokemon of Team Rocket's remained.

"No way we're going to lose to these girls!" The only remaining grunt with pokemon growled. "Raticate, attack Mankey with Hyper Fang!" While Mankey was raising its hand to attack Raticate, Raticate was opening its mouth to attack Clyde. Its trainer had forgotten that Raticate was tricked into attacking only Clyde, and as such it didn't see the Karate Chop coming.

Mankey smashed Raticate from behind with a good, hard chop before it could sink its fangs into Clyde. Raticate squeaked in surprise and then collapsed forward, falling flat onto the floor. The grunt hesitate for a moment before recalling his pokemon, the realization setting in that they had indeed lost to the two girls. After defeating Raticate, Mankey looked around at the other pokemon, his gaze falling on Charizard in particular.

_"I'm the only one...that needed help..."_ Mankey thought to himself disappointedly, feeling a twinge of jealousy as he looked at Charizard. _"One of these days I'll evolve! Then I'll be strong too!"_ Mankey had a wild look in his eyes as he thought this, though no one else seemed to notice.

"Now why don't you hand that flute back to the nice old man and just sit tight until the authorities get here?" Ashley said to the three grunts, grinning. The one holding the flute grumbled and handed it back to Mr. Fuji, and then all three of them held their hands up and backed up against the wall.

"Finally...now I can do what I came here to do..." Rina sighed and ran across the room to a small shrine at the far end. Mr. Fuji watched her curiously as she kneeled down in front of the shrine, hands folded in her lap and eyes closed.

"All this trouble just so she can pray for the pokemon in this tower who had passed away..." Ashley commented quietly, smiling to herself. "She really wanted to do this though." Rina stayed in front of the shrine for several minutes, a silence falling over the room as everyone watched her. When Rina was finally finished and started to stand up, Mr. Fuji approached her.

"I can tell pokemon mean a lot to you, young girl..." Mr. Fuji said to her. "Tell me, what is your name?"

"Its Rina..." She replied quietly, bowing to the man. "I'm sorry about what Team Rocket did to you..."

"Do not worry about it, I came here of my own free will." Mr. Fuji explained to her. "I came here when I heard of the trouble Team Rocket had caused, I knew what the consequences could be but I could not stand by idly. When they heard about my flute, they tried to take it from me..." Mr. Fuji held out the flute to Rina. "I wish for you to take this, child..."

"Your pokeflute?" Rina blinked in surprise as she stood up straight. "But why?"

"For your kind concern towards myself and pokemon. I am sure you will make better use of it than I will..." Rina looked at the flute and hesitantly reached out to take it from Mr. Fuji.

"The spirits of this tower should calm down once Team Rocket is taken away." Cleo said to Ashley. "It is all thanks to you two..."

"Its what most trainers would have done..." Ashley replied.

* * *

Ashley and Rina stayed behind in the tower until the local authorities showed up to arrest Team Rocket. Cleo would tell them after that the spirits in the tower had calmed down as she said they would. Because they spent so long in the tower, however, Ashley and Rina ended up spending the night in Lavender Town. Despite the town's spooky reputation, the two girls were too exhausted to worry about it and had a good night's sleep.

* * *

Author's Notes: Every one of Ashley's pokemon and 3/6 of Rina's pokemon made an appearance in this chapter. Originally it was going to be all Ashley and Rina was going to spend most of the chapter asleep, but then I realized how silly that seemed.

Yet another capture for Ashley as well at this point. Interestingly, though, its quite likely the last one she'll get for a while. Because of the pokemon I planned for her to catch they didn't really end up spaced very well. Though Rina's been catching pokemon too, in fact she's not far from her seventh.

This chapter would easily have been more in line with a regular chapter if it wasn't for the battle with Gary, but in a way that was rather pivotal to the plot anyway. And getting the Pokemon Tower out of the way now makes the story run a bit more fluidly since now Ashley and Rina can travel in a straight line to Celadon, then down to Fuschia, then back up the other side towards Lavender. Seems to minimize backtracking a bit if nothing else...

Anyway, I think I'm just rambling now. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	15. Chapter 15: Vs Flare

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Vs. Flare**

An unintended stopover in Lavender Town ended with Ashley and Rina facing off against Team Rocket in an all-out battle. Their trip into the pokemon tower ended with Ashley catching a new pokemon, a female Haunter, and Rina receiving the pokeflute. Now, the two girls and their pokemon stood in a grassy plain overlooked by a steep hill just outside Celadon City. They had just arrived from the underground pass going between Lavender and Celadon.

"Ok, so if we're going to do this we should do it now." Ashley called out to Rina. The two of them were standing at fifty feet apart. Bulbasaur and Pippi were sitting just at the bottom of the hill, watching the two.

"-I can't believe she's not even using me in the next gym match!-" Bulbasaur grumbled. "-The next one uses grass pokemon, so I'm not even at a disadvantage!-"

"-Doesn't Ashley prefer to battle with type advantages though?-" Pippi asked him. "-She did say she had three pokemon with an advantage over grass types.-"

"-Yeah...well...-" Bubasaur trailed off into mumbling.

"Ready as I'll ever be..." Rina called back hesitantly. She was still reluctant about having training matches, but she knew now at least that her pokemon seemed to enjoy battling. "So its your Pidgeotto against Sarge again, Beedrill against Berg, Golbat against Clyde, Haunter against Berry, and Charizard against Ebil?"

"Thats right, I want to test out all my options since each of them have some kind of advantage. I already know what Bulbasaur is capable of." Ashley paused for a moment and blinked in confusion. "Wait...Ebil?"

"Yep! Ebil!" Rina replied, giggling quietly. "Thats what I decided to name that Ekans..."

"Oh...ok then..." Ashley blinked again and shook her head. "Anyway! Lets start off with Pidgeotto and Sarge!" Ashley took a pokeball from her belt and held it out while pressing the button on the front of it. "Pidgeotto, go!" The pokeball opened up, releasing Ashley's Pidgeotto onto the field.

Rina likewise took a pokeball from her belt and held it out with her hand gripped around it. "Sarge, go!" Rina pressed the button, opening the pokeball. A red beam fired out towards the ground, forming into a Sandshrew. When Sarge saw his opponent, he and Pidgeotto shot each other a glare.

"-It seems fate has brought us to battle once more...-" Sarge said to Pidgeotto.

"-You couldn't beat me then and there's no way you'll beat me now.-" Pidgeotto shot back.

Meanwhile, on the top of the hill, a red haired trainer was approaching the edge just above Pippi and Bulbasaur.

"No sign of that legendary pokemon anywhere..." The trainer, Flare of the Grand Hunters, grumbled. "If I wasn't stuck with this worthless Flareon I would be out stealing pokemon instead of waiting for our leader to find an 'easy enough target' for me..." The Flareon in question, wearing a slave collar around its neck, didn't even flinch at Flare's insults.

Flare was about to jump over the ledge at the edge of the steep hill, but ducked down behind it when she saw Rina and Ashley battling.

"Thats the blonde-haired tramp that made a fool out of me!" Flare growled. "Battling another trainer too...well that legendary pokemon can wait then!" Flare grinned widely, a wicked look in her eyes. "Their pokemon will be nice and weak after a battle...once they're done, I'll make my move!"

"Ok, Pidgeotto! Start with Quick Attack!" Pidgeotto flapped its wings and flew towards Sarge, then suddenly shot forward at a blinding speed and smashed into him. Sarge staggered back, but simply shook off the attack. Rina was tempted to try to use Defense Curl beforehand, but she knew she wouldn't have had time.

"Sarge, strike back with a Slash attack!" Sarge raised its claws and quickly lashed out at Pidgeotto, who had little time to get away after its Quick Attack. Pidgeotto staggered back as Sarge's claws raked across its body, hopping back on one foot a few feet as it tried not to fall over. It quickly righted itself and glared at Sarge while awaiting further instructions to attack.

"Pidgeotto, lets try out your Wing Attack technique! Then get back into the air!"

"Sarge, defend against it with Defense Curl!"

Sarge quickly curled up into a ball as Pidgeotto jumped towards it to attack again. Pidgeotto struck out at Sarge with his wing, sending Sarge rolling back. The attack was largely ineffective, courtesy of Defense Curl. As Sarge was rolling he uncurled and stood up, digging his feet into the ground to come skidding to a stop. Pidgeotto flapped its wings and flew back up after attacking Sandshrew, hovering several feet off the ground.

"Now, jump at it and attack Pidgeotto with Metal Claw!" Sarge raised its right hand back, its small claws changing to look like they were made of metal. Sarge charged towards Pidgeotto and jumped up to attack.

"Pidgeotto, counter with a Gust attack!" Pidgeotto flapped its wings rapidly while in the air, pummeling Sarge with strong gusts of wind. The attack caused Sarge to fall short of his target, his claws coming just inches short of reaching Pidgeotto.

"Strike back with Air Cutter now!" Pidgeotto brought its wings together one last time, holding them briefly and beginning to drop. Pidgeotto opened his wings and started flapping again to stay up, simultaneously releasing a v-shaped blade of air down towards Sarge. The blade struck Sarge from above, knocking him onto his back. Pidgeotto was hovering very low now, almost within reach of Sarge.

"Sarge, strike Pidgeotto while he's low with a Slash attack!" Sarge quickly hopped up while extending his arm out to claw at Pidgeotto. Sandshrew struck hard, slashing across Pidgeotto's soft underbelly. Pidgeotto was knocked up and back, landing hard several feet away. Pidgeotto slowly picked itself up off the ground, shaking his head and then turning his attention back to Sarge. Both pokemon had just taken a strong, crippling blow and were looking pretty exhausted.

"-You've certainly gotten stronger since evolving...-" Sarge commented to Pidgeotto, panting heavily. "-But it matters not, one more strike shall finish you...-"

"-You're not going to last more than one attack either.-" Pidgeotto shot back, also panting from the effort it had been extering in the battle.

"Ok, Sarge, lets try one more time with Metal Claw! Charge!" Sarge charged towards Pidgeotto, holding his claws out at his sides. His right claws began to turn metallic as he prepared to attack.

"Pidgeotto, finish it off with Air Cutter!" Pidgeotto brought its wings together, forcing air between them. However, Rina was ready for this.

"Sarge, quick! Use Defense Curl and roll!" Sarge curled up into a ball and continued rolling towards Pidgeotto as the bird pokemon fired its Air Cutter attack. The attack landed a strong hit on Sarge, the blade cutting across Sarge's curled body, but Sarge was just barely able to withstand it while curled up. Sarge uncurled as it reached Pidgeotto and raked it across its chest with his Metal Claw attack. Pidgeotto staggered back from the blow and fell over onto its side as it lost consciousness.

"You've gotten better since the last time!" Ashley said to Rina, recalling Pidgeotto and placing his pokeball back on her belt.

"Thanks, I don't think I'm as good as you yet though, even though I managed to win this time." Rina admitted in response. "Sarge, great job! You can take a rest now." Rina held up Sarge's pokeball and recalled her pokemon as well.

"Ok, next..." Ashley took another pokeball from her belt. "Beedrill versus Berg! Beedrill, go!"

"Right." Rina nodded in agreement, taking Berg's pokeball from her belt. "Berg, go!"

The two girls each released their pokemon. The large bee pokemon, Beedrill, appeared from Ashley's pokeball and hovered over the ground several feet in front of her. Berg then appeared in front of Rina, extending his twin water cannons from the cracked holes in his shell. Berg immediately trained his cannons on Beedrill. Neither pokemon truly knew what the other was capable of.

"Berg, lets hit hard to start! Blizzard!"

"Beedrill, fly up to dodge it!"

Berg fired a blast of cold air and snow from its cannons, which spread out from each to cover a cone-like area. Beedrill was able to fly up and over the attack to avoid it. Berg's Blizzard only managed to create a sheet of ice across the ground.

"Now, Beedrill, attack Berg with Twineedle!" Beedrill dove down towards Berg, its two stinger-tipped forelegs pointed towards him.

"Berg, Withdraw!" Berg fell forward onto the ground while withdrawing its arms, head, legs, and tail. Beedrill was left only with Berg's strong shell to strike. Beedrill dove into Berg, striking with both stingers but inflicting little damage. However, even through Berg's shell, Beedrill's attack managed to inflict poison. Berg groaned from within his shell as Beedrill's venom began to flow through his body.

"Poisoned?" Rina blinked in disbelief. "Wow...ok then. Berg, get up and use Refresh!" While still safely in its shell, Berg focused and used its Refresh technique. His body shimmered briefly, expelling the poison from it.

"We won't let you off that easy!" Ashley called out to Rina. "Beedrill, poison it again with Poison Sting!" Beedrill raised one of its stingers and struck Berg with another light blow while still hovering over him. Berg didn't even flinch this time from such a weak attack, it even failed to poison him as Ashley had hoped.

"Ok, Berg! It won't dodge this time, use Blizzard again!" Berg emerged from its shell quickly and aimed its twin cannons at Beedrill while crouching down on his arms and legs. A cold blast of air and snow fired from the cannons, giving Beedrill little chance to avoid it. Ice began to form in places on Beedrill's body and the air and snow pushed him up because of the angle Berg was attacking at.

"Beedrill, cut through it with an Aerial Ace and Poison Sting combo!" Beedrill extended one of its stingers in front of it and dove down into the blast of wind, struggling at first but Berg soon ran out of steam and ended the attack. Beedrill dove down and disappeared in a blur of movement, slashing across Blastoise's body with its venom-filled stinger and reappearing only as it pulled up from the attack. Berg groaned in pain as Beedrill landed its first truly effective attack and poison coursed through his body again.

_"Should I have him use Refresh again?"_ Rina wondered then shook her head. _"No, Beedrill would just be able to take advantage of that to attack again, I'd need to use Withdraw first but Beedrill would be able to attack before Blastoise has managed to use the technique. Maybe another Blizzard will finish it off?"_

"Berg, lets try using Blizzard again!" Berg nodded and got back on its feet, turning towards Beedrill to bring its cannons to bear.

"Beedrill, use Aerial Ace again!" Beedrill dove down towards Berg. Berg opened fire, sending a blast of cold air and snow towards Beedrill. Beedrill dove under most of the attack, however, taking only a glancing blow. Beedrill shot forward, slashing across Berg's side with its right stinger. Berg growled and staggered from the attack, which also forced it to stop its Blizzard attack. Beedrill then stopped and turned back to face Berg, hovering in the air. Both pokemon were looking exhausted, but Berg far more so. A blue glow briefly surrounded Berg as his Torrent ability became active.

_"Blastoise's special ability..."_ Ashley thought. _"I can't remember what it is, but all the pokemon handed out by Professor Oak had a special ability that increased the power of attacks the same type they were when they were in danger."_ A slight smirk tugged at the corner of Ashley's lips as she thought it over. _"Even so, Berg's most powerful water attack right now is Water Gun. Beedrill took some strong hits, but he can still take a boosted Water Gun if Rina tries it."_

"Umm...Ashley...was that glowing a good thing?" Rina asked her, interrupting her thoughts.

"Thats a Blastoise's special ability." Ashley explained to her. "It increases the power of his water type techniques when he's weakened to a certain point. His Blizzard attack would still be his strongest attack right now I think..."

"Even if thats true, Beedrill has just been dodging it anyway..." Rina replied quietly. "Ok, Berg! Try using Water Gun!" Blastoise quickly turned towards Beedrill, bringing its guns on it and firing a decent sized stream of water from each cannon. Beedrill did nothing to avoid the attack, taking both streams head on. The attack knocked Beedrill to the ground, but it quickly hovered back up even though it was looking pretty weak now. A yellowish-green glow briefly surrounded Beedrill, mimicking the activation of Berg's Torrent ability.

"Beedrill has that ability too?!" Rina cried out in surprise.

"Beedrill, lets finish this in one go! Twineedle!" Beedrill flew towards Berg, leveling both its front stingers at it. Berg was struck by both stingers simultaneously and staggered back with a pained cry. The last of Berg's strength was drained and it fell back onto his shell.

"-You know, I have an ability like that too you know...-" Bulbasaur grumbled.

"-Seems common...-" Pippi commented, nodding to herself. Bulbasaur snorted and mumbled to himself.

"Your Beedrill is strong..." Rina said to Ashley, sighing as she recalled Berg. "I feel sorry for Berg losing like that after what he's been through..."

"You need to have Berg get stronger so it can evolve for real, remember?" Ashley reminded Rina. "Its bound to have some losses along the way until then. Anyway, Beedrill, great job! Now, return!" Ashley held up Beedrill's pokeball and recalled him. Beedrill had its usual expressionless look as Ashley recalled it.

_"With that Blastoise out of the way, there's no way they'll be able to beat me!"_ Flare thought, grinning to herself. _"That girl is going to burn for making me look like a fool!"_

"I guess you're right, I just hope Berg won't be like that much longer..." Rina sighed again as she placed Berg's pokeball on her belt and took another in hand. "Ok, guess you're up now! Clyde, go!" Rina held up the pokeball and released Clyde, sending him out onto the grassy field that they were using for battle. Ashley, likewise, switched Beedrill's pokeball for another one.

"Golbat, go!" Ashley called out as she released her pokemon. The pokeball she had grabbed opened up at the push of a button, releasing the green-skinned Golbat into the air. Golbat was already flapping its wings to hover in the air.

"-Bah! A Clefairy?!-" Golbat grumbled. "-I left Mount Moon to get away from your type!-"

"-Well I'm sorry to hear that, but you now have me to contend with.-" Clyde replied sternly, slamming his fists together.

"Ok, Golbat! Start with a Bite attack!" Golbat turned to Ashley and stuck his tongue out at her after she called out the attack, but he followed through as usual anyway. It dove down towards Clyde, large jaws open wide to attack.

"Clyde, block it with Protect!" Clyde threw his arms out and formed a transparent blue bubble. Golbat went head first into it and bounced off harmlessly. "Now! Sing attack!" Rina called out next, taking advantage of the brief pause brought by Protect. Clyde began singing a quiet, melodic lullaby. Golbat soon dropped to the ground face first, falling fast asleep.

"-I think that Golbat is more disrespectful to Ashley than you are!-" Pippi commented to Bulbasaur, giggling quietly with a few small sparks escaping from her cheeks.

"-He has the attitude, but not the wit.-" Bulbasaur commented bitterly.

"Now, attack Golbat with Doubleslap!" Rina called out, and as Clyde moved towards Golbat to attack she kept her gaze fixed on the sleeping pokemon. Clyde began slapping around the sleeping pokemon, swiping at Golbat with one hand after another. Clyde continued this until Rina noticed Golbat starting to wake up and flinch from each slap.

"Clyde, finish it up with Pound!" The assault stopped for a moment, giving the waking Golbat a chance to try to get up. It got to its feet just as Clyde followed through with a punch that caught Golbat between the eyes. Golbat staggered back, briefly dazed by the attack. It managed to shake it off, though, before Clyde would have time to launch another attack.

"Golbat, use Supersonic now!" Golbat emitted a high-pitched sound towards Clyde, sending Clyde into a confused daze.

_"Thats the technique it kept using back in the Rock Tunnel, that was annoying..."_ Rina thought, frowning slightly. "Ok, Clyde, try using Sing again!" Clyde opened his mouth to sing, but inexplicably put his right hand in and bit down hard. Clyde cried out in shock and let go of his hand.

"-Bah! Thats what I HATE about you Celfairy!-" Golbat yelled at Clyde, mouth and wings flapping wildly. "-You use that annoying Sing attack!-"

"Golbat, now's your chance! Wing Attack!" Golbat flew up off the ground and then quickly moved towards Clyde, flying past him and striking him with its wings held out stiff in a dive. Clyde stumbled back and fell down, knocked over by the attack in his confusion. Golbat turned around and came to a stop after passing by Clyde, flapping his wings to hover in the air.

_"No good, lets see if Clyde does any better going on the offensive then..."_ Rina thought. "Clyde, attack Golbat with Pound!"

_"Her Clefairy is pretty strong, but it lacks much variety in its offensive techniques."_ Ashley thought to herself. "Golbat, catch Clyde's attack with Bite!"

Clyde shook its head to regain its bearings and turned around towards Golbat. Clyde jumped at the bat pokemon, arm outstretched to attack with Pound. Golbat managed to catch Clyde's fist in his mouth, biting down hard to hold Clyde in place and block his attack. Clyde's extra weight dragged Golbat to the ground, but it was able to maneuver itself to land in a standing position.

"Now follow it up with Leech Life!" Ashley commanded. While still latched onto Clyde, Golbat bit down a bit harder and drained a small amount of energy from Clyde. Clyde grunted and gritted his teeth as the energy was drained from him. He pulled back on his arm, trying to free himself, and no longer had a confused look in his eyes.

"Clyde, use your other hand! Knock him off with Pound!" Clyde stopped struggling and blinked in surprise at the rather simple but effective instruction. He raised his other hand and smashed Golbat between the eyes again with another Pound attack. Golbat let go of Clyde and staggered back in a bit of a daze, but quickly shook it off. Both pokemon were looking exhausted by this point and were panting heavily.

"Clyde, finish Golbat with another Pound attack!"

"Golbat, attack quickly with Wing Attack!"

Golbat stretched out its wings then moved to attack Clyde. Clyde stood his ground, raising his fist back to strike Golbat. The two hit each other simultaneously, Clyde's fist connecting with the side of Golbat's face and Golbat's stiff wing striking Clyde. Both pokemon were knocked back from each other and fell to the ground. Clyde was knocked out almost immediately by the strong Wing Attack, but Golbat made an attempt to push itself onto its feet with its wings before collapsing into unconsciousness.

"A draw..." Rina noted in a disheartened tone, giving a heavy sigh as she and Ashley recalled their respective pokemon. Rina was already placing Clyde's pokeball on her belt and grabbing another.

"Rina, if this is bothering you we could take a break..." Ashley said to her.

"No, its ok, really." Rina replied, shaking her head. "Its just...I don't seem to be on the same level as you. Its like every other match is either a loss or a draw."

_"So the brunette is the stronger of the two then?"_ Flare noted mentally. _"She could be a problem then if blondie doesn't defeat more of her pokemon."_

"I'm not THAT much better than you, I was just lucky enough to catch some strong pokemon." Ashley said to Rina, smiling to her. "Besides, you're coming close even when you lose and your Sandshrew managed to beat my Pidgeotto this time even though it lost against Pidgey."

"I...guess you're right..." Rina replied, though she didn't sound so sure of herself.

"Instead of worrying about winning or losing, you should just worry about whether or not you're giving it your all!" Ashley quickly took another pokeball from her belt. "So are you ready for the next match?"

"Hmph...they're way too naive..." Flare muttered to herself. "That kind of thinking doesn't get you anywhere. "Being strong doesn't get you anywhere. Strength is useless unless you can extert it over the weak. Thats why I took up the offer to join the hunters. And you..." Flare grinned and giggled psychotically to herself.

"You will find out for yourself...when I burn you and your pokemon to ash!" She clenched her fist, shaking with rage. "Just you wait...even if I don't find that pokemon...you will burn..."

"-Huh?-" Pippi glanced around, twitching her ears.

"-What is it?-" Bulbasaur asked her.

"-I thought I heard something...-"

"-Probably just the wind.-" Bulbasaur replied with a shrug.

"-Wind sure makes funny sounds at times...-" Pippi shrugged and turned back to the battle about to unfold.

"Berry, go!"

"Haunter, go!"

Rina and Ashley released their pokemon for the next match, Rina sending out her butterfly pokemon, Berry, and Ashley releasing her recently caught ghost pokemon, Haunter. Berry glared at the female Haunter. She wasn't too happy about what she heard Haunter did to Rina and Pippi.

"Now listen, you! No funny business!" Ashley warned Haunter.

"-But my dear, thats what I do best!-" Haunter gave Ashley a wide, toothy grin. "-If it makes you feel better then in this instance I will do as you instruct...-"

"She'll follow orders..." Rina informed Ashley, though she looked a bit nervous. "I don't trust her though..."

"As long as she'll follow orders, then." Ashley replied with a nod. "Ok, Haunter, use Will-o-Wisp!" Haunter stretched out her hand towards Berry, her hand then becoming engulfed in a purple, ghostly flame. A wisp shot out from Haunter's hand and slowly moved towards Berry. Though Berry had time to dodge the slow moving attack, the zigzagging path it followed confused Berry long enough for it to strike her. The flame dissipated when it hit Berry's body, leaving a bad burn in its place.

"Berry, put Haunter to sleep with Sleep Powder!"

"-With pleasure, Master!-" Berry called back to Rina. She released a green powder from her wings and then began flapping them to kick up some wind, blowing the powder at Haunter. Being a ghost pokemon did nothing to protect her. As the green powder fell on Haunter's body she soon collapsed into a deep sleep and slowly floated down to the ground.

"Now attack with Confusion!" Berry's eyes flashed as she focused her power. A blast of psychic energy suddenly appeared and blasted Haunter from all directions. The ghost pokemon took a harsh blow from it, due to being part poison, but remained asleep throughout the attack. Rina smiled to herself when she saw this.

"We've got this battle won already! Berry, use Confusion again!" Berry nodded quickly in agreement with Rina. Her eyes flashed again, focusing her psychic power on Haunter. A blast of psychic energy struck the ghost pokemon, knocking her back into a small rock jutting from the ground and sending her spinning into the air. Haunter suddenly stopped in midair and opened her eyes, waking up after Berry's attack.

"Haunter, Berry's turn to take a nap now! Hypnosis!" Ashley called out. She kept a close eye on Haunter so she would be ready to call out an attack as soon as Haunter was awake.

"-Nighty night, dearie!-" Haunter held out her hand towards Berry. Berry tried to turn away but felt herself drawn in to Haunter's eyes. Haunter's glowing eyes appeared like swirling whirlpools to Berry, leaving her in a hypnotized state. Rina shuddered involuntarily, remembering that technique being used on her twice. Berry slowly dropped to the ground, landing and falling onto her stomach as she fell asleep.

"Now use Night Shade!" Haunter suddenly appeared to grow through casting an illusion around itself. This caused a dark shadow to fall over Berry. Berry shuddered in her sleep, feeling a chill from the darkness being cast over her. Berry remained asleep throughout the attack, however, even though she could feel it.

"Again! Night Shade!" Ashley called out. Like Rina, she was using the most effective move her pokemon had while there was a clear opening to attack.

"-Oh, but I do dislike using the same trick twice...-" Haunter shook her head in dismay. Despite her hesitation, however, she focused her illusion abilities to use Night Shade. Her body appeared to grow larger, casting a dark shadow over the sleeping Butterfree. Berry, again, shuddered in her sleep from the chill that went through her body. However, she showed no sign of waking, and her burn was still weakening her as well.

"Oh no! Berry can't take another attack!" Rina thought frantically. To her relief, Berry was starting to move as she finally woke up. However, she was moving far too slowly.

"You almost had it this time, Rina, but this is where it ends!" Ashley declared triumphantly. "Haunter, use Shadow Punch!" Haunter curled her ghostly hand into a fist and struck out as if punching a target directly in front of her. Berry recoiled back as if something had struck her, hit by Haunter's punch from afar. Berry fell back to the ground, quickly slipping back into unconciousness as she was knocked out cold.

"I thought I had you that time too..." Rina sighed and recalled Berry to her pokeball. "Well I guess next I'll find out if Ebil will listen to me..."

"-Now, now...I'm not finished yet!-" Haunter grinned and held her hand out towards Rina, slowly floating towards her. Rina froze in fear and Ashley quickly recalled Haunter.

"Thats the last time I listen to a chaneller..." She muttered to herself. Ashley returned Haunter's pokeball to her belt and both her and Rina took another one in their hands.

"So, you sure you want to use Ebil?" Ashley asked her.

"I'm sure..." Rina replied with a nod. "I need to find out, afterall. And I don't think Pippi would want to battle Charizard..." Rina glanced over at Pippi, who shook her head quite adamantly.

"Didn't think so." Rina smiled sheepishly. "Ebil it is then. Ebil, go!" Rina held up the pokeball and released the snake pokemon. Ashley moved quickly when she saw Rina do so, hurriedly releasing Charizard from his pokeball just incase something went wrong.

"Ebil, ready for a battle?" Rina asked the snake pokemon.

"-WHAT?!-" Ebil turned to Rina and hissed at her. "-Why should I take orders from you? Just wait until I sink my teeth into that ankle of your's!-" Ebil lunged at Rina, fangs bared. He didn't get anywhere, though. A thick, metallic tail slammed down hard on his body. Ebil hissed in pain and squirmed to get out from under Charizard's tail.

"-I don't think so, pal.-" Charizard said to Ebil. "-I might not like trainers, but no one is biting either of these two on my watch...-"

"-Fine then!-" Ebil hissed at Charizard. "-I'll take you out first!-" Ebil raised his head. He bared his fangs at Charizard, dripping with a violet poison, then bit into Charizard's right side. Charizard roared in pain, but his weakened body managed to fight off the poison. Charizard ended up lifting his tail slightly, which allowed Ebil to free himself.

"Charizard, attack with Metal Claw!" Charizard raised his left hand, his claws becoming coated in metal. He then lashed out with them, slashing down the side of Ebil's body. Ebil hissed in pain and let go of Charizard's body, slithering back and rearing up on the back end of his body.

"Ebil, paralyze Charizard with a Glare attack!" Rina called out, hoping Ebil would follow her instructions.

"-I am NOT listening to you!-" Ebil hissed back at Rina. Rather than taking Rina's advice to use Glare, the Ekans curled its tail back on its body and rubbed against itself. Rubbing his scales together created a terrible screeching noise. Rina, who was closer to the battle than Ashley, had to cover her ears. The screeching noise caused Charizard to wince and threw him off, weakening his defenses.

"Charizard, attack with Ember!" Charizard growled at Ebil and spat out a small fireball at him. The fireball blasted Ebil in the face, knocking him back to the ground. The fireball left a minor burn on the side of Ebil's face as well. Ebil hissed and reared up on his tail again to glare at Charizard.

"Now will you listen to me?" Rina asked Ebil. The Ekans took a moment to think about it, and Ashley didn't call anymore attacks while Ebil thought it over.

"-Fine, you win...-" Ebil muttered quietly. "-This time, I'll listen...-"

"Ok then! Jump behind Charizard and use Poison Fang, aim for his neck!" Ekans nodded and quickly sprang forward. Charizard tried to follow Ebil's movements, but once Ebil had a good grip on Charizard's body it was able to climb around and reach its target. Ebil slithered up the back of Charizard's body and bit into the back of his neck, his fangs dripping with poison. Charizard roared in pain, and this time the poison set in.

_"Glad to see he's listening to her now..."_ Ashley thought with a smirk. _"Too bad this is over, otherwise she might have been able to make a comeback..."_

"Charizard, flip Ebil over you and use Bite!" Charizard thrust his head forward and leaned over, throwing Ebil's long body over his shoulder while the snake pokemon remained firmly latched onto his neck. Charizard then opened his own mouth and sank his teeth into Ebil's body. Ebil cried out, letting go of Charizard's neck and fainting. Charizard then let go, dropping the unconscious snake pokemon to the ground.

"I think we could have done better if Ebil was listening to me to begin with." Rina said as she recalled Ebil. Though he had decided to listen to her in the end, he had no doubt learned yet another harsh lesson.

"You knew what you were doing anyway, despite never having handled him before." Ashley said to Rina. "Charizard, great job too! Lets get you in your pokeball before that poison can cause anymore damage." Ashley held up Charizard's pokeball and recalled the orange fire pokemon into it, then placed the pokeball back on her belt.

"Well, I guess thats it...glad thats over with." Rina waved to Pippi and Bulbasaur, signalling that it was time to go.

_"So they still have two pokemon left then..."_ Flare thought as Bulbasaur and Pippi came into view, previously hidden from view at the bottom of the hill. _"A Bulbasaur and a Pichu...hardly a threat to Flareon. I'll beat both of them, and then take out their remaining pokemon with one Quick Attack each!"_ Flare stood up, grinning to herself.

"Flareon, jump and attack those two pokemon with Fire Blast from above!" The enslaved Flareon ran towards the steep edge of the hill and jumped out into the air. Tilting downward, it shot a small fireball at Bulbasaur and Pippi. The fireball expanded in midflight and seemingly grew arms, legs, and a head.

Bulbasaur and Pippi stopped when they heard the fire coming towards them and looked up to see Flareon's Fire Blast attack coming straight down at them. They tried to dive out of the way but the extended arms of the attack caught them and pinned them, burning them briefly before exploding around them in a burst of flames.

"Bulbasaur!"

"Pippi!"

Ashley and Rina called out to their pokemon when they saw the attack hit. Both pokemon looked as though they were hit pretty hard. It was a strong fire attack. Bulbasaur was weak to fire attacks and Pippi wasn't a tough pokemon either. Both of them were barely able to get back on their feet. Their attacker, the enslaved Flareon, gracefully landed behind them and Flare slid down to the bottom of the hill.

"Seems we meet again!" Flare said to them. "This time I won't be caught off guard by you!"

"I was able to take you by myself before! What makes you think you'll beat us this time?" Rina asked her while Ashley quietly took two pokeballs from her belt. One was Bulbasaur's, as she knew he wouldn't do her much good now, and the other was Charizard's.

"I've been watching you two battle." Flare explained, grinning at the two. "Your pokemon are either already knocked out or too weak to put up much of a fight. So this time I'll have the pleasure of incinerating you both!"

"She's nuts..." Rina mumbled quietly. While Flare was talking, Ashley took the opportunity to quickly recall Bulbasaur and, at the same time, send out Charizard to confront Flareon. Flare blinked in surprise at first, then chuckled quietly at Ashley's useless manuever.

"Do you really think that is going to do you any good?" Flare asked her mockingly. "Your Charizard is already weakened, poisoned, and has no advantage against my Flareon..."

_"She's right..."_ Ashley thought, gritting her teeth. _"But I have to hold out as long as I can. I'll buy time for Rina to get her smokeball-thing from her and maybe come up with a strategy that will allow our pokemon to beat Flareon. I'll need to find out what attacks her pokemon has..."_

"-R...Rina...-" Pippi mumbled weakly as she started to slowly walk towards her trainer.

"Afraid you're not going anywhere." Flare said when she saw Pippi trying to get away. "Flareon, Quick Attack!"

"Pippi, dodge with Quick Attack!" Flareon took off towards Pippi in a flash of movement. It looked as though Flareon would hit its target, but Pippi shot off out of the way. Flareon shot off towards Pippi again, but likewise Pippi dodged with another Quick Attack. They followed the pattern one last time with Pippi stopping in front of Rina and Flareon going head first into Charizard's iron-clad tail. Without orders from Ashley, Charizard had blocked Flareon with Iron Tail.

"-Hunter...you have me to deal with.-" Charizard snorted at Flare, but then winced in pain from the effects of the poison on his body. A reddish glow surrounded him briefly and the fire on the end of his tail grew higher and flickered fiercely.

"How persistant. And yet, he won't even be standing much longer." Flare noted smugly. "Flareon, use Fire Blast at point blank range." Flareon turned towards Charizard and spat out a small fireball. The fireball hit Charizard before it expanded into its usual shape, but Charizard stood his ground. The fireball, in the shape of a stick figure, eventually exploded and engulfed both Charizard and Flareon in a ball of fire.

When the flames died down, Charizard was barely standing. Flareon, on the other hand, was unharmed by the attack. The pokemon's Flash Fire ability had activated, causing the fire to form into an aura around Flareon's body and boost the power of its fire-type attacks. Charizard stood panting for a moment, but the poison quickly took its toll on him. Charizard lost conciousness and fell backwards, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

"Charizard..." Ashley felt the hopelessness of the situation now. Charizard didn't last long at all. Ashley didn't have a clue as to what to do next, especially with Flareon boosted by Flash Fire. She recalled Charizard while trying to come up with her next plan of action. She didn't notice Rina was now cradling Pippi in one hand while she tried to stealthily retrieve a potion with the other.

"Now there's nothing either of you can do to stop me. I'll burn you alive...but first..." A wicked grin formed across Flare's face. "I'll make you suffer for what you put me through..." Flare clenched her fist and walked towards Rina. Ashley quickly stepped out in front of Rina to block Flare.

"If you really want to be first then by all means..." Flare raised her fist back, about to strike Ashley. A low growl from nearby stopped her, however. Looking towards the source of the growl, the three trainers saw a tan-furred doglike pokemon standing at roughly seven feet tall. It had what looked like a pair of white wings on either side and a flowing white mane resembling smoke.

"Entei!" Flare grinned widely, immediately losing interest in Ashley and Rina. "The fire pokemon from Johto...I'll make you mine!" Flare removed a folded slave collar from her belt and threw it at Entei, but an Ember attack from the legendary pokemon blasted it aside.

"Wait...is that a legendary pokemon then?!" Ashley asked increduously, taking out her pokedex to check. She was unable to find any information on the pokemon in question, however. While Flare was distracted, Rina sprayed Pippi with a potion. She then set her down on the ground and whispered to her. In a flash of movement, using Quick Attack, Pippi swiped Flare's smoke ball without her even noticing.

"Fine then! We'll just have to battle! Flareon, use Shadow Ball!" Flareon moved out in front of Flare to battle Entei, both Flare and her pokemon forgetting about Ashley and Rina. Flareon launched a purple ball of shadowstuff at Entei, which exploded when it made contact with the legendary pokemon. Entei hardly seemed phased by the attack, however.

With Flareon in attack range now, the legendary fire pokemon opened its mouth and shot out a small fireball. The fireball expanded, taking the familiar shape of the Fire Blast attack. The odd-shaped fireball was simply absorbed by Flareon's Flash Fire ability, strengthening the aura of flames around it.

_"Legendary pokemon or not, wild pokemon always make stupid moves in battle!"_ Flare thought, grinning to herself.

While Flareon and Entei were battling, Ashley lifted up her camera and focused the viewfinder on Entei. She quickly snapped several pictures of the legendary pokemon.

"Ashley! Don't you think we should be helping Entei?" Rina asked her furiously when she saw her taking pictures.

"I'm sure Entei can handle it..." Ashley replied with a shrug. "If he's a legendary pokemon like Flare says anyway. Plus, now I'll have pictures of a legendary pokemon!"

Entei took a few steps towards Flareon and then raised up on his hind legs. He brought his front legs down hard on Flareon's neck, shattering the collar which had become weakened from the intense heat and instantly knocking Flareon out with its incredible strength. With Flareon down, Entei turned its attention to Flare.

"N-no way! Its way too strong for me!" Flare stammered. She reached for her smoke ball, but discovered it was missing. She immediately cast an accusing glare at Ashley and Rina, at which point she saw the smoke ball in Pippi's hands.

"Flare, we're turning you in to the proper authorities! And don't even try to escape!" Rina said to Flare. Flare cursed under her breath. Seeing that the situation was well in hand, Entei turned and quickly fled the scene.

_"That pokemon really knew what it was doing..."_ Ashley thought. _"Still...why is it in Kanto? Flare said it was from Johto..."_

_"That pokemon sure left in a hurry..."_ Rina noted mentally. Ashley stepped forward and roughly grabbed Flare's arms so she couldn't get away.

"Wait! What about Flareon?" Rina asked Ashley, looking over at the fainted pokemon.

"Catch it?" Ashley suggested with a shrug. "We can sort it out later after that..."

"Ok." Rina took an empty pokeball, her last one, from her backpack. She threw it at the fainted pokemon, which was then pulled inside and caught without any struggling. The pokeball disappeared in a white flash, getting sent off to storage as it Rina's seventh pokemon. With Flareon taken care of, Rina escorted Flare into Celadon City alongside Ashley.

* * *

Author's Notes: This chapter was originally going to just be three pokemon battles between Ashley and Rina, rather than five. It was only going to involve the pokemon Ashley would use against Erika. However, I decided to expand that to include two of her more recent captures so they could be seen in battle a bit more.

Another Grand Hunter caught, and a brief appearance by Entei. By the way, I like to have legendary pokemon know all their attacks regardless of what 'level' I have them set at. Also, anyone who's read Legends in Hoenn might notice a little something about this chapter as well...


	16. Chapter 16: The Revelation

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**The Revelation  
**

"Don't think you've seen the last of me!" Flare shouted at Ashley and Rina while a police officer dragged her into the back of the station. "No prison can keep a Hunter locked away for long!"

"Ashley...have any of those other Hunters ever escaped?" Rina asked Ashley quietly. Ashley shook her head.

"Nope...we won't be seeing her for a while..." Ashley said to her, smirking lightly. They dragged Flare all the way to the police station and answered a few questions. Since the police were already out to get the Hunters there was little else to be done, so the two girls were free to leave now.

"So that only leaves...eight Hunters?" Rina counted them off on her hand. Twelve known hunters, four behind bars, so eight remained. "Yeah! So a third of the Hunters are in custody now!"

"Yeah, I don't think we're strong enough now that we won't have to worry about them either." Ashley said, nodding in agreement as the two of them left the police station. She waited until she was outside to continue. "Doesn't it seem a bit odd, though? The police, the Elite Four, gym leaders, they haven't been able to take any of the Hunters in before now but we've managed to take down four..."

"I think its because they're not afraid of us." Rina replied with a slight shrug. "If they run into the police or the Elite Four, they disappear. But whenever we run into them, we usually end up battling them..."

"-Well they'll have to start watching their backs, then! Because we're coming for them!-" Pippi, walking alongside Rina, threw a few punches at the air.

"Anyway, where to now?" Rina asked Ashley.

"The pokecenter of course. We didn't go there on the way in because we were turning Flare in." Ashley replied.

The two girls walked from outside the Celadon City police station to the pokecenter. The police station was in the southern end of the city while the pokecenter was in the northern end, just inside the city from the route they had arrived from earlier. The pokecenter was located at the end of a long street through the city, with the police station on the right side of the opposite end.

Rina put Pippi back in her pokeball when they arrived in the pokecenter and kept one pokeball on hand when she handed them over to the nurse. Ashley handed over her own pokemon as well and sat in one of the chairs in the center to watch tv while Rina went over to the computer and played around with it.

On the tv, a female newscaster had just finished an interview with a pokemon professor. The screen was split to show the newscaster, in her studio, alongside an image of the professor in his lab. "Thank you again for your time, Professor Birch." The screen showing the professor was removed and the newscaster's screen expanded to fill the tv.

"In related news, the Elite Four have called off their search for the legendary pokemon Kyogre and Groudon." The scene shifts again, showing a news conference with a man in a white suit and cape addressing a crowd of reporters. The man, Hoenn Elite Four Champion Wallace, was explaining their decision to call off the search. His voice was drowned out by the newscaster's narration.

"This news comes admist rumors that a trainer has actually caught these two pokemon." The woman explained. "However, Wallace has reassured us that the situation is well in hand." The newscaster finishes her narration so Wallace's speech can be heard now.

_"To catch legendary pokemon...that'd have to be a really strong trainer."_ Ashley thought.

"Ashley!" Rina's voice startled Ashley. She didn't notice Rina was standing next to her now. "Can you show me how to use that computer?"

"You don't know how to use the PC?" Ashley asked, blinking in surprise.

Rina shook her head. "No...I'm kinda...computer illiterate I think it is?" She blushed slightly in embarassment as she admitted this.

"Alright, I'll show you then..." Ashley got up from her chair and walked with Rina over to the computer. She wondered how Rina could possibly have been having trouble. The interface for a pokecenter's PC was incredibly easy to use and basic.

"All I was able to get was this blue screen..." Rina pointed to the computer screen. It was all blue except for a cryptic error message.

"You...but how..." Ashley stammered, completely dumbfounded. Pokecenter computers had strict limits on what could even be done on them, and there was nothing Ashley knew of that someone could do to get a blue screen of death. Giving an exasperated sigh, Ashley rebooted the computer. It took about a minute for the computer to restart and get to the login screen.

"Ok, first you need to log in..." Ashley explained to Rina. She stood by and waited for her to do so.

"How do I do that?" Rina asked her. Ashley blinked in disbelief.

_"We've gone beyond computer illiterate..."_ Ashley thought. "Rina...just slide your id into the slot at the side..." Rina took out her trainer card. She looked at her card and the slot on the computer curiously before trying to put it in. She had it upside down at first but got it right on her second try. A welcome screen displayed showing several menus.

"Now, from here, you can choose to check your mail, transfer pokemon, or transfer items." Ashley explained, showing each menu on the screen. "The screen is touch sensitive, so just touch the menu item you want to access..." Rina nodded and touched the 'Transfer Pokemon' tag. The screen now displayed more menus to deposit, retrieve, or release pokemon.

"So now if I wanted to use Flareon...I'd need to deposit a pokemon first, right?" Rina asked.

"Right." Ashley nodded to her. "Place the pokeball containing the pokemon you want to deposit in here..." Ashley gestured to a small metal plate next to the computer with a deep, curved indent to place a pokeball in. "Then just click deposit and it'll send your pokemon off to storage."

"Ok..." Rina placed the only pokeball she had with her on the plate and then pushed the 'deposit pokemon' item on the screen. She looked over at the pokeball expectantly, but nothing was happening. "Huh? Why didn't it go?"

"Rina...you need to press 'Ok'." Rina looked at the screen and saw a prompt saying, 'Are you sure you want to deposit pokemon BUTTERFREE?' Under the prompt was an 'Ok' and 'Cancel' button. Rina pressed ok. The pokeball she placed on the plate glowed white and vanished.

"So...she's gone? Just like that?" Rina asked.

"Yep, she's gone off to storage." Ashley replied with a nod. "Now, you want to withdraw that Flareon, right?" Ashley pushed a button to go back to the main pokemon menu. "So just go to 'retrieve pokemon' menu and withdraw Flareon."

Rina pushed the 'Retrieve Pokemon' menu item, which then gave her a loading screen. A large box then appeared on screen with a small image of Flareon in the upper left corner. It was soon joined by an image of a Butterfree, whom Rina had just deposited. "So...I just press the picture of Flareon then?"

Rina pressed the picture of Flareon and got another prompt to press 'Ok' on. The box then disappeared and only a flashing 'Please wait...' remained on screen. After about a minute of waiting, there was a bright flash and another pokeball appeared on the plate. From there, Rina was able to navigate out of the menu on her own this time.

"Thats actually pretty easy once you get past the login thing!" Rina happily took the pokeball from the plate and went to the front desk to check up on the rest of her pokemon.

"Thats supposed to be easy too...and you forgot to log out..." Ashley sighed and turned to the computer to log Rina out of her account. Their pokemon were healed by then, so both trainers were able to retrieve their pokemon. After Ashley got her pokemon she went back to the PC to switch around a few, then met with Rina outside the pokecenter.

"So are you going to the Kanto Times now?" Rina asked Ashley when she arrived outside.

"Yep! I've got one heck of a picture for them this time!" Ashley grinned widely, retrieving one of her pictures of the legendary pokemon Entei from her pocket. "After that, I want to check out the department store..."

"I want to check up on Flareon..." Rina held the pokeball containing Flareon in her hand. "Oh, and I'd like to go to the game corner too! I hear they have lots of fun games!"

"So why don't we split up and meet back here in...say..." Ashley checked her watch. "Two hours? Then we can go grab a bite to eat, I hear Celadon has some of the best restaurants."

"Alright, sure!" Rina nodded enthusiastically. "Think you could pick up a few pokeballs while you're at the store? I'm all out..."

"Sure. I need to get some as well anyway." Ashley nodded to Rina. "Ok then, I'm off. See you later!" Ashley tapped her watch as a reminder to Rina and then set off towards the Kanto Times office.

"Ok, first I'll let Pippi out..." Rina took Pippi's pokeball from her belt and released her. Pippi materialized at Rina's feet and took a quick look around.

"-Huh? Where is everybody?-" Pippi asked Rina.

"Ashley's going shopping and I'm going to the game corner, so we split up for now." Rina explained to her. "I want to take the chance to check up on that Flareon too..." Pippi tilted her head to the side, watching Rina curiously as she took another pokeball from her belt and released the recently freed Flareon. Flareon blinked slowly and looked around curiously when she appeared, eventually spotting Rina.

"-Ah, we meet again!-" Flareon bowed her head to Rina respectfuly. "-I must thank you for rescuing me from that tyrant. Not once did that witch ever brush my fur!-"

"-She made you do all those horrible things like burning buildings down too...-" Pippi added.

"-Yes...well...that was bad too I suppose...-" Flareon replied offhandedly. "-But that is hardly important! Pokemon grooming was a completely foreign concept to her! This is a crime against my beautiful fur!-"

"I think you're upset for the wrong reasons..." Rina mumbled quietly, blinking in disbelief at Flareon's attitude.

"-So you can understand me?-" Flareon asked, noticing Rina's reaction. "-In that case, my fur is in dire need of attention. I demand you get a brush and brush it!-" Heat seemed to radiate from Flareon's body as she angrily demanded this.

"But...but I don't have a brush..." Rina replied timidly. She could feel the heat from Flareon's body, even standing a few feet away, and was worried Flareon might overreact. _"I wish Ashley were still here...I bet she has a brush..."_

"-WHAT?! What kind of girl doesn't carry a brush?!-" Flareon angrily demanded. "-I demand you keep me in that pokeball, then, until you find one! My fur is a mess and I cannot be seen like this!-"

"Umm...have it your way..." Rina sighed and held up Flareon's pokeball. She hurriedly recalled her, fearful of what she might do otherwise.

"-She's odd...and scary...-" Pippi commented, shivering slightly despite the lingering heat in the air.

"You said it!" Rina said with a nod. "I'll leave her in her pokeball until we meet with Ashley later and we can go check out the game corner now. I just hope Ashley won't mind having her brush used on a pokemon..."

"-Ok then! I want to see what this game corner is too...-" Pippi smiled brightly and nodded to Rina. The two of them then set off for the Celadon City Game Corner.

* * *

"There's no way they're going to turn me down this time! I finally have undeniable proof that aliens have been visiting Celadon City!" An eccentric older man sitting next to Ashley declared, quickly producing a picture and shoving it in her face. "See!" The picture in question showed three blue lights arranged in a triangle, flying through the night sky.

"Oh yeah, thats undeniable alright!" Ashley replied, quickly agreeing with him. _"An undeniable picture of an airplane's landing lights..."_ She then thought. Ashley was in the Kanto Times waiting room. The man in question would be going in after her, and another person was already in the office with supposed proof of little green men from Mars.

_"Why do I seem to run into all the weirdos?"_ Ashley wondered, shrinking back in her seat. _"I can't believe the editor would even see someone like him..." _Suddenly, the office door swung open. A middle-aged woman, visibly shaking, walked out. An older man with graying hair held the door open for her. Ashley recognized him as the head editor from when she first arrived.

"Don't you worry, mam. Those aliens will be brought to justice, you just leave everything to us." The man said to her reassuringly.

"Th-thank you..." The woman replied, hobbling towards the exit with shaky steps. With the woman's back to him, the editor sighed and shook his head.

"Next." It was finally Ashley's turn now. She got up from her seat and went into the editor's office. The editor took a seat opposite Ashley with a wooden desk situated between them. There were various pictures and news clippings pinned up around the room.

"Now...you claim to have a picture of a legendary pokemon?" The editor asked Ashley in a tone that suggested he wasn't at all convinced she did.

"Yep! I've got it right here." Ashley took out the picture and handed it to the man. The editor took it in his hand and looked it over carefully. It wasn't a blurred or distant image like he usually got for pictures of legendary pokemon or paranormal creatures. It was a good shot of Entei, in the open, from only a dozen or so meters away.

"This one...'Entei', right?" The editor asked her. Ashley nodded. "I've been hearing a lot about this one lately, had people bring in pictures...but nothing ever this clear. I think this might be the first real proof that a legendary pokemon is running around Kanto. How'd you get this picture?"

"I was out training with a friend of mine, and we both had fire pokemon out at the time. I had a Charizard battling her Flareon." Ashley explained. She decided to leave out the details involving Flare or Charizard actually having been defeated before Entei arrived. "Entei showed up and we tried to catch it, but my Charizard was knocked out by poison inflicted by one of my friend's other pokemon and her Flareon was defeated in one hit. I got the picture before Entei ran off though."

"So it takes an interest in fire pokemon, huh?" The editor mused. "Growlithe and Vulpix are known to gather near here, I wonder if thats why Entei seems to be sticking around here...hmm..." He thought quietly to himself, looking over the picture for a moment before putting it down on his desk and looking across the desk at Ashley.

"With that picture I think we could finally run a story on Entei. You willing to part with it?" The editor asked her.

"Sure!" Ashley replied enthusiastically. She had spares anyway. The man opened a drawer on his desk and pulled out a small white envelope, then handed it to Ashley.

"Company policy." He explained. "Since we're using your picture for a news article, its ten thousand."

_"Ten thousand!?" _Ashley thought, trying to contain her excitement as she took the envelope from him. _"I could buy a couple ultra balls with that kind of money...I wonder if the department store carries any?"_

"Well, thank you for your time miss...?"

"Ashley." Ashley replied, her voice almost rising in her excitement. _"Maybe I should have taken a picture of Flare so I could have another picture going into a news article..."_

"Well, thanks again Ashley. You'll probably see the article within a day or two, so watch for it." The editor and Ashley shook hands and Ashley left the office after tucking the envelope away. As Ashley was leaving, the editor was calling in the guy with the UFO picture.

_"Ten thousand..."_ Ashley thought again as she left the Kanto Times. _"Well, time to go spend it all!"_ She grinned to herself and took off down the street to the Celadon Department Store.

The department store was a towering building with shops on almost every level. Ashley soon arrived outside and walked into the first level of the building, which was just a reception and security level so she quickly took the stairs to the second level. Upon arriving at the landing for the second floor, Ashley was met with racks and racks of typical pokemon supplies including TM discs, pokeballs, and healing items. Ashley made her way to the pokeball section first.

"Pokeballs sold out? Ultraballs not in stock?!" Ashley cried out in surprise over finding all the racks empty for those two in particular. Fortunately, her voice was drowned out by all the customers gabbing away throughout the store. It was busier than usual due to a three for one sale on pokeballs.

"Well, at least there's still great balls. Those are better than pokeballs at any rate." Ashley reached out to take a great ball from one of the two racks, but then realized she had nothing to carry her stuff in before buying any. Ashley went to the cashier, pushing past a thick lineup to get a plastic basket. She had to push past the lineup again to get back to the aisle where she found the great balls.

"So crowded..." Ashley muttered with a sigh. She took a quick look at her watch to check the time. "Still have an hour and a half. Good, I might end up spending most of that time in a lineup..."

* * *

"What? Its closed?!" Rina cried out in dismay. She arrived outside the game corner, only to find a sign saying it was closed for renovations.

"-Rina...what are...re-no-vations?-" Pippi asked, sounding it out as she read the sign.

"It means they're changing it around inside..." Rina replied and gave an exasperated sigh. "I really wanted to play the games too..."

While Rina lamented over the closed game corner, the front door opened. A black haired woman wearing a red and yellow kimono didn't look like it would be out of place on a shrine maiden and a red headband. Noticing Rina standing nearby she smiled and bowed to her.

"Hello there miss." The woman greeted her then stood up straight again. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No..." Rina replied with another heavy sigh. She looked up at the woman and blinked when she realized she just came out of the game corner. "Actually...umm...whats going on in there exactly?"

"The game corner recently came under new management." The woman explained. "You see, it was recently discovered that Team Rocket was operating the facility. A young trainer named Red chased them off, and now I am personlly overseeing the game corner's operations."

"Oh...really?" Rina blinked in surprise. She was at a sudden loss for words. _"Red was here and he beat Team Rocket? Wow...he really IS a great trainer!" _Rina smiled to herself, her head became filled with thoughts of Red singlehandedly defeating an army of Team Rocket grunts.

"Have you heard of him before?" The woman asked, noticing Rina's smile. Rina snapped out of her daze, blushing fiercely when she realized what she was doing.

"I uh...I met him before, yeah..." Rina replied, rubbing the back of her head in embarassment and turning away slightly in an attempt to hide her face.

"-Rina and Red, up in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!-" Pippi giggled as she taunted Rina.

"Where did you learn that?" Rina quietly asked Pippi.

"Oh...you can understand her?" The woman asked her, tilting her head to the side slightly.

"Y-yeah...I can understand all pokemon..." Rina replied, still turned away as the color slowly drained from her face. The woman seemed to think this over for a moment before smiling to herself.

"Well then, would you like for me to show you around?" Rina looked back quickly, her embarassment fading almost instantly.

"You would really do that?" Rina asked her. The woman nodded in response. "I'd like that a lot, thanks!"

"Come with me, then..." The woman motioned for Rina to follow her. She opened the game corner door and lead Rina and Pippi into the building. Inside, to Rina's surprise, there was little work being done. It seemed like the machines were being replaced more than anything.

"So...what are you changing exactly anyway?" Rina asked, noticing that they weren't actually doing much renovating.

"We are changing the games and prizes. And adding a bit more decor..." The woman gestured towards several potted plants off to the side. "We're also looking to close off access to the basement level..."

"The basement?" Rina asked.

"Team Rocket had their hideout down there." The woman lead Rina over to the far end of the room, stopping in front of a poster. She then pulled the poster aside and pushed a button hidden behind it. Off to the side, hidden from the rest of the game corner by a low wall, a trap door opened and revealed a flight of stairs.

"Red found that...there was actually a large underground complex here. Fortunately, Red defeated Team Rocket's leader and then the police were able to clear out the remaining Rockets to secure the area." She then lead Rina down the stairs in question. At the bottom of the flight of stairs was a large corridor with two doors leading into other rooms and a seemingly pointless inlet with several potted trees.

"The decor is nice, but its a rather uncomfortable area..." The woman stated, sighing softly.

"You really seem to like plants..." Rina said, noticing that the woman was referring to the trees.

"Well of course." The woman replied, smiling lightly. "Afterall, I am..." She stopped midsentence as the door on the right side of the corridor suddenly opened up. A blue haired man wearing a white, gold-trimmed suit and a pair of sunglasses came out of the room followed by a woman in a red dress and purple hair tied up in a bun. Both wore a gold GH pin on their right side.

"Seems we have company...maybe we'll get something worthwhile out of this trip afterall." The man grinned and reached into his pocket, taking out a small coin. The coin had a Magikarp on one side and Pikachu on the other. He flipped the coin into the air then caught it on his hand. Removing his hand, he revealed the coin to be Pikachu-side up. "Odds are in our favor..."

"I don't need your coin to tell me that, Dice." The woman said to him quite calmly. "That Pichu would be the one we've been hearing about, the one that knows Volt Tackle..."

"Hunters? Here?!" Rina cried out in surprise. "Well they don't have pokemon with them, so we can take them!"

"On the contrary..." The man, Dice, whistled loudly. An Espeon walked out through the door, followed by a purple Dragonair. Both pokemon were wearing slave collars.

"Those pokemon..." Rina felt her body growing weak and fell to her knees. "They're using...my parents' pokemon..." Tears began to well up in Rina's eyes, the fate of her parents' beloved pokemon now revealed to her. She was too shocked from their appearance to make any move against the Hunters. The woman frowned and stepped forward to confront the two.

"Who are you, and why are you here?" The woman asked them.

"Its hardly any of your business, but we were hired to retrieve a few things Team Rocket had left behind." The woman explained. "I'm sure you can tell who we are. We weren't able to find anything, but we certainly won't leave emptyhanded." Pippi moved forward, ready to fight the two for Rina's sake.

"Well aren't you a feisty one?" Dice grinned at Pippi. The small electric pokemon growled and took aim at Espeon. Electricity charged around Pippi's body as she prepared to use Volt Tackle and then took off running towards Espeon. "Espeon, Quick Attack!" Espeon disappeared moments before Pippi could hit it, moving in a flash to reappear five feet away. Pippi ended up crashing head first into a wall.

"Dragonair, Twister." The female hunter commanded calmly. A whirlwind kicked up around Pippi, picking her up and tossing her off. Pippi cried out as she struck another wall and fell to the ground in pain. "This is almost too easy..."

"-Rina...-" Pippi grunted weakly as she struggled back onto her feet. Watching Pippi's plight, the woman with Rina knelt down next to her and placed her hands on her shoulders, shaking her lightly.

"Your Pichu needs help, she can't fight them on her own!" The woman said to her.

"I can't...I can't do it..." Rina replied quietly, shaking her head. "I can't fight...my parent's pokemon..." Rina looked up and watched as the gem on Espeon's forehead glowed. A blast of psychic energy struck Pippi, flinging her back towards Rina. Pippi hit the floor hard and skidded across it, stopping just in front of Rina. Rina gasped, but was still conflicted on what to do.

"-Rina...-" Pippi squeaked weakly, again slowly getting back on her feet. "-I'll free them...somehow...Rina...-" Pippi looked back at her trainer and smiled weakly. "-I'll do whatever it takes...and I'll free them...-"

"Pippi...please stop...you'll just get hurt..." Rina begged her, but Pippi just shook her head.

"-You can't fight them...so I will!-" Pippi turned back to Espeon and Dragonair and gritted her teeth, electricity flaring around her body as she prepared for another Volt Tackle attack. "-I won't hold back anything! I'll smash those collars to bits!-"

"Certainly a feisty little thing..." The female hunter commented in a bemused tone. Suddenly a white glow surrounded Pippi's body, concealing all but the electricity built up around her. Pippi grew slightly, her ears becoming thinner and longer and her neck becoming practically non-existant. Her body continued to make slight changes until the light faded, revealing an evolved Pikachu still ready for a Volt Tackle.

"Whaddya know...I think its value just went up slightly." Dice commented with a grin. Pippi took off barreling towards Espeon and slammed headlong into it, but missed Espeon's collar completely. Espeon was sent rolling back and Pippi herself was knocked to the ground, showing little sign of getting back up.

"This is over..." Dice reached into his pocket, pulling out a metal collar. Before he could use it, though, a cloud of spores fell around the two Hunters and their pokemon. The two hunters cried out in shock as they collapsed to the floor in a heap. "What the hell?!" Dice growled. Looking across the room he spotted the source of the attack, a yellow bell-shaped grass pokemon.

"That is enough from you two!" The woman commanded sharply. "As the gym leader of Celadon City, I will not tolerate this!"

"You don't have a choice..." The female hunter growled. "Dragonair, smash one of the smoke balls!" The enslaved Dragonair, freed from paralysis by its Shed Skin ability, smashed the smoke ball tied to Dice's belt. Smoke quickly shrouded the two momentarily, and they were gone when the smoke dissipated.

"Pippi!" With the hunters finally gone, Rina quickly got up and ran to her pokemon's side. Pippi rolled over and smiled weakly at her trainer. "Pippi...I'm so sorry...you tried your best and even evolved while I just sat and watched helplessly..."

"-Rina...I...I'll get them next time...for sure...-" Pippi assured her, nodding weakly. "-Its my fault...for letting them escape...-"

"No...no its not! Don't you dare say that!" Pippi suddenly fainted in Rina's arms, having exerted too much energy speaking in her exhausted state. Rina held Pippi tightly against her and began sobbing quietly.

"That poor girl..." The gym leader thought, sighing to herself. "I don't believe she's as ready for this as he thinks she is..."

* * *

When Rina had finally recovered, she went back to the pokecenter with the gym leader to have Pippi restored. There, she waited outside for Ashley, who also returned a bit early from her shopping trip. She immediately noticed the sullen mood Rina and Pippi seemed to be in, as well as Pippi's evolved form.

"Ok...what happened with you two?" Ashley asked them, setting down the bags she was carrying.

"I found my parent's pokemon..." Rina explained quietly, not even looking up at her. "They were being used by two hunters...Pippi tried to save them...but I couldn't bring myself to do anything..."

"Then you'll just have to free them next time, right?" Ashley suggested. "At least now you know where to find them, so its just a matter of time." Ashley looked down at Pippi and smiled at the electirc pokemon. "Plus, you have Pippi with you! I bet she's a lot stronger now, right Pippi?"

"-Right!-" Pippi nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "-But Rina's taking this really hard...-"

"You're right I guess..." Rina replied with a sigh. The suggestion didn't seem to lift her spirit any.

"She needs some time to think about it on her own I believe." The gym leader said to Ashley.

"Huh?" Ashley blinked, looking up at the older woman for the first time. "Who are you?"

"Oh, forgive me, I haven't properly introduced myself have I?" The woman smiled and bowed to Ashley. "I am Erika, gym leader of Celadon City. Pleased to meet you."

"You're the gym leader?" Ashley blinked again. She looked between Rina and Erika for a moment, debating with herself whether she should try further to cheer Rina up or make her challenge. She eventually decided that a battle couldn't hurt, and might even take Rina's mind off the hunters and her parent's pokemon.

"Ok then, in that case I challenge you to a battle!" Ashley declared.

"Very well." Erika smiled lightly. "As the gym leader of Celadon City, I accept your challenge."

* * *

Author's Notes: I've probably said this before, but I'm trying to give gym leaders a few more appearances. Erika went unnamed most of the chapter, but I wonder how many might have realized it was her even before she said she was Celadon's gym leader?

Anyway, bit of angst on Rina's part. I find too much angst a bit hard to watch, personally, so I'll probably resolve it reasonably quickly. Also, wasn't really sure when I wanted Pippi to evolve, but it was a bit overdue as is. Originally was going to evolve after a small one chapter side story for Rina, but thats not going to be until much later in the story now.

One final note, I've been wanting to do that tv thing in the pokecenter for a while now. Mostly, its to set up the timeline. Since I don't have any major timeskips planned (I think there's a week skipped towards the end), and a month or so gets skipped in Legends in Hoenn, this would pretty much take place during that time leading up to the Grand Prix. I already have appearances planned out for May and Melany, but thats quite a bit away right now. It should prove interesting when it happens though...


	17. Chapter 17: Battle of Earth and Sky

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Battle of Earth and Sky**

In a strange twist of events, Rina ran into Erika when she went to the game corner. When she met up with Ashley, Ashley issued her challenge to Erika. Now, in Erika's gym, their battle is about to commence. Ashley and Erika were already standing on either side of the gym with Rina, Pippi, and Bulbasaur sitting on a bench off to the side. Rina seemed lost in thought, paying little attention to the battle about to commence.

The gym itself held a lot of plants, which were showered briefly before the match to help prevent a fire. There was an extensive system of showers in the ceiling as well, since fire pokemon would be common in Erika's gym. They had to be activated manually though so they wouldn't accidentally go off in the midst of battle. Two fire extinguishers, designed specifically for combatting fires started by pokemon, were attached to trees at the far end of the gym.

Trees and shrubs were scattered all long the edge of the gym, with one tree on each side of the bench Rina and Pippi were sitting on. The gym's battlefield was completely covered with grass, in spite of the intense battles that likely happen there routinely. A 4-inch concrete barrier formed a border around the perimeter of the gym, with a four inch, raised wooden platform at either end for the trainers to stand on.

"Since this would be your fourth badge, I assume you already know the rules. We will be using three pokemon each." Erika informed Ashley. Ashley nodded, that was one thing she knew already, and both trainers already had a pokeball in hand to start off the match with.

"-Why was I even released?-" Bulbasaur asked with a growl. "-She doesn't even plan to use me in this match! What am I supposed to do? Cheer her on?!-"

"-Well it wouldn't hurt you to do that, you know.-" Pippi said to him, nodding thoughtfully.

"-More than you'd know.-" Bulbasaur grumbled, shooting a look to Rina. Rina remained quiet, not in the mood to argue with him

"Let us begin! Vileplume, go!" Erika held out her pokeball and released her pokemon. A pokemon with bluish skin, short arms and legs, and a large red flower on its head appeared on the grassy field.

"Go! Pidgeotto!" Ashley released her pokemon as well, choosing to start off with the bird pokemon Pidgeotto. A red beam fired out from the pokeball as it opened up, materializing into Pidgeotto on the battlefield. Pidgeotto had a fierce look in his eyes.

"Vileplume, begin with Sleep Powder!" Vileplume leaned forward, tilting the large flower on its head towards Pidgeotto. In the middle of the flower was what looked like the opening of a tube, out of which came a cloud of green powder that floated through the air towards Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto, blow that powder back with Gust!" Pidgeotto began flapping his wings rapidly, kicking up strong gusts of wind. The wind was strong enough to knock Vileplume onto its back and easily scattered the powder so it wouldn't reach Pidgeotto.

_"Vileplume's down, that gives us at least one more chance to attack..."_ Ashley thought. "Pidgeotto, stay back and use Swift!" Pidgeotto drew his wings back and then brought them forward, almost as if about to use Air Cutter but not bringing them together. Pidgeotto fired off several star-shaped rays as Vileplume was hopping back on its feet. Although still precariously balanced, it endured the attack and remained standing.

"Vileplume, distract Pidgeotto with Sweet Scent and approach it." Vileplume bowed its head again and released a pleasant fragrance into the air, directing it towards Pidgeotto. Vileplume began to slowly walk towards him as well, closing the gap between them.

"Pidgeotto, quick! Use Air Cutter!" Ashley called out frantically. She realized Erika was planning to follow up with another Sleep Powder now, Erika was simply making sure the attack would hit this time. Pidgeotto quickly brought its wings together, firing off an Air Cutter as he pulled them apart again. The blade sliced through the air, inches off the ground, and hit Vileplume head on.

Vileplume reeled back from the attack, but again managed to stay standing after the harsh blow. The fragrance it was emitting from its flower had finally reached Pidgeotto as well. The bird pokemon seemed as though it were in a trance, and would remain so until the smell was gone. It wouldn't leave Pidgeotto with any chance to block Vileplume's next attack.

"Now, Vileplume, we shall put it asleep! Sleep Powder!" Vileplume again lowered its flower towards Pidgeotto, releasing a green cloud of powder. Pidgeotto began to shake off the effects of Sweet Scent, but too late to make an effort to evade Vileplume's Sleep Powder attack. The powder landed on Pidgeotto, causing the bird pokemon to collapse onto its side fast asleep.

"Ok! Now, a Poison Powder attack!" Keeping its flower leveled at Pidgeotto, Vileplume launched another blast of powder. The purple powder that was launched from Vileplume's flower floated through the air towards the sleeping Pidgeotto. It soon landed on Pidgeotto, inflicting him with poison while he slept.

_"Even poisoned, Pidgeotto shouldn't have any trouble with Vileplume."_ Ashley thought. _"As soon as he wakes up, we'll hammer away with flying attacks. Vileplume shouldn't last too long that way, even if its a fully evolved pokemon..."_

"Now, attack with Acid while you still can!" Erika called out, aiming to get in at least one actual attack before Pidgeotto woke up. Vileplume fired a purple blob out acid out of the same tube it had been releasing all its attacks from thus far. The purple blob hit the sleeping Pidgeotto, burning it as it landed on its body. Pidgeotto quickly woke up and jumped onto its feet, shaking it's body to get the acid off.

"Pidgeotto, strike back with Air Cutter, now!" Pidgeotto didn't hesitate even a second as Ashley called out the attack, quickly forgetting about the acid that had been on it and bringing its wings together. When Pidgeotto opened its wings again, a v-shaped air blade fired out and cut through the air as it made its way toward Vileplume.

"Now, quickly follow it with a Quick Attack!" Ashley was going straight on the offensive, calling out another attack before the first had even struck. Pidgeotto shot forward toward Vileplume, moving so quickly it could hardly be followed. It almost overtook its own Air Cutter, which struck Vileplume milliseconds before Pidgeotto did. Vileplume was sent into a spin from the double strike, falling flat on its face.

"Vileplume, another Sleep Powder!" Vileplume quickly released another burst of powder from its flower. Pidgeotto was directly in front of Vileplume after its Quick Attack and was unable to escape. The powder hit Pidgeotto, causing it to drop to the ground in front of Vileplume. Once Pidgeotto was down, Vileplume got back on its feet.

_"Asleep again? This isn't good..."_ Ashley thought in dismay.

"Now that it is asleep again, lets use Stun Spore." Erika said to Vileplume. Vileplume leaned forward until its flower was touching the ground, nearly falling over itself, and sprayed a cloud of spores from its flower. Almost all of the spores landed on Pidgeotto, with the rest spreading over the ground around it. Pidgeotto was rendered paralyzed by the spores, not that one could tell while it was asleep.

"Now lets use Acid again!" While still keeping its flower on the ground, Vileplume fired a purple blob of acid. The acidic substance landed on Pidgeotto's body and a small trail of steam rose as it wreaked havoc on Pidgeotto's body. Pidgeotto woke up soon after and furiously shook itself to get rid of the acid. It nearly stumbled while doing so, due to paralysis.

"Pidgeotto, quick! Use Wing Attack!" Pidgeotto raised its wings back, holding them stiff, and quickly struck Vileplume. Vileplume was knocked back about a foot by the attack and its feet were knocked out from underneath it. Vileplume quickly flipped back onto its feet to stand up, but it clearly took quite a bit of effort from it. Vileplume was starting to grow exhausted from Pidgeotto's attacks and looked like it wouldn't be able to take another. Pidgeotto himself, however, was also looking a bit exhausted from the poison and repeated Acid attacks.

"Now, finish it with Quick Attack!"

"Vileplume, end this with Acid!"

Pidgeotto struggled to move to attack while Vileplume took aim at Pidgeotto again. Vileplume fired a blob of acid at Pidgeotto just as Pidgeotto was finally getting off its Quick Attack. Pidgeotto shot forward in a blur of movement, going through the acid and striking Vileplume. Vileplume staggered back from the blow and was knocked out.

Pidgeotto plummeted to the ground after hitting Vileplume as well, having actually been knocked out by the Acid attack. The momentum from its Quick Attack carried it through to strike Vileplume while unconscious. Both trainers recalled their pokemon.

"I must admit, your Pidgeotto is strong to endure such punishment." Erika said to Ashley.

"Pidgeotto's been through a lot, of course its strong." Ashley replied with a smirk. She returned Pidgeotto's pokeball to her belt, then took another one in her hand. "I wasn't expecting to go up against a fully evolved pokemon like Vileplume, though."

"Evolution makes a pokemon stronger, but a pokemon does not need to evolve to be strong." Erika likewise placed a pokeball back on her belt. "Victreebel!" Erika held up the pokeball she grabbed and released her pokemon. The yellow, bell-shaped pokemon she used earlier against the Hunters appeared on the field.

"-Hey! Thanks for your help before!-" Pippi called out to Victreebel. Victreebel acknowledged her thanks with a nod.

"Beedrill, go!" Ashley held up her pokeball and released her next pokemon as well, sending out Beedrill onto the battlefield. Beedrill appeared hovering over the field, its wings buzzing as they kept it aloft. Beedrill had its usual emotionless appearance, focused solely on the battle at hand and achieving victory for its trainer.

"-Mind filling me in on EXACTLY what happened before?-" Bulbasaur asked Pippi. "-I mean, you're evolved now, and little miss happy isn't being her usual self either. Is your not being a baby anymore driving her into depression?-"

"-Wh-what?!-" Pippi cried out in shock and quickly shook her head. "-No! Nothing like that! We ran into the hunters again...-"

"-I figured out that much.-" Bulbasaur muttered. "-We've run into them how many times now? So what made this time different?-"

"-The two we ran into had her parent's pokemon...-" Pippi replied remorsefully.

"-Oh...-" Bulbasaur decided not to pry further, he was starting to get the idea.

Rina overheard the two pokemon, but didn't really make anything of it. She lifted her gaze to see the two pokemon about to battle, but lowered it again with a sigh. _"Ashley's so strong..."_ She thought. _"I bet she wouldn't have broke down like that..."_

"Beedrill, attack quickly with Aerial Ace!"

"Victreebel, attack Beedrill with Acid!"

Mirroring the final round of Pidgeotto and Vileplume's battle, Beedrill and Victreebel went on the offensive. Beedrill dove down towards Victreebel as it aimed its large mouth at Beedrill and fired a blob of acid at it. Beedrill disappeared as it shot forward with increased speed, skimming over Victreebel's Acid attack and then striking Victreebel with its stinger. Victreebel was knocked back, but quickly shot back up to stand on its base. Beedrill came to a stop just behind it.

"Victreebel, slow Beedrill with a Stun Spore attack!" Victreebel bent backwards so its mouth was aimed at Beedrill and released a cloud of spores. Beedrill was caught off guard by the attack, unable to make any move to avoid it. The spores landed on Beedrill's body and paralysis began to set in, causing Beedrill to almost fall to the ground and only barely managing to catch itself and hover only inches over the ground.

"Beedrill, shake it off and attack with Twineedle!" Beedrill took a moment to gather its strength, giving Victreebel time to turn around to face it. Beedrill brought its two foreleg-mounted stingers forward and flew towards Victreebel, stabbing it simultaneously with both. Victreebel staggered back but quickly bounced back into a standing position.

"Victreebel, now is your chance! Use Wrap and grab Beedrill!" Victreebel grabbed Beedrill with the two broad leaves on either side of its body, wrapping and squeezing it tightly in a bearhug. Two leaf-tipped vines wrapped around Beedrill as well to ensure it couldn't escape easily. Its wings and stingers were pinned, preventing it from attacking or fighting back. Being paralyzed would make it even harder for Beedrill to get free.

"Now, power up at your leisure with Growth." Erika commanded Victreebel. Victreebel focused while maintaining its grip on Beedrill, its body growing slightly as its special attack power increased.

_"If Victreebel keeps using Growth, its grass attacks will get stronger and it'll actually be able to damage Beedrill with them..."_ Ashley thought. "Beedrill, try to use Fury Attack and break free of Victreebel's grip!"

Beedrill struggled to get its forelegs free for a moment while Victreebel powered up, but soon realized it was useless. However, Beedrill then remembered the stinger at the back of its body. It made a quick jab at Victreebel with its stinger, distracting Victreebel enough for Beedrill to overpower it and break free of its grip. Beedrill then pummeled Victreebel with a few more strikes from its forelegs before paralysis slowed its assault and forced it to back off.

"It broke free...then I hope you have enough power, Victreebel." Erika commented solemnly. "Victreebel, Giga Drain!" Victreebel reached out towards Beedrill with its two leaves, causing Beedrill to back away reflexively. Beedrill's energy started to leave it though, pooling into a stream of energy that flowed from its body and into Victreebel. It was a strong attack, due to Victreebel powering up, but Beedrill's poison and bug typing allowed it to resist easily.

"Beedrill, use Twineedle again!" Beedrill positioned its two stingers to attack, then tried to fly towards Victreebel. Its wings ceased flapping as paralysis set in, causing Beedrill to plummet to the ground instead.

"Victreebel, now is your chance to Wrap it again!" Victreebel nodded and moved towards Beedrill, reaching out with its 'tail' vine and leaves as it approached. Victreebel's vine began to wrap around Beedrill's body, but Beedrill found itself able to move again and stabbed Victreebel with its twin stingers. Victreebel let go and staggered back from the attack.

"Ok, lets finish this with an Aerial Ace now, Beedrill!" Beedrill began to fly up, gaining altitude for its Aerial Ace attack.

"Victreebel, do not allow it to get off so easily. Giga Drain!" Victreebel reached out towards Beedrill as it took off into the air and a green stream of energy flowed from Beedrill and into the plant pokemon. It was another strong attack that Beedrill managed to shrug off and flew up. Though Beedrill was slowed by Victreebel's attack and the paralysis inflicted on it, it was soon high enough to attack.

Beedrill dove straight down toward the ground in front of Victreebel in a steep dive to gain speed. It then leveled off its attack at the last moment and pushed forward with a sudden burst of speed to strike Victreebel. Beedrill slashed Victreebel with its right stinger as it moved past the grass pokemon in a blur of movement. Victreebel staggered back and collapsed, knocked out by Beedrill's Aerial Ace attack.

"I dislike bug pokemon, but your Beedrill is certainly quite the fighter..." Erika complimented Ashley as she recalled her Victreebel.

"Thanks, but your pokemon are really putting up a fight." Ashley replied. Erika smiled lightly at this.

"Then no doubt you will find my final pokemon interesting. I have, afterall, saved my strongest for last..." Erika placed Victreebel's pokeball on her belt and took another in hand. She held up the pokeball and called out her pokemon's name as she released it. "Tangela!" A mass of vines wearing a pair of red shoes appeared out on the battlefield. From within the middle of the vines, a pair of eyes peeked out.

_"Does Ashley even need me?"_ Rina wondered as she watched another round of battle unfold. _"She has so many strong pokemon. She could rescue my parent's pokemon without breaking a sweat. Maybe I should just go home and let her handle everything..."_

"So thats a Tangela, huh?" Ashley said to herself. She had heard about the pokemon before, but from some rather questionable sources. "Ok, ready Beedrill? Attack Tangela with Twineedle!" Beedrill focused on Tangela and brought its two stingers together as it flew towards it.

"Tangela, brace yourself with Ingrain!" Tangela detached two vines from its body and dug them into the ground. Under the soil, it even tied the ends together to remain fully stationary. Beedrill's stingers stabbed into Tangela's body shortly after it used Ingrain, knocking it back. Its rooted vines kept it from moving more than five feet from where its vines were rooted.

"-Man, that thing is giving me the creeps...-" Bulbasaur commented, watching Tangela. "-I mean, geez, its nothing but vines!-"

"-You're a grass pokemon too though, why would that creep you out?-" Pippi asked Bulbasaur curiously.

"-How would you feel if you ran into a pokemon made entirely of electricity with only a pair of eyes visible?-" Bulbasaur asked her in response. Pippi blinked slightly as she thought this over and decided to drop the topic. Such a pokemon would be incredibly bizarre to her, afterall.

"Tangela won't last too long against Beedrill's attacks." Ashley thought to herself with a smirk. "Ok, Beedrill! Twineedle again!" Beedrill moved forward to attack Tangela again, but paralysis set in and brought Beedrill crashing into the ground.

"Tangela, use Sunny Day now!" Tangela's body emitted a warm glow as it sent up a ray of light from its body towards the gym's ceiling. A false sun formed over the gym, bathing the battlefield in an intense sunlight.

"Beedrill, try again with Twineedle!"

"Tangela, dodge and attack with Vine Whip!"

Beedrill got up and shook off its crash landing, then leveled its gaze at Tangela and took off again. Tangela was ready for it though and easily jumped to the side, moving as far as its rooted vines would let it while extending another pair of vines and grab Beedrill as it flew by. Tangela then used its vines to direct Beedrill into the ground, sending it crashing down again.

"Now, Tangela, grab it with Constrict and drain it with Giga Drain!" Tangela landed from its jump and extended more vines to grab Beedrill, wrapping around it and squeezing tightly. Tangela followed up the attack using Giga Drain and started draining Beedrill's energy from it while still latched onto it. Beedrill was starting to look pretty weak while Tangela had managed to recover from any damage inflicted on it up until then.

"This Tangela is trickier than I thought..." Ashley admitted quietly. "Ok then...Beedrill, break free and attack with Aerial Ace!" Beedrill broke free from Tangela's grasp rather easily, just by extering force on Tangela's vines. Its grip had weakened after the initial squeeze. Beedrill took into the air, slowly rising up and distancing itself from Tangela to set up for Aerial Ace.

"Tangela, strengthen yourself with Growth." While Beedrill was setting up for an Aerial Ace attack, Tangela used Growth to power up and its body expanded almost unnoticeably. Beedrill dove down towards Tangela, wasting no time when it was finally set up. It started to pull up as it neared the ground to skim across it and fly past Tangela, slashing across Tangela's side with one of its stingers. Tangela was knocked onto its side from the attack, but quickly recovered. Its speed being enhanced by the Sunny Day effect.

"Now you can finish it off, Tangela. Giga Drain!" Tangela pointed two of its vines at Beedrill and absorbed its energy from it. A green stream of energy flowed from Beedrill and into Tangela, but it was short lived as Beedrill had little left. Beedrill fell to the ground as its strength was drained completely and would not be getting back up. Ashley held out Beedrill's pokeball and recalled it.

_"That Tangela is pretty maneuverable for being anchored down, and tough too."_ Ashley thought to herself as she placed Beedrill's pokeball on her belt. She had one pokemon left, but she felt she had saved the best for last as well. _"I've still got a huge advantage with my last pokemon thought!"_

Ashley took another pokeball in hand, containing the only pokemon left she could use in the match. "Charizard, go!" Ashley held out the pokeball and pressed the button on the front. The pokeball opened up and a red beam fired out, materializing into a fierce looking dragon pokemon that looked as though it were suffering from a bad case of eczema.

_"Another Charizard..."_ Erika thought, frowning. _"Tangela has little chance against such an opponent...though there appears to be something wrong with this one. I wonder if its at full strength?" _

Erika could recall her last battle with a Charizard, belonging to Red. Though he used three pokemon against her - an Eevee, Pikachu, and Charizard - she reasoned he only needed Charizard. Even his Pikachu and Eevee proved themselves to be very tough competition, taking down a pokemon each before Red recalled them, his Charizard would have beaten all three of her pokemon without breaking a sweat.

_"Ok, getting close gives Tangela the chance to attack, so we'll stay back!"_ Ashley thought. "Charizard, attack with Ember!"

_"An Ember attack? Surely it could use Flamethrower?"_ Erika wondered. "Tangela, dodge and use Sunny Day!"

Charizard reared its head back and spat out a fireball as it came forward again. Tangela quickly hopped to the side of the attack, causing it to miss completely and hit the ground behind where Tangela was rooted. Tangela's body then emitted a warm glow as a beam of light fired straight up. The false sun already hanging over the gym emitted a flash of light as its strength was renewed.

_"She sure is intent on keeping that Sunny Day in effect..."_ Ashley thought to herself. _"Of course, Tangela's been able to dodge quite a bit with that increased speed and staying on the defensive...I need to overwhelm it somehow."_

"Charizard, lets try a more direct approach! Metal Claw!" Charizard charged towards Tangela on foot, raising his right claws back as he approached. Charizard's raised claws appeared to turn to metal as he prepared to strike. As Charizard slashed down towards Tangela, though, the plant pokemon swiftly sidestepped his attack. It had more than enough time to prepare itself to do so, and now Charizard was within melee range.

_"Is she holding back? Or is her Charizard not capable of using more powerful attacks?"_ Erika wondered, curious as to why Ashley wasn't using Flamethrower and Wing Attack. "Tangela, use Poison Powder to weaken it!" Tangela sprayed Charizard with a blast of poisonous powder that came from within its vines. Charizard gave an agonized growl as the poison began to set in.

_"Ok then, we'll try concealing our attacks!"_ Ashley thought. "Charizard, use Smokescreen!" Charizard opened its mouth and breathed out a thick cloud of smoke which soon surrounded itself and Tangela, concealing both pokemon from view.

_"Perhaps she is being overly cautious?"_ Erika thought, then shook her head. _"No. There's no reason to think that, based on the previous battles. So why..."_ Erika stopped and shook her head, realizing she was losing focus on the battle.

"Tangela, we will take this time to strengthen you. Growth!" Tangela nodded and appeared to grow slightly. Its body expanded almost unnoticeably in response to an increase in Tangela's power.

"Ok, now we can hit it for sure! Ember, Charizard!" There was a pause after Ashley called out the attack, followed by an orange flash from within the smoke. The smoke dispersed slightly, revealing that Tangela had been hit head on by the fireball. As the smoke dispersed, Charizard's head became visible as well.

"Tangela, strike back with Giga Drain!" Tangela pointed two of its vines at Charizard and began to draw energy away from him. A stream of energy flowed out of Charizard's body, moving from the fire pokemon and into Tangela through its two vines. Charizard grunted slightly in pain, feeling the attack more than he would normally thanks to the poison.

"Ok, lets go strong now! Iron Tail!"

"Tangela, block and evade with Vine Whip!"

Charizard raised his tail and turned sideways to bring it down on Tangela. Charizard's tail whipped through the air, taking on a metallic appearance as it came down towards Tangela. Tangela quickly lashed out with two vines, grabbing Charizard's tail and using his tail to pivot itself to the side of Charizard's Iron Tail, all while still remaining well within range of its rooted vines.

"Now, Tangela, attack with Giga Drain again!" Tangela kept its vines latched on to Charizard as it began draining energy away. Charizard growled in pain as it felt its strength being sapped away from it and into Tangela's body, restoring Tangela's strength while Charizard was looking weaker and weaker.

"This isn't working...I need to do something about Tangela's vines..." Ashley thought. Looking at Tangela's vines, a rather obvious idea came to mind and she mentally slapped herself for not thinking of it sooner.

"Charizard, Iron Tail again! This time, swing hard from the side!" Charizard spun around, pulling his tail free of Tangela's grasp and quickly slamming it into Tangela as he came back around. Tangela was knocked back hard, flying several feet toward Erika's end of the gym before suddenly, and harshly, being slammed into the ground. Its rooted vines were still holding it down, though its grip had weakened severely. Tangela was left stunned briefly from being slammed into the ground, long enough for Charizard to attack again.

"Charizard, follow up with Iron Tail one more time!" Charizard spun around again while his tail maintained its metallic appearance. Tangela was getting back on its feet when Charizard's tail struck it again, hitting it towards the eastern wall of the gym. This time, Tangela's grip didn't hold. The powerful blow knocked Tangela straight into the wall of the gym. Tangela hit hard and then fell to the floor in a heap.

Despite being hit so hard twice in a row, Tangela was slowly struggling back to its feet. It was heavily damaged, but so was Charizard. As poison continued to take effect on Charizard an orange glow surrounded his body briefly, accompanied by an increase in the height of its tail fire as Blaze activated. Above the gym, the light from the false sun was beginning to dim.

_"Ok, if we're going to finish this, we have to do it now!"_ Ashley thought, her eyes focused in a look of determination. "Charizard, end this with an Ember attack!" Charizard opened its mouth and quickly formed a rather large fireball, larger than normal for an Ember attack.

"Tangela, quick! Finish it with another Giga Drain!" Tangela raised its vines to drain energy from Charizard, but was too slow and too far away. Charizard released the fireball, sending it flying across the gym and striking Tangela in a fiery burst as the sun finally faded. Tangela collapsed again, this time knocked completely unconscious.

"It seems you have won, then." Erika commented. She recalled Tangela and peered across the gym curiously at Ashley as Ashley likewise recalled her pokemon.

"Great job, Charizard! Lets get you in your pokeball before that poison can do any more damage." Charizard nodded in agreement, allowing Ashley to recall him and return his pokeball to her belt. Erika calmly crossed the battlefield to approach Ashley.

"It was a good match, Ashley, but if I may ask...why didn't your Charizard use Flamethrower or Wing Attack?" Erika asked her. "They are standard attacks for a Charizard, are they not?"

"Its...a long story..." Ashley replied, rubbing the back of her head.

_"I've decided..."_ Rina thought as she stood up from the bench. _"I'll go home tomorrow. Ashley can handle the rest of the hunters just as well without me. I'll let her know once we go outside..."_

"Well you can explain it to me later, then." Erika replied. "Unless you have made other plans, I would like to invite you both to stay at my place for the night. There are a few things I would like to discuss with you..."

"Oh...umm...nope, I didn't have anything planned...Rina?" Ashley glanced over at Rina. Rina blinked in confusion and then silently shook her head.

"Rina's been awfully quiet...I should probably talk to her..." Ashley thought.

"Then its settled!" Erika smiled and clasped her hands together. "Follow me then, I will show you the way."

* * *

Ashley received her badge and a TM, Giga Drain, before they left the gym. Erika then lead her and Rina to her home, a large mansion at the edge of town. Erika happened to have been born into a wealthy family, which was why she took it upon herself to purchase the game corner after Team Rocket was chased off.

"Welcome home, Lady Erika!" Upon arriving in the mansion, the girls found themselves being greeted by an all-female staff of maids and servants.

"Thank you." Erika replied, nodding to the maids. "Could you show our guests to their rooms?"

"Of course, Lady Erika!" The maids replied in unison.

"Why are they all girls?" Ashley wondered. Two of the maids lead Ashley and Rina up a flight of stairs to the second floor and then down a long corridor, stopping at the first set of doors they came to. Ashley was lead into one room and Rina was lead into the other.

"Oh, wow!" Ashley exclaimed when she saw the room. It was a very large bedroom with two dressers, one with a mirror and stool, a wooden oak closet, a queen sized bed with pink flower-pattern drapes that could be closed around it, and a door leading into a private bathroom. A sliding glass door lead to a balcony just outside the room.

"-Geez, I think this room is bigger than any of those hotel rooms were.-" Bulbasaur commented, looking around the room from the entrance. He stepped forward to go into the room, but the maid blocked his path.

"We have somewhere else for pokemon to stay." The maid said to Bulbasaur. "Miss, would you mind if I took your pokemon?" She then asked Ashley.

"Oh, not at all." Ashley removed her belt, taking her pokedex from it and then handing it over to the maid with all her pokeballs clipped on.

"Come with me then." The maid motioned for Bulbasaur to follow her. Curious more than anything, he followed her out into the hall and found the other maid with Rina's pokeballs and Pippi following behind her.

"-Got you too, huh?-" Bulbasaur asked her.

"-Rina said she wanted to be alone to talk to Ashley.-" Pippi replied, sighing. "-I hope she'll be ok...I like her better when she's smiling and happy.-"

"-I'm sure she'll get over it.-" Bulbasaur replied with a shrug. "-What else is she going to do? Go home?-"

Rina glanced out her door, watching the two maids leave with their pokemon. Once they had rounded the corner and were out of sight, Rina crossed the hall and knocked on Ashley's door.

"Come in!" Ashley's voice called out from within. Rina opened the door and stepped inside. Ashley was standing next to her bed with her travel bag and its contents spread out over it. "Oh, its you...well I guess that saves me the trouble of going over to talk to you then."

"Oh...what'd you want to talk to me about?" Rina asked, blinking in surprise.

"Isn't that obvious?" Ashley replied, motioning for Rina to take a seat as she sat on the edge of the bed herself. "I think you're beating on yourself too hard over the hunters. So what if you were too scared to do anything this time? You'll be ready next time..."

"Will I though?" Rina asked, shaking her head sadly. She didn't bother to sit down, choosing to lean against the wall instead. "You've been able to handle it much better than I have. I think I should just go home..."

"No way!" Ashley shot back defiantly. "Rina, don't you want to free your parent's pokemon?"

"Of course I do! Its just..." Rina sighed. "I don't think I can do it..."

"The only reason you can't do it is because you don't think you can."

"Umm..." Rina blinked in confusion. "Whats that supposed to mean?"

"If you just had confidence in yourself that you could do it, then you would have pulled it off already!" Ashley said to her. "Just give yourself another chance and try to believe in yourself instead of being so negative!"

"You sound like you're quoting a self-help book..." Rina rubbed her neck and glanced off to the side. "But...I'll give it a bit more time I guess. I don't know what good it'll do though..."

"You'll change your mind soon enough anyway, I'm sure. Until then, no more acting all depressed." Ashley said sternly. "You're depressing to be around when you're like that..."

Rina turned to Ashley and forced a wide, exaggerated grin. "Kay!"

"I'm glad to hear you're feeling better." Erika's voice cut into their conversation as she appeared in the doorway and bowed. "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear you two..."

"Oh, don't worry about it..." Ashley waved her hand dismissively. "Thanks for letting us stay the night here though."

"You're quite welcome." Erika replied, taking a step into the room and turning to face Rina. "Rina, there is something I feel you should know. Its about Lance..."

"Lance?" Rina blinked in surprise. She had almost forgot he was supposed to be looking after her, not that he did a very good job to begin with.

"Yes..." Erika nodded. "Lance knows what you have been up to concerning the hunters, Rina. He decided not to intervene, however, and ordered the rest of the league likewise..."

"WHAT?! Why would he do that?" Ashley demanded, gritting her teeth. "He wastes all this time going after them instead of looking after Rina and now he has her doing all the work!?"

"Ashley..."

"No, she is right..." Erika cut Rina off, shaking her head. "But as he put it, it is 'hard to argue with results'. In the few weeks you have been away, between yourself and Ashley, you have managed to capture four Hunters whereas he had not managed to bring in any of them himself..."

"So why are you telling me this, then?" Rina asked her.

"I felt you had a right to know." Erika explained. "Does knowing this change your mind?"

"No..." Rina replied, shaking her head. "Lance wasn't the reason I got involved anyway..."

"I see." Erika nodded slightly. "If thats your decision, then I will not try to dissaude you. I do not believe children should be getting mixed up in the affairs of criminals, however."

"But if we didn't, who would stop them?" Ashley asked, grinning widely.

"You are right I suppose..." Erika chuckled lightly.

"By the way, Erika, something I wanted to ask you..." Ashley began. "About your maid staff..."

* * *

"-Now this, I could get used to!-" Bulbasaur grinned widely as he looked around the room stretched out before him. There were grass pokemon everywhere in the garden, in addition to trees, shrubs, and a wide variety of flowers. There was a small, artificial pond in the middle of the indoor garden as well.

"-Oh, wow!-" Pippi ran out into the room, glancing around at the flowers. "-So many pretty flowers!-"

"-Yeah, lotsa pretty flowers alright...-" Bulbasaur said in agreement, though his gaze was on a group of female Bellsprout and Oddish nearby.

The two maids that had accompanied them began releasing Ashley and Rina's pokemon one by one. Beedrill and Sarge were the first two to be released. Sarge sniffed the air cautiously, then looked around at the pokemon and the two maids. He quickly figured out what they were doing and stood by while Beedrill flew off to perch on a thick tree branch like a bird, silently watching over the garden.

Next to come out were Pidgeotto and Ebil. As soon as Ebil appeared, Sarge pounced him and dragged him off before he could cause any trouble. Sarge had a good grip on the back of Ebil's head, leaving it helpless as Sarge dragged him over to the tree Beedrill had perched in and then sat on Ebil to keep him there. Pidgeotto flew up to the same tree and perched next to Beedrill.

"-You know you're stealing our schtick, right?-" Pidgeotto said to Beedrill. Beedrill didn't so much as look at Pidgeotto. "-It wouldn't kill you to say something you know...-" Beedrill again remained silent. Pidgeotto decided to ignore him as well and took to preening his feathers.

Next, Poliwag and Clyde were released from their pokeballs. Poliwag wasted no time before running to the pond and jumping in with a splash, startling an Eevee that had been drinking near the edge of the pond. Clyde scratched his head and went over to Pippi when he noticed her nearby.

"-Excuse me, but could you explain what is going on here?-" Clyde asked Pippi.

"-We get to relax here for a while.-" Pippi replied.

"-Ah, very well. I believe I will go take a nap then...-" Clyde wandered off into a patch of flowers to take his nap.

Jolteon and Berg were the next two to be released from their pokeballs. The two glanced around curiously, and Jolteon immediately took notice of a trio of Eevee nearby. Shaking his head sadly, Jolteon wandered off further into the garden to be by himself. Berg, feeling a bit out of place, decided to join the rest of the pokemon by the tree.

Charizard and Flareon were the last two pokemon to be released. Their appearance in the garden sent all the grass pokemon running. Even Ashley's Bulbasaur went running, though he was chasing after the other grass pokemon rather than running away.

"-I get the odd feeling we're not welcome here.-" Charizard growled. He looked around and spotted Berg near the tree. "-Let me guess, we're being abandoned now? And here I was finally starting to hate Ashley slightly less...-"

"-We're here to relax.-" Berg explained to him. Charizard shrugged and wandered off into the garden, paying little attention to the grass pokemon that scattered in his prescence.

_"You know, this seems somewhat familiar..."_ Flareon thought as she looked around. _"Ah, yes! I remember! I was here as an Eevee. The lady who took care of me had hoped I would evolve into a grass pokemon someday, but then discovered the Leaf Stone wouldn't work..." _Flareon looked back at herself and shook her head.

_"She wouldn't want me back...not now that I'm a fire pokemon."_ Flareon shrugged it off and approached the group of Eevee. All were female, despite female Eevees being rarer than male. "-Excuse me, girls, what does one do for grooming around here? My fur is an absolute mess...-"

"-One of the servant ladies will be down shortly to do such, perhaps she will tend to you as well.-" One of the Eevees replied.

"-Very well, I suppose I can wait a little longer.-" Flareon replied. _"As long as I look good, nothing else matters."_

* * *

Ashley and Rina spent the night at Erika's mansion, including a free meal and dessert. Over dinner, Ashley had the chance to finally explain why Charizard lacked attacks typical to its species. Their pokemon were fed as well while in Erika's garden, and Flareon finally had her fur brushed.

The next day, Ashley and Rina set off again. After yet another free meal, of course. Erika also saw them off at the door as they were leaving.

"Good luck, you two. You are welcome to stay here any time you are in the neighbourhood." Erika said to them from the front gate of her mansion.

"Thanks, we'll keep that offer in mind!" Ashley replied.

"Rina, if it is your intention to find your parent's pokemon, then I am sure you will find the courage to do so." Erika said to Rina, smiling at her.

"We'll see..." Rina replied, still sounding a bit unsure of herself. The girls waved to each other and finally set off.

"-Man, I can't wait to come back here again...-" Bulbasaur said to himself, grinning widely.

"-You know, since I'm unfortunately an expert on grass pokemon mating habits, I can tell you that the females usually don't use 'Vine Whip' or 'Stun Spore' during any mating rituals...-" Pippi said to him.

"-Yeah...well...-" Bulbsaur mumbled, trailing off.

"I can't believe Erika doesn't like guys..." Ashley said once they were out of earshot. "If I had that kind of money, I'd have a staff of handsome guys and shirts would be strictly forbidden!"

"I wouldn't have any. Well, maybe one..." Rina smiled to herself and blushed. She pictured Red waiting on her hand and foot.

"Uh huh...you know he'd never do that right?" Ashley said to her, chasing away Rina's fantasies.

"Hey! I can dream, can't I?" Rina shot back.

"I wonder how mom's doing..." Pippi wondered at the mention of Red.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the mansion...

"Yes, I told her everything you wanted me to. She has yet to decide." Erika explained, talking on the phone.

"As long as she understands why I am no longer getting involved." Lance's voice replied on the other end. "I hate to put all of this on her shoulders, but it seems her and her friend Ashley are the only ones who can do this. Lance out." Lance cut off the call before Erika could get in a response.

"But...is it really ok for her to make such a decision?" She wondered.

* * *

Author's Notes: Gym battle. Character development. R&R for the pokemon. I plan to wrap up Rina's little self-confidence issue next chapter, which is going to involve yet another of Kanto's criminal groups. Which one? Well, here's a hint: The girls will be taking Cycling Road down to Fuschia.


	18. Chapter 18: The Kanto Federation

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Eighteen**

**The Kanto Federation**

"I don't know if this is really such a great idea..." Rina said to Ashley. She glanced around cautiously when she jumped down from the fence.

"Why not? I don't see why we need bikes anyway." Ashley replied, already starting off down the path. Both trainers had recalled their pokemon when they snuck onto the cycling road.

"I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about this." Rina followed Ashley out onto the road. She stopped briefly to take Pippi's pokeball from her belt.

"Huh? Whats that?" Rina stopped what she was doing and looked up to see what Ashley might have seen. A cloud of dust could be seen rising in the distance and soon the roar of motorbikes approaching could be heard. "Oh! Hey, I wonder if they'll give us a lift?" Ashley said when the bikes came into view.

"I'm...not sure thats such a good idea..." Rina said to Ashley in response. "I heard bikers aren't very nice..."

"Oh come on, just because they have bikes?" Ashley ignored Rina's concern and waved her hand, trying to catch the bikers' attention. The bikers slowed down as they approached Ashley and stopped in front of her, grinning from ear to ear.

Both of the bikers looked to be in their late teens and were wearing stereotypical biker outfits consisting of chains, leather, and black sunglasses. Both bad spiked mohawks, one green and one purple

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" The purple-haired biker sneered at her. The man's tone went completely unnoticed by Ashley but it made Rina nervous.

"My friend and I were on our way to Fuschia City and I was hoping maybe you could give us a lift?" Ashley asked him, smiling sweetly.

"Sure, we could give you a lift." The man replied. The two bikers snickered in unison. Neither of them seemed to take notice of Rina, even though Ashley mentioned her.

"Oh, thank y-ACK!" The man grabbed Ashley roughly and pulled her onto the back of his bike. The two bikers then drove off, cackling madly and leaving Rina in the dust.

"Did...did I just get ditched?" Rina wondered, watching them disappear in the distance. She quickly shook her head, realizing that wasn't the case. "No! Ashley was kidnapped! I have to go after them!" Rina reached for a pokeball but then stopped to think.

"Wait...how though? I know they went towards Fuschia...hmm..." Rina thought over her options in her head and then remembered Berry. "Oh! I could have Berry scout ahead from the air!" Rina reached for a pokeball to do just that, but hesitated again.

"Oh right...I deposited Berry..." Rina sighed sadly and settled for taking Pippi's pokeball. She held up the pokeball and released Pippi, the small electric pokemon soon materializing on the ground at her feet.

"-We're there already?-" Pippi asked, blinking in confusion as she looked around. "-Wait...this doesn't look like a city...and I don't see Ashley, or any bikes either...-"

"Its a long story..." Rina replied. "Ashley's been kidnapped by bikers, I need you to run ahead and see if you can catch up with them."

"-Leave it to me!-" Pippi raised her right paw in a salute. "-I'll find them in no time with my super sniffer and my Agility technique!-"

"Ok, but don't try to fight them. Come back and find me when you find them." Pippi nodded and took off down the road. Rina watched in amazement as Pippi seemingly picked up speed as she moved along, using Agility and Quick Attack to move down the road faster than the bikes had earlier.

"Wow...she can really move..." Rina said to herself in disbelief. "Well, guess I should start walking then..." Rina started walking down the road, wondering to herself why Ashley had been so stupid to get herself kidnapped in the first place.

"I wonder if, after dealing with more serious criminals like Team Rocket and the Grand Hunters, she just didn't consider those bikers dangerous?" Rina thought as she walked along. She continued down the road for roughly ten minutes before she could see Pippi racing back up the hill.

"Pippi! Did you find her?" Rina called out to her. Pippi suddenly jumped and slid across the ground, screeching to a halt next to Rina. She took a moment to catch her breath before responding.

"-They're hiding in some old building off the side of the road. Its not that far from here!-" She replied quickly, nearly running out of air towards the end. She took several deep breaths again.

"Ok, lead the way then!" Rina waited for Pippi to lead her to the bikers, but Pippi remained in place and frowned up at Rina. "What?"

* * *

"-Ok, its just through those trees there.-" Pippi pointed to a worn down dirt path leading through the trees. A small, worn down building with an old radar dish next to it was nestled deeper into the trees. Pippi had eventually agreed to show Rina the way, but she was doing it from atop Rina's head.

"This really doesn't qualify as nearby..." Rina muttered weakly. Though Pippi had managed to get to the building and back quickly enough the first time, it took Rina over an hour to get there on foot.

"-Well, it seemed closer than that...-" Pippi replied. She jumped down from Rina's head since they were finally there and followed on foot beside her. Rina approached the path and ducked behind the trees next to it when she spotted the same two bikers from before standing guard outside. The front of the building itself consisted of a worn-down concrete walkway and a pair of boarded-up doors.

"If those two are there then there must be more of them inside..." Rina noted quietly.

"-Ok then, so whats the plan?-" Pippi asked.

"What else? We go up there and battle them!" Rina replied. Pippi nodded in agreement and followed Rina down the path. Rina took a second pokeball in hand as she walked along, ready to release a pokemon to join Pippi in the inevitable battle.

"Hey! You two!" The two bikers turned to Rina, looking mildly annoyed by her intrusion.

"Whats the matter? You lost, little girl?" The green haired biker asked her, cracking his knuckles menacingly.

"I'm here to rescue my friend, so you can either stand aside or I'll have to beat you up!" Rina replied, challenging the two.

"Friend?" The green haired biker looked to his partner. "Any idea who she's talking about?"

"The girl we dragged here a while ago maybe?" Purple replied with a shrug. "She was alone when we found her though..."

"I was with her you jerks!" Rina called back. "Ok, that does it! Get out of my way!" Rina held up the pokeball she drew from her belt previously. "Ebil, go!" The pokeball opened up in Rina's hand and released the poisonous snake pokemon.

"-Do I get to bite something? Hssss...-" Ebil asked when he appeared, coiled and ready to strike. Pippi moved out in front of Rina as well, but kept her distance from Ebil.

"We're not moving an inch!" Purple called back. Both bikers reached for their pokeballs, hanging by a chain from their black vests. "Go Koffing!" Purple called out as he held up the pokeball and released his pokemon. The purple, poison-filled balloon appeared from its pokeball, floating in front of its trainer.

"-Yo...-" The Koffing said, sounding rather distant.

"Grimer, get them!" Green shouted as he held up his pokeball and released his own poison pokemon. What looked like a pile of sludge with eyes, hands, and a mouth appeared from the pokeball.

"-Sup?-" Grimer asked with a rather vacant look in its eyes.

"Both their pokemon look kinda...umm..." Rina tried to think up the appropriate word to use, but drew blanks. She quickly shook her head. "Grr! Whatever! Ebil, attack Koffing with Wrap! Pippi, attack Grimer with Thunderbolt!"

Pippi began to quickly charge electricity while Ebil launched himself at the floating Koffing. Ebil quickly wrapped his body around Koffing completely, flezing his muscles and squeezing tightly. Pippi then launched the electricity she charged up in a single bolt, zapping Grimer with a tremendous amount of electricity. Neither pokemon seemed to flinch from the attacks.

_"Whoa! Either I'm getting in over my head or their pokemon are completely out of it!"_ Rina thought, hoping it was the later.

"Koffing, Tackle into the ground and knock that snake off!"

"Grimer, throw a Sludge attack at that Pikachu!"

Koffing threw its body into the ground, hitting Ebil's body off the hard concrete surface in front of the building. Ebil winced from the impact but was able to keep a strong hold on Koffing. Grimer, meanwhile, seemingly threw its own hand at Pippi. The sludge splattered as it hit Pippi in the face, knocking her over, and then began to crawl back towards Grimer and reformed into its hand. Pippi quickly hopped back up and shook off the blow.

"Ok...they must be just really out of it then." Rina thought, rolling her eyes. "Ok, now attack with Bite, Ebil! Use Thunderbolt again, Pippi!" Ebil moved its head into position to bite down on Koffing, again hardly getting a reaction out of it. Meanwhile, Pippi quickly charged up electricity and fired a bolt at Grimer. The electricity passed through the poison pokemon, but Grimer again didn't even seem to flinch.

"Lets take out both of them!" Purple called out with a grin. "Koffing, Selfdestruct!"

"-Dude...not coo...-" Koffing muttered. Its body began to glow and then suddenly erupted in a burst of energy that engulfed both Pippi and Grimer.

Grimer and Pippi were tossed out of the attack from the force of it, Grimer knocked out and Pippi barely conscious. Both Koffing and Ebil could be seen to be knocked out once the dust and smoke cleared. Ebil, having been wrapped around Koffing, was unfortunately at ground zero for the attack. The two bikers recalled their pokemon, neither looking particularly worried by their defeat.

"We've weakened her! Lets get the others!" The two bikers quickly opened the door and ran off into the building, slamming them shut behind them.

"I can't believe someone would just sacrifice their pokemon like that!" Rina held up Ebil's pokeball and recalled him. Then she took a potion out of her backpack and kneeled down next to Pippi to spray her with it.

"-Ow...I hate those things...-" Pippi whined as Rina applied the potion to her. Though the potion healed her wounds almost instantly, it stung a bit.

"We might have to fight a bit by the sound of things. You can sit the next one out though." Rina put the potion away and stood up when she was finished and then reached down to take a pokeball from her belt. "They probably locked it, so I'll have Berg bust down that door..."

Suddenly, the door flew open. Two more male bikers came through, almost indistinguishable from the last two. Their most distinguishing feature was, again, their hair. This time one of them had orange hair and the other had black. Rina quickly took a second ball in her hand when she saw the two, realizing she had another double battle on her hands already.

"You're going to pay for messing with us, girl!" The black haired biker said to her while drawing a pokeball dangling from a chain.

"Yeah! No one messes with the Kanto Federation!" The orage haired one added, also reaching for a pokeball.

"Oh give me a break..." Rina muttered, quickly holding up her two pokeballs. "Berg! Clyde! Go!" Rina released both her pokemon at the same time. The Blastoise and Clefairy appeared in front Rina, both adopting determined expressions as they readied themselves for battle.

"Dang! This scout's packin'!" The orange haired biker exclaimed in surprise. "Aight then, Machop go!"

"No kidding!" The black haired biker added. "Koffing, go get 'em!"

The two bikers released their pokemon almost simultaneously. The first sent out a gray-skinned humanoid pokemon, Machop, and the second sending out another Koffing. Rina knew she'd be focusing her attacks on Koffing first in an effort to take it out before it can use Selfdestruct.

"-Dude.-" Both Machop and Koffing said when they appeared. Both pokemon likewise had vacant expressions on their faces.

"Why do all their pokemon seem like drug addicts?" Rina wondered. "Clyde, put both of them to sleep with Sing! Berg, use Protect!" Clyde nodded and began to sing, prompting all humans present to cover their ears. Machop slowly raised its hands to do the same, but didn't even come close to covering its ears in time. Koffing and Machop quickly fell asleep from Clyde's lullaby while Berg protected itself with a blue, impenetrable bubble.

"Clyde, Doubleslap! Berg, Water Gun! Aim for Koffing!" Clyde moved towards Koffing but stopped near it, keeping out of the line of fire as Berg blasted Koffing with a quick burst of water. Clyde then moved in and began slapping the sleeping pokemon repeatedly, striking with one hand after the other.

"Follow it up with a Pound, Clyde! Then move out of the way so Berg can use Water Gun again!" Clyde stopped his assault and raised one hand back, then lunged forward and hit Koffing with a strong Pound attack. Koffing was knocked back from the blow and opened its eyes, but it was too late for it to do anything. Another blast of water fired from each of Blastoise's cannons, striking Koffing and blasting it back until it smashed into its own trainer.

"Oof!" Black was struck in the stomach by his pokemon and knocked over, hitting the ground hard. He growled at his pokemon as he sat up. "Stupid thing! Watch where you're going!" Realizing his Koffing was unconscious he recalled it and stood up.

"Looks like you're on your own, bro." Black said to his partner.

"Feh, my Machop's got a type advantage against one a 'em!" Orange spat. His Machop was starting to wake up just then as well. "Machop, attack that Clefairy with Karate Chop!" Machop raised its hand back, holding it flat vertically, and then charged towards Clyde.

"Clyde, quick! Block it with Protect!" Clyde threw out his arms and formed a blue, impenetrable bubble around himself. Machop's hand came crashing down towards Clyde, hitting off the bubble with enough force that Machop staggered back a foot.

"Now, Berg! Attack with Water Gun!" Berg trained its cannons on Machop and let loose with a quick burst of water. Machop, already off balance from its attempt to attack Clyde, was knocked onto its rear by the burst of water. It sat through the attack and shook it off when it was finally over, then slowly climbed back onto its feet. Too slow, however, as Clyde was ready to go on the attack.

"-Something's really not right with this one.-" Berg commented to Clyde.

"-I agree entirely.-" Clyde replied with a nod and smirked to himself. "-His pokemon seems rather off as well.-"

"Clyde, attack Machop with Pound!" Clyde dropped the barrier and jumped towards Machop. Clyde's fist connected with Machop's face, sending the fighting pokemon staggering back and falling onto its ass again. Machop looked a bit out of it for a moment, from a combination of the attack itself and generally being slow overall.

"Now lets hit him hard! Berg, use your Blizzard attack!" Berg made a slight adjustment to aim his cannons at Machop's new position and then opened fire, blasting Machop with twin cone-shaped bursts of ice and snow. The ice built up around Machop while it sat through the blast, slowly encasing the pokemon's body until it disappeared completely under a coat of ice.

"What? Its frozen?!" The orange haired biker cried out in dismay. "Damn it! What are the odds?!"

_"Its probably an improvement..."_ Rina thought dryly. "Clyde, use Pound again!"

"-I believe we'd be doing him a favor by leaving him in the ice, but if you say so...-" Clyde walked towards the frozen Machop and raised his hand back. He struck out at Machop, aiming one strong blow square in the chest. The ice shattered, freeing Machop. Machop fell back as soon as it was free, however, and it was impossible to tell whether Clyde's Pound or Berg's Blizzard was the attack to knock it out.

"Dang it! We didn't do a damn thing!" Orange growled, quickly recalling his Machop. "Fall back to the throne!" The two bikers hurried back into the building, leaving the door open behind them this time.

"The throne?" Rina wondered, blinking in disbelief.

"-Are we attacking a kingdom? Or a crime group?-" Pippi wondered aloud, scratching her head.

"I'm pretty sure its just a crime group." Rina said to her. "Anyway, great job you two! Return!" Rina held up Clyde and Berg's pokeballs and recalled them, then placed their pokeballs back on her belt.

"-Do we go inside now?-" Pippi asked Rina.

"Doesn't seem like anyone else is coming out, so lets go!" Rina replied. Pippi nodded and followed behind Rina as she ran into the building.

Rina ran straight through the main corridor, ignoring all the abandoned offices and other rooms she passed by. She could still hear the bikers running up ahead until she reached the final room. Rina hesitated outside for a moment before going inside.

The room Rina and Pippi found themselves in looked as though it could have once been some sort of broadcast room, where a news anchor would have been filmed from. Now, however, all that remained was some dusty old equipment and a raised platform at the far end of the room. There was a desk on the raised part of the room which would have likely been where the newscaster would have stood.

Sitting behind the desk was a rather fat, bald headed man with a girl dressed in leather standing on either side of him. One of the girls was a brunette and the other a blonde, both dressed like the bikers Rina had run into earlier. The bikers themselves were standing behind him, though Rina hardly took notice of anyone else in the room when she saw Ashley sitting in front of the desk.

"A-Ashley?!" Rina stammered in surprise when she saw her. Ashley had a chain around her ankle, connected to the desk, and wearing an outfit that consisted of a metal 'bikini' with a long cloth draped down in the front and back. In a way, the bottom half almost covered more than Ashley's skirt did. Rina still couldn't help but blush at seeing her friend dressed in such a way.

"Its about time you got here!" Ashley yelled at her. "This outfit is cold and there's no heating in here!"

"This...is the trainer you clots were worried about?!" The bald, fat man shouted at the bikers. The four men gulped in fear. The man raised a pool cue and tapped it on the desk. "Ladies, take care of this brat."

"Heh...right away, Cueball." The brunette replied. The two ladies stepped off the platform, each taking a pokeball in hand as they moved out in front of Ashley, blocking Rina.

"Your luck is, like, totally out girlie." The blonde said to Rina. "We're not pushovers like those guys!"

"-So close too...-" Pippi muttered, snapping her fingers.

"Fine! Have it your way then!" Rina quickly took two pokeballs from her belt and released her pokemon. "Felicia! Sarge! Go!" Felicia and Sarge soon appeared before Rina, ready to battle it out in the old news room.

"Grimer, get 'em!" The brunette called out, releasing a rather mean looking Grimer. Rina wondered if maybe these two would be tougher competition afterall.

"Cubone, like, go for it!" The blonde then called out, releasing her own pokemon. A brown furred pokemon wearing a skull over its head and holding a bone club in its hand appeared.

"-Eww...I don't want to get sludge all over my beautiful fur...-" Felicia whined.

"-Then leave the dirty work for the real fighters.-" Sarge snapped.

"Cubone, sweetie, attack that Flareon with Bone Club!"

"Grimer, poison that Sandshrew with a Toxic attack!"

"Felicia, dodge with Quick Attack! Sarge, Metal Claw! Block the Toxic and attack Grimer!"

The battle began swiftly with Cubone charging towards Felicia, club raised, and Grimer throwing a purple blob of poison at Sarge. Felicia shot off to the side, moving away from Cubone too fast to follow. Cubone's club struck the floor, cracking the old tiles Felicia had been standing on.

Meanwhile, Sarge struck out with his claws towards the incoming poison attack. His claws gained a metallic coating and sliced through the blob, scattering it and keeping it from hitting any part of his body but his hand. Sandshrew then charged towards Grimer and slashed it with that very same claw. Grimer growled and winced in pain, taking a painful hit despite its body being made entirely of sludge.

"Felicia, attack Cubone with Fire Blast now! Sandshrew, Slash attack!" Felicia turned on Cubone and spat out a small fireball. The fireball expanded almost instantly, taking the shape of a typical Fire Blast attack, then finally struck its target. Cubone tried to stand its ground but was pushed back several feet by the attack until it finally exploded, knocking Cubone to the ground. Cubone struggled back to its feet, wincing in pain from a burn the attack inflicted on it.

"Cubone, like, don't miss this time and use Bone Club again!"

"Grimer, smash that Sandshrew with Pound!"

Sarge struck first, already maneuvering to attack again when Grimer's trainer called out the command. Sarge struck Grimer, claws extended to inflict maximum damage. Grimer winced in pain but didn't let that dissaude it, quickly striking back at Sarge with a fist made of sludge. Sarge hardly flinched from the hit, easily shaking it off.

While Sarge and Grimer duked it out, Cubone raised its club and struggled towards Felicia. Felicia tried to move, but Cubone saw this and quickly jumped towards her to smash her in the face with his club. It was a hard blow and Felicia reeled back, falling onto her side. Cubone fell to his knees after making the attack, the burn and the damage inflicted on it slowing it down.

_"Ok, Felicia should be able to take out that Cubone now!"_ Rina thought. "Felicia, finish Cubone with Shadow Ball!" Felicia quickly rolled back onto her feet and formed a ball of shadowstuff in front of her. She flung the ball at Cubone, knocking the weakened ground pokemon off its feet in a shadowy burst. Cubone briefly struggled to get back on its feet but fell back to the floor again as it fainted.

"Oh no! Like, my Cubone fainted?" The blonde haired girl whined, recalling her Cubone.

"Serves you right for being weak." The brunette snapped.

_"She's really setting a bad reputation for blonde's..."_ Rina thought with a sigh, remembering she shared the same hair color. "Ok, Sarge! Your turn now! Attack Grimer with Slash again!" Sarge raised his claws up and then broguht them slashing straight down the front of Grimer's body, leaving a straight cut in the sludge right down Grimer's face. Grimer cried out and its body seemingly melted into a thin pool as it was knocked unconscious.

"Damn it! No way!" The brunette growled. She cursed under her breath as she recalled her Grimer.

"Interesting...seems you're tougher than you look..." Cueball slowly stood up, grunting with the effort. He then made his way around the desk to face Rina, tapping his pool cue against the ground. "Lets see just how tough you are then, girlie. I'll be your next opponent."

"-No way!- Pippi growled back. "-Rina, don't take that from this guy! He still doesn't have any pokemon out and you've got three of us! Tell him to back off.-"

"Thats not how we do things..." Rina whispered to Pippi, taking two pokeballs in her hand. "Felicia, Sarge, good job! You two can sit this one out!" The two pokemon nodded, allowing Rina to recall them. Rina placed the two pokeballs back on her belt and took another one in hand.

"You want to try your luck too? Fine! Lets go!" Rina said to Cueball.

"You're quite eager. But I'm not going to lose to some brat. I have too much at stake here." Cueball replied, taking a pokeball off a clip on the side of his pants. "You see, no one takes our group seriously anymore. With guys like Team Rocket and the Grand Hunters around, we're considered small fry!" Cueball growled.

"But that will end here. Even though they're complete idiots, seems these boys have managed to fetch something worthwhile." Cueball grinned maliciously, casting a glance over his shoulder at Ashley. "Seems this pretty little thing has had a few run ins with those hunters themselves." The gang snickered and Cueball turned back to Rina to explain his plan.

"We'll use this girl as bait. The hunters will no doubt want to get her after sending ten of their's into the slammer!" Cueball said to Rina, grinning from ear to ear.

_"Ten? Where did he hear that from?"_ Rina wondered, casting a glance to Ashley. Ashley grinned sheepishly, providing Rina with her answer. _"Oh..."_ Rina thought, narrowing her eyes at Ashley.

"When they take the bait, we'll crush them. With the hunters ground underfoot, and the trainer who helped cause their demise as our personal slave, people will recognize our group at long last! They will fear us! You will experience why we are to be feared first hand!" Cueball held out the pokeball he was holding and released his pokemon. A brown pokemon with a skull on its head appeared, which Rina immediately recognized as a Marowak from her previous encounter with one.

"You're delusional, the only one going to learn something here is you!" Rina shot back, holding out the pokeball she grabbed before. "Berg, go!" The pokeball opened up, releasing the Blastoise to face off against Cueball's Marowak. The two girls immediately backed away, taking refuge behind the desk.

"Seems you have some real power afterall!" Cueball said to her. "Marowak, attack that Blastoise with Bonemerang!"

"Berg, block it with Protect!" Berg held out his hands defensively, forming a protective blue bubble around himself as Marowak let its bone club fly. The club spun through the air and bounced off Blastoise's bubble, deflecting it off to the side. The bone came back around and made another attempt just to bounce off again. After two failed attacks, the bone club flew through the air back to Marowak's waiting hand.

"Now, Berg! Attack Marowak with Blizzard!" Berg dropped his barrier and took aim at Marowak. A blast of ice and show shot out from each of Berg's cannons, spreading out in a cone from each gun to spray Marowak. Marowak growled and staggered back from the hit but shook it off as ice began to form on its body, breaking free before there could be any buildup.

"Marowak, use Bonemerang again now!" Cueball called out with a growl, realizing now how powerful his foe was. Marowak gave another strong toss of its strange bone. The bone spun through the air and smacked Berg on the head, causing him to stagger back. The bone continued off past Berg, flying over Rina's head and then coming back around to strike Berg from behind, knocking him forward slightly. The bone continued straight ahead, returning to Marowak's hand.

_"Marowak hits hard, but Berg can hit Marowak hard too."_ Rina thought. "Berg, attack Marowak with Blizzard again!" Berg quickly regained his composure and brought his cannons to aim at Marowak again. Berg fired another blast of ice and snow at Marowak, which the ground pokemon dove forward to try to avoid. Even low to the ground, though, Marowak found itself being pelted by a bit of ice and snow from the attack. Marowak slowly stood up when it ended, looking as though it were barely able to do so.

"Grr...we'll go with a direct approach, then! Marowak, attack with Bone Club and knock it onto its back!" Marowak raised its bone back and charged across the room towards Berg, jumping as the gap between them closed as to aim a high strike at Berg.

"Berg, quick! Protect!" Berg quickly protected itself, forming a blue barrier around it. Marowak's attack came down hard on the barrier but bounced off harmlessly, knocking Marowak to the ground at Berg's feet.

"Now lets finish this! Water Gun!" Rina called out. Berg seized the opportunity to attack while Marowak was down. Berg fired a quick burst of water from each of his cannons. The water splashed against Marowak, pushed Marowak into the floor. Marowak growled and tried to raise its head but collapsed as it fell unconscious.

"Damn it...that thing really is packing a lot of power..." Cueball grumbled as he recalled his Marowak and took a pokeball from another clip. It seemed to be the only one he had left. "But our reputation is at stake here, so don't think I'll back down!" Cueball held out his pokeball and released a muscular, humanoid pokemon wearing a gold belt around its waist. It was a Machoke, evolved form of Machop.

_"You're either stupid, don't care about your pokemon, or both."_ Rina accused Cueball. _"I have five pokemon left to your one, I've beaten every one of your lackeys, and now you've seen how strong my pokemon are first hand! Why keep going when you have no hope of winning?!"_

"SHUT UP!" Cueball yelled at Rina. "I will NOT be talked down to by anyone! Don't you realize who you're dealing with here?!"

"A bunch of losers..." Rina muttered quietly, taking Berg's pokeball in hand. "Berg, good job. You can rest again." Rina recalled Berg and placed his pokeball on her belt, then looked over her shoulder at Pippi. "Pippi?" Pippi nodded and ran out past Rina, taking up position in front of her to battle Machoke.

"-If this is how we're doing in, then I'll give it my best!-" Pippi said to Rina.

"You're battling with that pipsqueak?" Cueball grinned. "This won't take long. Machoke, stomp it flat with Karate Chop!"

"Couldn't agree more..." Rina thought. "Pippi, Double Team!" Pippi stood up on her hind legs as Machoke approached her. Machoke brought its hand down vertically toward Pippi in a chopping motion, but its hand passed through Pippi and struck the floor instead. Pippi vanished as she was seemingly hit and Machoke took notice of several more Pippi's beside and behind it.

"Now, Pippi! Use Thunderbolt!" The images all disappeared, leaving the real Pippi standing several feet behind Machoke. Sparks danced around Pippi's cheeks as she charged electricity. Twin bolts fired out from each electric sack, combining into a single bolt as it raced towards Machoke. The Thunderbolt attack struck Machoke head on. Machoke growled in pain and barely managed to catch itself from falling as the electricity passed through its body.

"Damn it! Hit that thing already!" Cueball growled at his Machoke. Machoke gritted its teeth as its own temper started to get the best of it as well. Machoke raised its fist and charged towards Pippi to make another attack.

"Pippi, use Volt Tackle now!" Pippi channeled electricity around her body and took off towards Machoke as well. Machoke tried to time its attack to intercept Pippi but attacked too soon, putting its arm in Pippi's path instead as she jumped at him. The two collided with Pippi toppling Machoke as it continued to move forward, knocking the fighting pokemon onto its back. Pippi herself was knocked back from the impact, landing on her side at Machoke's feet.

_"One more attack should do it now."_ Rina thought. "Pippi, finish it off with Thunderbolt!" Pippi quickly jumped back to her feet, shaking off the recoil while Machoke slowly tried to get back up as well in its weakened state. Pippi, seeing its weakened state, fired off a rather quick bolt of electricity.

It was a relatively weak jolt, for a Thunderbolt, but that one small blast from Pippi was enough to knock Machoke out for good. Machoke grunted and fell back to the floor as its body gave out, losing consciousness almost instantly. Cueball cursed under his breath and quickly recalled his Machoke.

"Damn it! Our entire gang is beaten by a single child?!" Cueball growled in disbelief.

"What now, boss?" One of the bikers asked him. Cueball seemed to think it over carefully for a moment.

"We'll move somewhere else and start over, somewhere we won't be overshadowed by guys like Team Rocket." Cueball said, shooting an angry glare at Rina. "We're abandoning this hideout, rear exit."

"Don't think for a second I'm just going to let you leave!" Rina called out. The biker gang ignored her. Though they were reluctant to leave, they all started filing through a back door with a broken 'Exit' sign over it. Cueball, too, slowly hobbled towards the door.

"HEY! Get back here or else!" Rina yelled. Cueball stopped near the door and turned around.

"Or else what?" Cueball shot back. "The goody-goody trainer brat is going to get her pokemon to zap us? Ha! You don't have the guts, kid." Cueball stepped through the door and slammed it shut behind him.

"-Hmph! I could have at least Thunder Waved the fat one.-" Pippi said disappointedly.

"Don't worry about them, Rina. I doubt they'll last long wherever they end up going." Ashley reassured her. Rina looked over at her and noticed she was standing up and had removed the shackle.

"Wait a minute! You could have gotten free anytime you wanted, couldn't you?" Rina asked her.

"Of course I could." Ashley replied with a wide smile. "Cueball is the only one with any brains in the group and he's lazy so he gets his lackeys to do everything for him. They didn't even take my pokeballs from me." Ashley pointed to the belt around her waist. Rina noticed it before, but she was so caught up in the moment that she didn't realize what it meant.

"Then why didn't you free yourself sooner?" Rina then asked her. "You would have saved us a lot of trouble you know!"

"I figured you would come by eventually, and I definitely wasn't worried about those idiots. Even if they made me wear this..." Ashley looked down at the outfit she was wearing. "I don't know where they found this...probably an old costume or something..."

"But why? And weren't you even worried they might try something funny while you're dressed like that?"

"Well, I thought beating up an entire biker gang on your own would help boost your confidence since you've been down in the dumps..." Ashley explained, then gestured to her belt again. "And if they tried anything, I would have sicked Charizard on them."

"Knowing they were so incompetent isn't much of a confidence boost though..." Rina sighed.

"-Hey! Speak for yourself!-" Pippi said to her. "-That Koffing's Selfdestruct really hurt you know! And if that Machoke actually hit me it wouldn't have tickled either!-"

"Well, I guess when you put it that way...we did fight seven trainers, and we hardly broke a sweat!" Rina smiled for the first time in a while and nodded to Pippi. "Yeah! We kicked their butts!"

"-Right!-" Pippi nodded enthusiastically. "-See? We're pretty tough, you just need to believe that and next time we'll rescue your parent's pokemon for sure!-"

"Thats the spirit!" Ashley said to her, giving her a thumbs up. "Now I'll just go get changed and then we can head to Fuschia. I think I saw some stolen bicycles in the building too." Ashley walked off towards a door at the side of the room. There was a worn-out sign on the door labelled 'storage'.

"Stolen bicycles?" Rina blinked. "But don't we have enough stolen property?!"

* * *

Author's Notes: With two stolen pokemon each, you would think someone might notice. But then again, they do have people 'on the inside'...

Anyway, few obvious references to a certain movie here. Mostly because everytime I pictured Cueball the image in my mind ended up looking like Jabba the Hutt.

Also, sorry about the lateness. Couple reasons for this, topping off with a caffeine-induced headache, but I'll leave it at that.


	19. Chapter 19: Vs Aqua

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Vs. Aqua**

Using stolen bikes they found at the abandoned broadcast station, Ashley and Rina were able to make it to Fuschia City in no time. Upon arriving in the city they were more than happy to hand over the bikes to local authorities and point them in the direction of the broadcast station. Though the Kanto Federation had already taken off there was still the chance of finding clues.

After handing over the bikes, and getting a stern scolding for 'contaminating the evidence' but otherwise getting off rather easily, the two girls went to the usual stop for trainers upon arriving in town. The pokecenter. They went inside and handed over their pokemon to the nurse, then sat down in the waiting room and discussed what to do next while watching the tv.

"So...I take it you want to challenge the gym leader first?" Rina asked Ashley. Ashley hummed thoughtfully, though she seemed a bit more preoccupied with the tv.

There was a battle being displayed on the tv between two top trainers, one from Johto and one from Kanto. It was a three on three battle with the Johto trainer leading two to one. The Kanto trainer's final pokemon was a rocky rhino-like pokemon, Rhyhorn, and the Johto trainer was using a pokemon that looked like a round owl, HootHoot.

"I just got another badge just yesterday, so I'm not in a big rush." Ashley said to Rina, pulling herself away from the tv long enough to face her. "So why don't we check out the local sights first? The Safari Zone would be a fun place to visit I think..."

"Thats the place where you catch pokemon without using your own, right?" Rina asked. Ashley nodded in response. "Yeah, that could be fun then! I think catching a pokemon without actually battling it would make a stronger bond right from the start!"

"And there's plenty of rare pokemon!" Ashley added with a grin. "And I'll catch them all...on film!"

"SHHH!" The crowd of trainers in the waiting room shushed Ashley and Rina. They were watching the battle rather intently, which now had that same Rhyhorn from before facing the Johto trainer's final pokemon, a green skinned frog-like pokemon known as Politoed.

"He's just going to lose anyway..." Ashley muttered under her breath.

"You know, you've been forgetting about your camera lately. Ever since the whole Entei thing..." Rina whispered quietly to Ashley.

"I just get caught up in the moment and forget." Ashley replied. "That stops now though. I'll try to get some good pictures from the Safari Zone and find some nature magazine or something to submit them to. The Kanto Times is only going to accept something that has a story with it anyway..."

"Yeah, thats true." Rina said to Ashley, agreeing with her. "But you did have a story with Entei at least."

"I can't count on having stories though, which is why I'll have to try getting pictures of rare pokemon!" Ashley stood up from her seat, clenching a fist. "I'll get as many pictures as I can in the Safari Zone and make up for forgetting so many times!"

"And I'll catch a new pokemon without having to battle it!" Rina added with equal enthusiasm. The two trainers went to the front desk to retrieve their pokemon, only having to wait another minute. They ended up missing the end of the pokemon battle though. The Kanto trainer's Rhyhorn managed to defeat Politoed with a lucky Horn Drill attack and emerged victorious.

Once they retrieved their pokemon, Ashley and Rina left the pokecenter and headed straight to the Safari Zone in the north end of Fuschia. They didn't bother to release Bulbasaur or Pippi as they wouldn't be able to use their own pokemon in the Safari Zone as it was. The two girls entered the main building of the Safari Zone and were greeted by one of the attendants.

"Two trainer passes into the Safari Zone?" The attendant asked them.

"Thats right." Ashley replied. She and Rina each paid for their own tickets and were then lead to the rear exit of the building, leading into the Safari Zone.

"Here are your safari balls, ladies." The attendant handed each of them a small pouch containing six safari balls. "I wish you both of luck!" The attendant turned and went back into the building, leaving Rina and Ashley on their own in the park.

"Oh...wow..." Rina gasped in amazement as she looked out at the park. "Its so...big! It seems like it goes on forever!"

"Well of course, what were you expecting?" Ashley asked her. "It covers a very large area spanning between Cycling Road and Silence Bridge. I don't think we'd even cover half the park if we split up..."

"Well lets do that then!" Rina suggested, excitedly nodding to herself. "If we split up we should see twice as many different pokemon."

"I guess you're right there." Ashley replied, nodding in agreement. "Ok then, meet back here in an hour?" Rina nodded and the two of them set off. Rina headed northeast while Ashley headed northwest. Neither trainer had any particular pokemon in mind. Ashley intended to take pictures of many pokemon and Rina was simply looking to catch whatever pokemon she could find.

The park itself was exactly what one might expect for a nature reserve. There were sparse trees throughout the park with a thick wall of trees near the outer edges and forming natural walls in some areas of the park. There were hills and plateau's spread about as well as several small ponds where some rare water pokemon resided. After about five minutes of walking through this park, Ashley and Rina lost sight of each other.

* * *

"Now hold still..." Ashley focused her camera on a group of pokemon which hadn't taken notice of her. There were spiny, rodent-like and rhino-like pokemon gathered in a group. The pokemon came in shades of blue and purple, signifying the different species. The pokemon were Nidorans, both female and male, and a few Nidorinos and Nidorinas. Ashley quickly snapped a picture of the group.

"There's lots of pokemon here...but I can't seem to find any of the rarer ones." Ashley said to herself with a sigh. "Where are all the Tauros? The Kangaskhan? The Chanseys? The Scythers and Pinsirs?"

Ashley took the picture in hand once it printed out from the camera. The pokemon were all gathered into a sort of family or herd, which made it a good picture opportunity. Ashley decided she liked the picture and put it away, then continued on through the park while keeping an eye out for rare pokemon.

"Maybe I'd see something from up there?" Ashley thought, spotting a hill in the distance. She ran over to the hill and climbed up to the top, which was a flat plateau. The hill itself was no more than a dozen feet high at the most, but it was still a better vantage point than she had before. She moved to the edge of the hill opposite the side she climbed up and scanned the terrain in the distance.

"Plenty of Nidoran families...looks like a bunch of flying bug pokemon over there...Venomoth?" Ashley continued to scan as far off as she could see, eventually spotting a group of brownish quadrapeds off in the distance nearby a humanoid figure. "Ah! That looks like a herd of Tauros! I'll get a picture of those!" Ashley slid down the side of the hill and took off running towards where she saw the Tauros.

_"There's probably a lot of pictures of Tauros herds out there..."_ Ashley thought as she made her way further north. _"So I'll get as close as I can and take some really close up photos. Since they were standing around, they're probably grazing anyway."_ She couldn't actually see the group now that she was on lower ground as there were too many high grasses and trees in her way.

After running for several hundred meters and rounding a small pond, scaring off a pair of male Nidorans as she ran by, she came to the line of trees that had been obscuring her sight. Rounding the trees, she saw the Tauros all standing facing away from her at about two hundred feet or so away.

"Perfect!" Ashley took her camera in hand and lined up a shot on the wild Tauros. She zoomed in on individual Tauros, trying to find a good one to get a picture of, however she soon realized it was all pointless.

"A picture of a Tauros' butt won't get me anywhere though..." Ashley muttered, lowering her camera. "I'll have to move around without startling them to..." Before Ashley could finish, the entire herd of Tauros, twelve pokemon in total, turned to face her simultaneously. Their movement was as if they were trained soldiers responding to a command from a superior.

"That was...odd..." Ashley thought. She then noticed the metal collars around their necks and let out a surprised gasp. "Slave collars?! But that means..."

"We meet again, girl." Ashley heard a familiar voice saying but couldn't see where it was coming from. A blue haired woman emerged from the herd of Tauros, the same woman she met in the Rock Tunnel. She had a rather bulky device looking like some sort of gun on her arm and a microphone on the collar of her jacket. A collared Vaporeon followed behind her.

"You!" Ashley cried out in surprise. "You're that one from the Rock Tunnel! Aqua!"

"Yes, and it seems the time has come for you to learn why no one gets in our way and lives." Aqua replied. She made a wide gesture to the herd of Tauros behind her. "As you can see...I have nice little army backing me up this time. These Tauros will fetch us quite the price. Feel free to send out all of your pokemon, I will crush them all and take them for myself." Aqua patted the gun on her arm. "I still have plenty of slave collars left."

"So that fires slave collars? I'll have to be careful with my pokemon then..." Ashley thought, reaching down to her belt with both hands and taking two pokeballs in each. "You might have numbers on your side, but my pokemon are still plenty strong! Bulbasaur! Charizard! Poliwag! Beedrill! Go!" Ashley called out her pokemon's names as she released all four of them and then quickly returned their empty pokeballs to her belt and grabbed the remaining two.

"Pidgeotto! Jolteon! You too!" Ashley held one pokeball in each hand and released Pidgeotto and Jolteon to stand alongside her other pokemon. All six of her pokemon now stood before her and took up fighting stances, realizing what was about to occur. Bulbasaur grinned to himself, looking forward to an all-out brawl.

"Yang's Charizard and Shocks' Jolteon...I will soon be reclaiming them." Aqua said to Ashley. Jolteon and Charizard weren't at all happy to hear that, both growled at her. Sparks of electricity bristled along Jolteon's fur and smoke seeped from the corner of Charizard's mouth from a fire contained in his throat. Aqua smirked to herself, finding amusement in their reactions.

"Tauros...charge! Horn attack!" The herd of Tauros began stampeding toward Ashley's pokemon, lowering their horns to attack.

"Pidgeotto, slow them down with Whirlwind! Bulbasaur, Jolteon! Paralyze as many as you can with Stun Spore and Thunder Wave!" Ashley called out while running off to the side to get out of the line of fire.

"-Got it!-" Pidgeotto began flapping his wings rapidly, kicking up powerful gusts of wind. A wide tornado formed in front of Pidgeotto and then moved across the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust as it moved towards the herd. The Tauros were stopped in their tracks, forced to brace themselves against the tornedo or get blown back.

"-Huh. This plan of her's might actually work.-" Bulbasaur commented, firing a burst of spores in the direction of the Tauros. The spores were sucked up by the tornado and spread out. Only two Tauros near the front of the herd were paralyzed, though. The rest of the spores were sucked upwards. "-Then again, maybe not...-"

"-I'll stop them myself!-" Jolteon growled. The electricity coursing through his fur fired off in a pulse, striking one of the remaining two lead Tauros. The pokemon was knocked to the ground as its muscles became paralyzed, no longer able to stand against the wind. The two Tauros that had been paralyzed by Bulbasaur's attack likewise fell over. The wind began to die down, but the Tauros already had an obstacle blocking their way.

_"Bad lady?"_ Poliwag wondered. _"Me stop her!"_ The herd tried to blindly charge past their fallen brethren but just ended up tripping over each other. After a six Tauros pileup, Aqua was forced to call them off and rethink her strategy. Meanwhile, a little blue pokemon went unnoticed as it wound its way through the herd.

"Clever trick, girl." Aqua said, sounding unamused. "However, you will have to do better than that. Tauros, attack with Horn Attack! Vaporeon, attack Bulbasaur and Jolteon with Ice Beam!"

"Beedrill, get their attention and confuse them with Double Team! Charizard, use Smokescreen to block their view!" Beedrill flew out in front of the group and split off into six separate images. The Tauros were confused for a moment as they reconsidered their targets. Charizard then added to this confusion by breathing out a cloud of

One Tauros ended up going towards each image of Beedrill, including Beedrill himself, while the rest continued on. One of the Tauros hit the real Beedrill, gouging him with its horn. Beedrill staggered back but quickly shook it off and stood his ground, ready to fight back if ordered to. The fake duplicates it had created each disappeared after an attack from a Tauros as well.

Vaporeon, meanwhile, had made its way past the Tauros and fired an Ice Beam attack into the smoke at the location it had last seen Bulbasaur. The smoke froze and dispersed as Vaporeon's beam pierced through it. Although Vaporeon missed its target in the end, hitting the ground next to Bulbasaur instead, the remaining Tauros could all see their targets now and went on the attack again.

Bulbasaur, Charizard, Pidgeotto, and Jolteon were each attacked by the remaining Tauros. Bulbasaur and Jolteon each took a strong blow as a Tauros rammed into them with its horns. Two Tauros rammed into Charizard, knocking the fire pokemon onto its back. Pidgeotto was able to evade one of the Tauros that tried to attack him, flying up and to the side to evade, but a second Tauros blindsided him and knocked him back to the ground.

_"I have to admit, she isn't half bad. I can see how the others could have underestimated her."_ Aqua thought to herself. _"I won't make that same mistake. Its over for her now. At that range, her pokemon are denied the opportunity to deal with the Tauros as a group rather than individually. Their numbers will overwhelm her."_

Aqua took her microphone in hand, adjusting it as she prepared to issue another command to her pokemon. Just then, she felt something tapping against her leg and looked down to see Poliwag standing at her feet. Poliwag stepped back once he had her attention and looked up at her.

"Get out of my..." Aqua began, but stopped cold when she realized the pattern on Poliwag's stomach was spinning. She felt drawn to it, and began to feel drowsy as Hypnosis began to set in. "No..." She mumbled. "Vaporeon...get over here and...stop this Poliwag..." Aqua barely managed to get the command out before collapsing to the ground, falling fast asleep.

With Aqua asleep and not issuing anymore commands, the herd of Tauros stopped their attack and stepped back. Though they remained focused on their respective targets they made no attempt to attack, instead waiting for further orders that would never come. Vaporeon, meanwhile, bounded off back to Aqua.

"They stopped?" Ashley blinked in disbelief. She looked over to where Aqua was and saw the hunter fast asleep on the ground, next to Poliwag. "Alright! Good one, Poliwag!" Ashley called out to him. Poliwag nodded to Ashley and smiled happily. The moment was cut short, however, as Poliwag was blasted by a Shadow Ball attack and sent rolling back. Vaporeon quickly took up a defensive position between Poliwag and Aqua.

"-Ow...-" Poliwag mumbled. He hopped back onto his feet and looked at Vaporeon curiously. "-Why you do that?-" Poliwag asked Vaporeon. Vaporeon didn't respond and instead opened its mouth and blasted Poliwag with a quick spray of water. The water had no effect on Poliwag, however. It was simply absorbed by Poliwag's body.

"-You not nice...me put you sleep too.-" Poliwag focused on Vaporeon, drawing the pokemon's attention as Poliwag sent out hypnotic waves from his chest. Vaporeon's eyes slowly began to close as it became drowsy. It knelt down on the ground and rested its head as it fell fast asleep. It wouldn't be waking up either with Aqua unable to activate its collar.

"-That...brat just singlehandedly took down the hunter!-" Charizard growled in disbelief.

"-I wouldn't quite say singlehandedly.-" Jolteon added with a shrug. "-We did provide a distraction...-"

_"I didn't even think to use sleep attacks...I just assumed they'd be completely useless because Aqua could command her pokemon to wake up."_ Ashley thought, passing by the herd of Tauros as she walked towards the sleeping Aqua. _"I never thought of trying to put Aqua to sleep. I'm glad Poliwag did though..."_

"Well way to go, Poliwag! You stopped Aqua in her tracks!" Ashley congratulated Poliwag and knelt down next to Aqua. "Now...I wonder if this collar-shooting thing has a release button..." Ashley set to examining the gun on Aqua's arm, checking it over for a button that might release the collars on the herd of Tauros.

"-I feel funny now...-" Poliwag mumbled, blinking in confusion. Suddenly, a white glow surrounded his body. His body began to expand and a pair of arms sprouted from his sides, forming a pair of strong looking hands at the end. Poliwag's eyes moved up his face, forming two little bumps on the top of his body. The light soon faded, revealing Poliwag's evolved form as Poliwhirl.

"Wow...you evolved too..." Ashley said, blinking in disbelief. She smiled at the newly evolved Poliwhirl, his white hat now resting on top of his head. "Well congratulations, Poliwag...I mean Poliwhirl!" Ashley then turned her attention back to the gun, holding up Aqua's arm to get a better look at it.

"-You know, I could evolve any time I want to now.-" Bulbasaur muttered quietly.

"-Then why don't you?-" Charizard asked him. "-If I could evolve I'd have done it already!-"

"-Eh...saving it for an emergency, or maybe just the right time.-" Bulbasaur replied with a shrug.

"Aha! Here we go!" Ashley pressed two buttons, one on the bottom of the gun and one on top. Pressing the two simultaneously triggered the release mechanism. The collars on each of the Tauros and the Vaporeon clicked as they released and fell off their respective pokemon. The Tauros looked around in confusion and then took off running when they spotted Ashley and Aqua.

"Well I guess all thats left to do now is to drag Aqua out of here." Ashley stood up and thought over how to go about taking the unconscious Aqua with her. She didn't have to think long before a jeep with two park rangers inside rode into view.

_"Huh?"_ Ashley blinked in disbelief. _"Oh right, they have this place under tight security to make sure trainers don't try to use their pokemon to battle the pokemon in the safari zone."_ She thought. The jeep pulled up to her and the two rangers hopped out.

"We saw the whole thing. We'll be taking it from here." One of the two rangers said to her.

"You could have showed up sooner, you know." Ashley replied flatly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"We were trying to put together a squad to go after her. We don't even have our own pokemon, so we'd have been no match for her." The ranger replied. "You saved us the trouble, fortunately."

"How can they even do their job without pokemon?" Ashley wondered. The two rangers lifted Aqua up, one holding her by the head and arms and the other holding her legs. They then carefully put her in the back of the jeep and took out a pair of handcuffs, binding her wrists and ankles together and taking her smoke ball from her. With Aqua secured, they jumped into the front seats and started up the engine again.

"Wait! What about the Vaporeon?" Ashley called out to them.

"You girls usually keep them anyway, don't you?" One of the rangers replied, shooting Ashley a glare. The two drove off, pulling a u-turn to drive by Ashley and go back the way they came.

"Yeah, I guess we do..." Ashley said quietly, looking sadly at Vaporeon.

"-Ashley...bad?-" Poliwhirl gazed at Ashley curiously, the ranger's comments stirring a bit of distrust and confusion in him.

* * *

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the park...

"ARGH! Stop it already!" A frustrated park ranger, looking to be in his late teens and likely new to the job, cried out in frustration. Ahead of him, a Tangela was running around and chasing a Nidoran male and female.

"Huh? Whats going on here?" Rina wondered, watching the Tangela running around from behind the ranger.

"-We're going to be friends forever and ever and ever!-" Rina could hear the Tangela saying to the two Nidoran.

"-WE DON'T WANT TO BE YOUR FRIENDS!-" The two called back, though their complaint went unnoticed by the Tangela which continued to relentlessly pursue them.

"You know...I don't have a grass pokemon yet..." Rina said to herself. She opened up her safari pouch and looked through it. "Three safari balls left...too bad I wasted the other three on that Chansey..." Rina sighed and took one of her remaining safari balls out of her pouch.

"Its not a safari pokemon!" The frustrated ranger, overhearing Rina, said to her. "I don't know how it got in here but its just causing trouble! ARGH!" The male ranger shoved his fingers through his hair roughly, messing it up and knocking off his green hat. The hat went along with the rest of his uniform, consisting of a green vest over a brown shirt and matching green khaki shorts.

"Isn't the Safari Zone open to wild pokemon though?" Rina asked curiously.

"It is...but this one just snuck in somehow!" The ranger replied. "New additions to the park need to be trained first! This one is just making a nuisance of itself and I haven't been able to catch it!"

"You don't mind if I try to catch it then?" Rina asked him.

"Go right ahead and try! Heck, use your pokemon if you want!" He replied. "Like I said, its not a native pokemon."

"No...I'm going to try to catch this one without battling it." Rina clutched her safari ball in hand and began walking towards the Tangela. "Lets see if just throwing a safari ball will work..." Rina raised her arm back and threw the safari ball at Tangela, catching it while it was chasing the Nidoran towards a small pond.

The safari ball bounced off Tangela, causing the grass pokemon to stop in its tracks and try to look around before it was pulled into the ball. The Nidoran chanced a look back and, seeing Tangela trapped in the ball, took the chance to flee the scene. The ball shook twice with Tangela inside but then shattered and broke open, freeing it.

"-Huh?-" Tangela blinked in confusion and looked around. Spotting Rina, she smiled widely under the mass of vines. "-Friend!-" Tangela ran toward Rina while she was trying to pull another safari ball out of her pouch. The grass pokemon wrapped its vines around Rina, pinning her arms to her side and tackling her to the ground.

"Ack!" Rina let out a surprised yelp as Tangela tackled her. She struggled to get another safari ball out, but Tangela had her arms pinned at her sides. Rina was left completely helpless.

"-Friend! Me going to hug you lots and lots!-" Tangela squealed happily, rubbing her 'face' against Rina.

"H-hey! Do you need any help there?" The ranger asked her.

"No! I can handle this!" Rina called back, determined to catch this pokemon on her own. _"Ok, think! This Tangela doesn't seem very bright...so I can probably talk her into letting me go and then try another safari ball on her."_

"Well...if we're friends...then I think it'd be nice of you to let me go so I can hug you back!" Rina said to Tangela, smiling sheepishly. "I mean, I can't hug you if my arms are pinned, right?"

_"Whoa! This chick can understand pokemon?!"_ The ranger thought in disbelief.

"-Oh! Kay! I'd like to be hugged too!-" Tangela happily released Rina from her grasp and stood back. Rina quickly lobbed another safari ball at Tangela, making another desparate attempt to catch it. The ball bounced off Tangela's body and pulled the pokemon inside.

_"I feel kinda bad for tricking her like this..."_ Rina thought, getting back on her feet while the safari ball rolled around on the ground. Rina thought for sure she had it this time, but the ball broke again and released Tangela much to Rina's dismay.

"-Owie! Why do you keep throwing those at me?-" Tangela asked Rina.

"Well...umm..." Rina tried to think of an answer, it wasn't something she was expecting to be asked. She was able to come up with one rather quickly though. "Well, you see that meanie behind me?" Rina whispered to Tangela. Tangela looked past Rina, at the park ranger, and nodded.

"Well, he doesn't want us to be friends!" Rina whispered to her. "So I need to get you out of this park, and the best way to do that is to hide you in this little ball!"

"-Oh! So I should just stay in the ball?-" Tangela asked her. Rina nodded and took her last safari ball from her pouch.

"Thats the idea!" Rina replied. "So here, get inside so we can go!" Rina gave the safari ball a light toss, hitting Tangela with it again. This time there was no shaking or rolling when Tangela was pulled inside. The safari ball locked tight and then vanished in a white light, sending Tangela off to storage. Rina breathed a sigh of relief.

"I wish catching a Pikachu without having my own pokemon had been that easy..." Rina mumbled quietly.

"Geez...you make this look easy. Ever consider work as a pokemon ranger?" The ranger asked Rina, grinning sheepishly.

"Not interested." Rina replied, smiling lightly. "Not at all...cause someday I plan to be a pokemon researcher, but until then I'm just travelling around Kanto."

"Well, I kinda owe you for your help either way. My jeep's nearby, need a ride out of the park?" He asked her.

"Well...guess there's not much point staying now that I'm out of safari balls." Rina replied, nodding to him. She followed the ranger back to his jeep, getting a quick ride out of the park.

* * *

By the time Rina arrived at the park entrance, Ashley was already there waiting. Both girls had decided to leave before their time was up, though for different reasons. The Vaporeon, which had belonged to Aqua, was awake now and standing next to Ashley alongside Bulbasaur.

"Ashley? Where did you find that Vaporeon?" Rina asked her, quickly hopping down out of the side of the jeep.

"I ran into another of those hunters..." Ashley replied, sounding a bit forlorn and looking down at Vaporeon. "Rina, how about finding out where this Vaporeon came from before Aqua, the hunter, had it?"

"Umm...sure..." Rina replied, blinking in surprise.

"-Ah, you must be the one who can understand pokemon speech!-" Vaporeon said to her, smiling brightly. "-A pleasure to meet you. To answer the lady's question, I don't recall exact details. I know I didn't have a trainer though. All I can really remember is from when I was an Eevee. I believe I lived in a garden of sorts, playing in the tall grass with other wild pokemon...-"

"He was a wild pokemon before Aqua caught him." Rina translated for Ashley.

"Well that takes a load off my conscience..." Ashley replied, breathing a sigh of relief. She opened up her pouch and took out a safari ball. She still had all six of them and saw no reason not to use one on Vaporeon since she hadn't used any at all.

"You have a conscience?" Rina thought.

"-Rather convenient that the hunter's pokemon either lack trainers or never had any.-" Bulbasaur said quietly. "-It wouldn't bother me as much if it didn't seem like it was providing Ashley here with pokemon without her having the need to actually catch them...-"

"-Well, lets be fair here. She did take on quite the small army to free me.-" Vaporeon said to Bulbasaur. "-For doing so I promise I will do my best to help others. It may help to put my own conscience at rest after some of the atrocities I have been forced to do by Aqua...-"

"Ok, Vaporeon, welcome to the team. Ready to go into a pokeball?" Vaporeon nodded to Ashley, prompting her to activate the safari ball in her hand. The ball opened up and fired a beam at Vaporeon, pulling him inside. The ball then shut tight in Ashley's hand and disappeared, locking Vaporeon inside and whisking it off to storage.

"So, Ashley, you plan to challenge Koga now?" Rina asked her.

"No, I think I'll wait until tomorrow." Ashley replied.

"Huh?" Rina blinked in disbelief and quickly checked her watch. "But we still have two hours before the gym closes!"

"True...but I'd rather go check out the beach and spend the rest of the day just relaxing." Ashley replied, smiling brightly. "What do you say?"

"Its been years since I've been to the beach. Yeah, lets do that!" Rina replied, nodding enthusiastically.

With one new pokemon caught each, the two girls left the Safari Zone and got ready to spend the rest of the day at the beach.

* * *

Author's Notes: Well, thats another hunter down. Next chapter will be, obviously, a 'beach episode'. Thing about a 'beach episode' in a written story is its a lot less fanservicey and a lot more 'excuse for a plot'. There's actually a very specific reason I wanted to do a beach scene near Fuschia, which you will hopefully find out about next weekend. I've got a lot of assignments due this week, so I'm not making any promises other than holding to Monday at the latest if I miss a Sunday update.

On an unrelated/related note...ever notice the sheer amount of sci-fi themes in Pokemon? In the games alone you've got items/pokemon being supposedly stored as data, a whole bunch of techy gadgets not the least of which are pokeballs, teleporting devices everywhere. There's also alien pokemon, though pokemon themselves fit the role of most 'soft' sci-fi aliens as such aliens often off mystical or psionic powers or are just better than us physically in some way. We've also got gene splicing and cloning in there.

Despite the sci-fi elements, though, the best they do for spaceships is a rocket...


	20. Chapter 20: Vs Dice

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Twenty**

**Vs. Dice**

"Look at those guys all drooling over Ashley..." Rina muttered to Pippi. "Its like I don't even exist! I'm cute too, aren't I?!"

There were six guys surrounding Ashley, all roughly her age and all at Ashley's beck and call. Ashley was lying out on a towel on the sand, wearing a green bikini and a pair of black sunglasses to keep the sun out of her eyes as she relaxed on the beach. Rina was sitting off much further away, watching the group from a distance.

"-She does seem very popular with the boys today...-" Pippi observed, tilting her head to the side. "-Does that normally happen when girls wear less clothes?-"

"Yes..." Rina muttered bitterly. "Especially if you have a nice body like she does...."

"-So...you don't have a 'nice body' then?-" Pippi asked Rina curiously, glancing over at her. Rina was wearing a yellow one-piece swimsuit, which Ashley had apparently bought for her while shopping in Celadon.

"I...I will when I'm older!" Rina shot back. She growled and stood up from her towl, clenching a fist. "I'm going for a swim!" She announced before stomping off across the sand, heading to the water.

_"Was it something I said?"_ Pippi wondered, blinking in confusion. _"Rina's been acting funny ever since those guys showed up and started talking to Ashley..."_ Pippi blinked again and scratched her head. _"Whats the word for it? Jealousy?"_

"-H-hey! Pippi!-" The sound of another pokemon calling out to her distracted Pippi from her thoughts. She looked behind her to see Bulbasaur bounding toward her and sliding to a stop in the sand. "-Pippi! Where'd Rina go?!-"

"-Umm...she went for a swim...-" Pippi replied, blinking in confusion. "-Why?-"

"-Damn it!-" Bulbasaur took off running again without another word. Pippi soon had her answer anyway, though, when she saw Tangela chasing him.

"-Come back! I want to be friends!-" Tangela called out to Bulbasaur, giving chase. Pippi giggled quietly, remembering how Bulbasaur said he didn't like Tangela. Pippi didn't even know Rina had caught one until they had arrived at the beach and Rina released all her pokemon. Rina had given Tangela the nickname Teri, which Tangela had no complaints about.

The rest of Rina and Ashley's pokemon were scattered around the beach as well, along with pokemon belonging to other trainers. Or at least, the six pokemon they could bring with them were out on the beach. Both Rina and Ashley had changed their teams around a bit after leaving the Safari Zone, for one reason or another.

Rina's Tangela had taken a liking to Bulbasaur almost immediately and had been chasing him around the beach ever since. Sarge was also among Rina's pokemon and had moved off to a less crowded area of the beach for a sparring match with Ashley's Mankey. Mankey was trying to get the other pokemon to fight him, eager to become stronger, and Sarge decided to take him on to keep him from causing trouble.

Ashley's Poliwhirl, recently evolved from Poliwag, had went for the water but decided it didn't like salt water much. Instead, he was wandering around the beach and greeting all the different pokemon. Similarly Rina's Berry, recently retrieved from storage, was busy getting to know all the new pokemon Ashley and Rina had caught recently.

Rina's Blastoise, Berg, was wading in the shallow water of the beach and almost looked as though he was meditating. Ashley's Jolteon was lying nearby on the beach, curious as to how Berg remained so calm after what he had been through with the hunters. Ashley's Golbat was keeping to itself, perched on top of a shack where various snacks and drinks were sold. The owner of the shack was rather nervous about the pokemon on his roof.

Haunter and Felicia were also with their respective trainers, however they were still inside their pokeballs. Ashley had tried to let Haunter out, however the ghost pokemon had apparently decided Rina was an easy target for playing cruel tricks on. Felicia, on the other hand, had requested to remain in her pokeball. She didn't want to get sand in her fur.

_"Well, anyway, I'm sure Rina will be feeling better after a swim..."_ Pippi thought to herself, lying down in the sand and rolling over onto her side. She immediately saw several pairs of legs standing nearby. Glancing up at the nearest pair of legs, Pippi realized it was Ashley. The others were the boys, following behind her.

"Hey, Pippi, where's Rina?" Pippi blinked at the question, considering how to answer it for a moment before raising her hand and pointing out at the water. Ashley followed her direction and saw Rina walking out into the water, already at a point where it was up to her waist.

"Oh...too bad..." Ashley said disappointedly. "I thought she might be interested in a game of volleyball since these guys wanted me to play. Oh well, I guess I could just watch them play." Ashley headed off with the guys toward a nearby volleyball net, though the guys seemed less interested all of a sudden.

"-Volleyball?-" Pippi blinked, looking out toward the water. _"I think Rina missed out on something fun..."_

After swimming out quite a bit from the shore Rina finally stopped and floated on her back, staring up into the sky. It was a calm day and the water hardly stirred.

"Stupid boys..." Rina said to herself. "We were going to just spend some time relaxing on the beach and then they show up and its like I don't even exist!" Rina raised her head slightly to scan the beach. She couldn't really make out who was who due to how far out she was, but she could tell Ashley and her followers weren't in their original spot.

"Since when was Ashley so interested in catching a boy's attention anyway? She's actually enjoying having those guys fawn over her!" Rina let out a 'hmph' and tilted her head back again. "Figures...I bet thats why she wears that skirt. Why else would someone planning to travel across a region on foot dress like that?"

Rina took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Ok...relax...there's no reason for you to get upset with Ashley, Rina." She said to herself. She took several deep, calming breaths before a splash behind her, snapping her out of her thoughts. She turned around, her body slipping under the water and kicking her feet to float vertically. She took a quick look around, but saw nothing.

_"Must have been a pokemon..."_ She thought, rolling her shoulders in a shrug. _"Well its not like there's any big carniviorous pokemon in Kanto oceans anyway. Except Gyarados, but they're usually way out at sea..."_ She let out a sigh at the thought of what pokemon it might have been. _"I bet there's a lot of cool pokemon in the ocean...I should have brought Berg and a couple great balls with me..."_

Rina turned back toward the shore and debated swimming back in, but suddenly she felt something wrap around her ankle. Before she could react, she was pulled under the water, getting a mouthful of water as she opened her mouth in surprise. As soon as she was underwater she felt something wrapping around both her arms and her other leg.

_"Wh-what? What grabbed me!?"_ Rina wondered, struggling in a panic to pull herself free of whatever it was that had her. She tried to turn around to see her attacker, but as she did she suddenly felt a searing pain in her left arm and leg. Poison was being injected into her through the limbs wrapped around her. Though she didn't see her attacker, she had a fairly good idea of what grabbed her now.

_"A Tentacruel?! But...but they don't usually attack people, do they?"_ Rina managed to turn around to see her attacker. Though she couldn't see clearly, she could make out the distinct form of a Tentacruel further behind her and pulling her toward it. She tried to swim to the surface, only a few feet above, but her stung leg and arm had gone numb. She was starting to run out of oxygen from all her struggling.

_"If only I could get above the water...I could at least try talking to it...but its no good!"_ Rina grunted with the pain of trying to move her leg, unconsciously using up her remianing air. _"Is...is this how it ends...?" _As Rina began to lose conciousness, she noticed the water seemed to rise up in a wave all of a sudden, and she could swear she saw a Pikachu on a surf board...

Rina awoke some time later, coughing and sputtering water. Her body was weak and she felt pain in her lungs, and her left arm and leg where she had been stung.

"Whoa! You're alive!" Rina heard a male voice above her and opened her eyes to see a blonde haired and blue eyed teenage boy staring back at her. "You had me worried for a moment there!"

"I-I did?" Rina replied weakly. The memory of what had happened had been already burried in the back of Rina's mind by the image of the boy standing over her. He looked to be about Ashley's age with his hair cut short and his skin tanned. He was dressed for the beach, wearing only a pair of green swim shorts, giving Rina a view of his well toned chest. She felt her cheeks burning up as she stared at him.

"Yeah, lucky for you I'm good with CPR!" The boy replied, grinning from ear to ear.

"C...c....c..." Rina couldn't even get the word out. Her mind was already filled with images of the boy with his lips pressed to hers. She started to feel dizzy and her cheeks turned bright red.

"Hey, you ok there?" The boy asked her. "You're looking a bit red. Wonder if its from the Tentacruel venom..."

"Tentacruel venom...?" Rina was suddenly reminded of the previous events. She remembered the Tentacruel, blacking out, and the image of a Pikachu riding across a rising wave on a surf board.

"Yeah, you were attacked by Tentacruel. Lucky for you the life guard got to you in time." The boy pointed over to the side of the room. "You shouldn't have gone out past the buoy though, we put those there for a reason you know!"

"Lifeguard? Buoy?" Rina repeated to herself, still trying to make sense of it all. She looked over to where the boy was pointing, to the open door of the hut, where a Pikachu was standing with its back to her and holding a small surf board at its side. She blinked a few times in disbelief.

"W-wait...the lifeguard is a Pikachu?!" Rina bolted upright but fell back down again as pain shot through her arm and leg. "Ah!"

"Whoa, easy there. Your body will still be numb from the venom for a while." The boy said to her. The Pikachu looked back over his shoulder briefly with a rather uncaring look, shrugged, and turned away.

"Numb? Thats all the venom did?" Rina wondered. Though she was in pain, it was only her stung arm and leg that were causing her problems. She could barely move them at all. Her lungs hurt as well, but that was because she nearly drowned.

"And yeah, that Pikachu is the lifeguard. I'm his trainer, and assistant life guard." He grinned sheepishly and scratched the side of his head. "Kinda funny, huh? I'm the trainer yet I'm still only his assistant! The name's Tom, by the way."

"Tom..." Rina repeated quietly to herself. She looked over at the Pikachu lifeguard and smiled. "Pikachu, thanks for rescuing me!" Rina called out to him. Pikachu snorted in response.

"-Idiot. Shouldn't have been out that far in the first place.-" Pikachu muttered. Rina, overhearing him, blinked in surprise at the hostility.

"So, are you here by yourself? Anything you need or anyone we should contact for you?" Tom asked her. Rina thought of Ashley first, but then she remembered the guys Ashley was with and decided against it.

"Well...I have a Pikachu out on the beach, named Pippi..." Rina replied. Though her other pokemon were still out on the beach as well, it was Pippi that was looking after Rina's things.

"Alright. Pikachu?" Pikachu made a sound that sounded like a 'hmph' and put down his surf board.

"-Fine. This should be the assistant's job but I'll do it since you can't exactly go asking around for names.-" Pikachu ran down the wooden steps in front of the door, leading out of the lifeguard's hut, and took off to the beach to find Pippi.

"-I'm...so...bored...-" Pippi mumbled, lying flat out on the sand. "-I hope Rina gets back soon...I don't want to just sit here all day...-" Pippi turned her head to the side, looking off toward the volleyball net where Ashley was. She was sitting off to the side, watching the boys play volleyball.

"-I bet that'd be fun...-" Pippi said with a sigh.

"-Are you Pippi?-" Pippi blinked and bolted upright, quickly turning to the source of the voice and finding a male Pikachu standing next to her.

"-Umm...that'd be me...-" Pippi replied, blinking back at him. "-Do...I know you?-"

"-No.-" The Pikachu replied flatly. "-Your trainer was attacked by a Tentacruel. I was sent to find you.-"

"-WHAT?!-" Pippi cried out in shock. "-Is she ok?!-"

"-She's fine.-" Pikachu replied with a shrug. "-Though I don't think idiots like her should live.-"

"-What? You take that back!-" Pippi growled. Pikachu shrugged again, maintaining his uncaring composure.

"-You want to see her or not?-" Pikachu asked. He didn't wait for her response before staring off on his way down the beach.

"I've never met such a mean Pikachu before!" Pippi thought. She started off behind him, but followed from a distance.

"-Hey, Berg, Pippi's leaving Rina's stuff unattended.-" Ashley's Jolteon said to Berg, watching the scene from the water's edge. "-Looks like she's running off with another Pikachu.-" Though Jolteon had seen the two Pikachus, he didn't hear the conversation between them. To Jolteon, it seemed as though Pippi had taken interest in a male of her species.

"-We should take her place then.-" Berg suggested. "-Its odd she would run off like that, however, so watch where she goes. We'll follow her later.-" Berg turned around and slowly walked out of the water. Jolteon followed along beside him and the two made their way toward Rina's belongings.

"-I don't think I'll ever get over how you can be so cool and collected after everything you've been through.-" Jolteon said to Berg. Berg smiled to himself and dutifully continued toward their destination.

"Two Pikachu. An otherwise worthless species but with no shortage of special techniques..." Dice of the Grand Hunters watched Pippi and the surfing Pikachu running across the beach, manuevering around the same rock formation that he himself had chosen to watch from. Of course, he chose that spot due to its proximity to the life guard hut.

"A surfing Pikachu, and a Volt Tackle Pikachu, both in the same place." Dice grinned to himself and lowered his binoculars. "My lucky day. With Aqua's new toy we'll get that Pikachu for sure this time." Dice glanced down at his watch. "She's late. Shouldn't be taking her this long to test it out. Hmm..."

Dice reached into his pocket and took out metal coin with a Magikarp on one of the coin's faces. The turned the coin over in his hand, flipped it into the air, and caught it. He placed the coin against his wrist then removed his hand to check it again. The coin had landed blank side up, meaning tails.

"We'll wait a bit longer then. The coin never let me down before." Dice smirked to himself, sliding the coin back into his pocket. A collared, female Espeon standing next to him stared ahead blankly.

"-RINA!-" Rina was sitting in the sand outside the wooden hut when Pippi came around the rocky formation that separated it from the rest of the beach. Pippi rushed toward her and jumped into her lap.

"-Rina! Whats this about a Tentacruel and why was this jerk sent to get me?!-" The other Pikachu seemed completely unphased by being called a jerk. He shot Tom a stern look and jerked his head toward Pippi, but said nothing. Tom looked at Pippi rather curiously, as if he knew what his Pikachu was trying to say.

"Pippi! Relax, I'm fine! I just...uh...got stung by a Tentacruel and overreacted a bit, thats all!" Rina said to Pippi, trying to sound reassuring and putting her good arm around Pippi. She was getting some feeling back in her left arm, but still had trouble moving it. She had to talk Tom into letting her sit outside and he had to carry her out, not that Rina complained about being carried.

"-You would have to be an idiot to buy that. Oh wait...-" Pikachu glanced over at Pippi, grinning to himself.

"-Why you!-" Pippi turned sharply toward the other Pikachu, seething with rage. Though she had full control over her electricity now as a Pikachu there were sparks shooting out several inches from her cheeks, as if she were about to attack. "-Just what's your deal anyway?! Why do you have to be such a jerk?!-"

"-You want to do something about it? Lets see you surf.-" Pikachu pointed to three surfboards lined up beside the hut. One of which was sized for a Pikachu. "-Take that board and we'll see what you've got. Not that I expect much.-"

"-Hey! Thats not how pokemon settle their differences!-" Pippi growled at him.

"-I suppose you'd rather battle? Well too bad.-" Pikachu shot back while grabbing his own surf board from within the hut. "-I don't do pokemon battles anymore. Unlike you, I have a real purpose now. Saving the lives of idiot human swimmers.-" Pippi twitched and gritted her teeth as the Pikachu's words grated on her. She quickly grabbed the surfboard from beside the hut and stormed off toward the water alongside Pikachu.

"That Pikachu of mine can be a real jerk at times, but he's a real softie deep down ya know?" Tom said to Rina, grinning to himself while watching the two Pikachu start bodysurfing out into deeper water.

"I don't know...he just sounded like a jerk to me..." Rina replied, shaking her head. "I've never seen Pippi get so mad before. She completely forgot about me, though that might have been a good thing since I don't think she was buying that story..." Rina smiled and rubbed the back of her head in embarassment. Remembering her numb arm she tried flexing her hand a bit. She still felt weak, but she was getting movement back.

"Well, its not like we really know what they're saying anyway, huh?" Rina couldn't help but smile to herself. Her ability to understand pokemon had gone completely unnoticed by Tom.

"Anyway, those two will be fine. In fact, I think he might be trying to teach your Pikachu the Surf technique!" Tom said to Rina. Rina was about to ask him about it but fell silent when he rested a hand on her shoulder, her cheeks gaining a slight red tint.

"Its rare, but some Pikachu can use that technique and summon a wall of water to attack. My own Pikachu took up surfing when we discovered that technique, and your Pikachu wouldn't be the first he's taught it to either."

"-Now what, genius? How are we supposed to surf without any waves?!-" Pippi angrily demanded of Pikachu, gesturing toward the calm waters around them. The two of them had swam out several hundred feet from the shore and were standing on their surfboards, waiting for a wave to ride with none in sight.

"-I'm surprised you even know that much about surfing. As for waves, I make my own.-" Pikachu placed his hands together and focused intently, reaching out to the water below him with his mind. Pippi raised an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly as she watched him.

"-You can't be serious! You don't honestly expect me to believe you can just summon a wave at will, do you?-"

"-Fine. Don't believe then.-" Pikachu replied with a shrug. "-That'll leave you hard pressed to explain this, though...-" Pikachu dropped his hands to his sides. The water under the two pokemon began to bulge, pushing them up as if a hill was forming in the water. It then began to move forward, shaping into a typical wave with the two Pikachu riding on top. The life guard Pikachu smirked at Pippi.

"-Whatever! I should just Volt Tackle you and get it over with!-" Pippi growled at the other Pikachu.

"-Take your best shot then.-" Pikachu replied with a shrug. "-In fact, go ahead and launch every attack you have at me. If you can actually land a hit on me, while surfing, I'll even teach you how to use the Surf attack yourself. Not that that will happen.-"

"-Oh yeah? Well I'll show you!-" Pippi gathered electricity quickly and fired a bolt at the opposing Pikachu. The Pikachu effortlessly manuevered his surf board to slide back on the wave, evading the attack. Pippi was knocked off balance by the act of attacking, however, and fell off her surf board. Pikachu dropped the wave and tapped his foot against his surf board impatiently until Pippi surfaced, gasping for air.

"-You didn't think it'd really be that easy, did you?-" Pikachu asked Pippi.

"-The thought crossed my mind...-" Pippi muttered, clinging onto the side of her borrowed surf board.

"-Would you like to try again then?-" Pikachu asked her, a knowing smile spreading across his face. "-It makes no difference to me how many times you try, I could evade your attacks all day like this.-"

"-Just watch me!-" Pippi growled, hopping back on her surfboard. Pikachu summoned up another wave, ready for them to try again.

"What do we have here?" Dice thought, training his binoculars on the two Pikachu. "Don't tell me that surfing Pikachu is teaching the other one." Dice grinned to himself. "Seems like this deal just got sweeter."

Dice observed the two, watching as Pippi continually tried to attack the other Pikachu. She tried over and over, using Thunderbolt and Volt Tackle almost exclusively. As Dice was watching them, a vibration in his pocket alerted him to an incoming message on his communicator. He reached into his pocket and took out a device that looked like an ordinary cellphone.

"This is Dice." Dice said into the phone.

"Dice, this is the boss." Dice heard a deep voice reply on the other end. There was never a doubt in Dice's mind that the man he was speaking with didn't actually sound like that. Very few hunters actually met the head honcho. "Aqua has fallen now as well. Remaining hunters are to avoid the two female trainers, Ashley and Rina. Underestimating them has cost us far too much already."

"Understood, boss." The line went dead after Dice replied. He shook his head, placing the phone back into his pocket and taking out his coin again.

"Direct order from the boss to avoid those kids, but with two prime pokemon ripe for the taking. What do you say?" Dice positioned the coin on top of his thumb and gave it a flick, sending it into the air...

The repeated use of Surf during Pippi's attempted attacks had brought the two pokemon closer and closer to shore. With each failed attack, Pippi felt herself growing more frustrated. She had stopped thinking about how she should attack and instead was just throwing everything she had at the other Pikachu. Their 'battle' had brought them within almost a dozen feet of the shore.

"Pippi! You're trying too hard!" Rina called out to her. "You need to stop and focus on your next move instead of blindly attacking like that!"

"-How pathetic. You really need a trainer to tell you what to do?-" Pikachu knew his taunting was getting to Pippi. Pikachu was about to use Surf again to summon up a wave, but caught a glint out of the corner of his eye. He could see a metal object spinning through the air, flying toward Pippi.

_"Them again? And after her? Damn it, why now?!"_ Pikachu switched his focus, tightening his muscles in preparation. He jumped off his board, shooting toward Pippi in a flash of movement and slamming into her. Pippi was caught off guard and knocked into the water by Pikachu's sudden Quick Attack, with Pikachu getting hit at the waist by a metal collar meant for Pippi. The collar wrapped around him and clamped down. Pikachu landed on Pippi's surfboard with a blank expression, already losing control.

"No way! Pikachu!" Tom cried out in dismay. He gritted his teeth and looked around the beach. "Show yourself! I know you're out there!"

_"Another hunter in Fuschia? But who?"_ Rina wondered, frowning. She got up from the sand and tried to stand up, but was a bit wobbly on her feet. _"I need to get the rest of my pokemon somehow..."_

"Well damn it...what were the odds of that happening?" An orange haired male wearing a pair of pointed sunglasses and a black trenchcoat stepped into view from around the large rocky formation next to the hut. An Espeon soon joined him, jumping down from the top of it. "Well, it hardly matters. I was taking both anyway." The hunter, Dice, looked over at Rina and Tom, a smirk crossing his lips. "Doesn't matter though, since it seems neither of you have any other pokemon to defend yourselves!"

"What? You don't have any other pokemon?" Rina asked Tom, blinking in surprise. "How does he know that?"

"That Pikachu is my only pokemon." Tom replied through gritted teeth. "That's Dice, one of the Grand Hunters. He's been trying to catch my Pikachu for a while now because it can surf. Evading them has never been a problem for him before now..." Tom looked out toward the water, where his Pikachu stood on a surfboard wearing a slave collar. Pippi surfaced nearby and swam away when she saw the collar around Pikachu.

"So its my fault he was caught..." Rina mumbled quietly. She looked toward the collared Espeon and shook her head, putting on a more determined expression. "No! No feeling sorry for myself! I'm not going to break down and cry this time! I'll find a way to free both of them somehow!"

"Can you really do that?" Dice asked her, grinning widely. "Since the odds are in my favor as it is, I'll even play by your rules. Your Pikachu against my Espeon and Pikachu." When Dice said this, his captured Espeon moved across the beach to line itself up with Pippi. Pippi was stuck in the water, positioned between both collared pokemon.

_"I'm at a disadvantage, especially with Pippi in the water, but I have to try!"_ Rina thought determinedly.

"That Pikachu of your's seems pretty tough, but I don't think you can pull it off..." Tom said to Rina, casting a quick glance toward her. "I don't think you should be standing yet either..."

"I'll be fine!" Rina shot back. "Pippi! You have to get to the shore or we don't stand a chance! Swim underwater!" Pippi nodded and dove under, hoping to avoid any attacks from either pokemon while she swam as fast as she could toward the shore.

"'Fraid thats not going to work." Dice said, shaking his head. "There's plenty of ways we could counter that, I think this one will work best. Pikachu, drive the other Pikachu into the shore with Surf!" A wave formed under the Pikachu's surf board and left Pikachu behind as it moved toward the shore. Pippi was scooped up by the wave and thrown onto the sand at Espeon's feet as it came crashing down near the shore.

"Now, Espeon, throw it back to sea with a Psybeam!" The gem on Espeon's forehead glowed, focusing her psychic powers. Pippi looked up and cried out as a beam fired out from Espeon's head, hitting Pippi hard and pushing her out across the surface of the water. Pippi was dropped into the water when the beam reached its maximum range and faded out. She soon surfaced again, gasping for breath.

_"How are we going to free them when Pippi can't even defend herself?"_ Rina thought. _"I have an idea to deal with Surf, but there's still Espeon..."_

"I think you see how hopeless this is now. So lets end this..." Dice reached into his trenchcoat and took another collar in his hand. He raised his hand back and then threw the collar like it were a frisbee, despite being unaerodynamic. The collar flew through the air, spinning toward Pippi until suddenly another larger spinning object erupted from the water below.

The spinning object, a Blastoise withdrawn into its shell, connected with the collar and knocked it off into the water. The Blastoise then emerged from its shell as it approached the shore, hitting the sand on its hands and feet and skidding across the beach for several feet before coming to a stop and extending his twin water cannons.

"Berg?!" Rina shouted in disbelief. Berg nodded, focusing his gaze on Espeon.

"-Pippi, I'll take care of this one!-" Berg called out. Pippi, floating out in the water, nodded quickly and turned around to face the surfing Pikachu with a smirk on her face.

"Damn it...I don't like this at all. Better get out of here while I...ARGH!" A sudden jolt of electricity shot through Dice's body. He fell face first into the sand, his body paralyzed by an attack from behind.

"-Be thankful thats all I'm going to do to you.-" Jolteon growled, slamming his foot down on Dice's head and rubbing the hunter's face in the sand. "-You're not getting away this time...-"

"Jolteon too? But how did you guys know?" Rina asked.

"-We saw Pippi going here.-" Berg replied. "-We decided we would follow her after we found someone else to look after your things. Sarge was happy for the excuse to get away from Mankey apparently...-"

"-Rina! Without an order from Dice, they will only defend themselves!-" Jolteon called out to her. "-You've got one free attack against them before they fight back! Use it!-"

"Right!" Rina called back. "I won't hold back, even against my parent's pokemon! Berg, attack Espeon with Blizzard! Pippi, knock Pikachu off its surfboard and take it for yourself!"

"WHOA!" Tom exclaimed in shock. "Wait, you can understand them?!" Tom asked Rina. Rina nodded in response, maintaining her focus.

Berg fired a blast of cold air mixed with ice and snow from both his cannons, blasting Espeon with a powerful ice attack. Ice began to form on Espeon's body, but she quickly broke free of the attack and fired back with a Psybeam. Berg grunted as the attack struck him, staggering and taking a step back.

"-This weakened state you've left me in has hindered me long enough...-" Berg said quietly. "-I will not be held back any longer!" A white glow surrounded Berg's body as he called out. It was very brief, as Berg was already in his final evolution. When the glow faded, the cracks that had covered Berg's body like some kind of skin disease had been healed and the broken holes in his shell where the cannons extended repaired themselves. Berg felt his full strength as an evolved Blastoise flowing through him.

"Wait a sec! Did that Blastoise just evolve into another Blastoise?" Tom asked, staring wideyed at the seemingly evolved Berg. "Dude I'm...really confused..."

"-Rina! Allow me to finish this myself!-" Rina nodded affirmatively to Berg's request. Berg trained his cannons on Espeon and let loose with a massive blast of water. The spray from his cannons quickly spread out until each blast was as tall as Blastoise, merging together and carving out a channel across the sand.

Espeon tried to move out of the way, but was caught up in the blast and pushed across the sand until Berg's attack could reach no further. She continued skidding across the ground even further than that, though, eventually smashing into the large rock near Dice and Jolteon. Espeon hit off the rock and landed unconscious next to them.

Meanwhile, Pippi had been swimming toward an almost motionless Pikachu standing on a surfboard. Pippi pulled herself up onto the back of the surfboard and grinned as she faced down the other Pikachu. "-I'm SO going to enjoy this!-" Sparks erupted from Pippi's cheeks and formed into a low-amp pulse as she fired off a Thunder Wave attack at her opponent. The electricity passed through the Pikachu's body, causing him to drop to his knees as he became paralyzed.

"-Now take this!-" Pippi curled her small hand into a fist and smashed Pikachu in the face with a Slam attack, knocking him off the board and into the water. The paralyzed Pikachu sunk like a rock, but quickly rose up again as the water bulged to form into a wave moving toward Pippi.

"-As much as I'd hate to help you at this point...-" Electricity crackled around Pippi's body as she prepared to attack. "-Here we go! VOLT TACKLE!-" Pippi jumped off the surfboard, shooting through the air with a trail of electricity following behind her. She rammed into him, striking the metal band around his chest. A small fracture formed from the impact and the Pikachu was knocked off his wave.

The two Pikachu plummeted into the water following Pippi's attack, and the broken collar slid off Pikachu's body on its own. Since Pikachu was still paralyzed, Pippi grabbed his hand and dragged him with her as she swam to the surface.

"-Looks like I've managed to hit you afterall.-" Pippi said to Pikachu with a grin.

"-That hardly counts, but you wouldn't have hit me otherwise...-" Pikachu coughed up a bit of water. "-So...I'll teach you the basics...you're on your own from there. Lets head to shore first...-" Pippi nodded and they piled onto the nearest surfboard, grabbing the other one as they headed in as well.

"You're one odd chick, you know that?" Tom said to Rina. "I get the feeling this wasn't the first time you battled these guys..."

"Far from actually." Rina replied, smiling sheepishly. "Someone should take his smokeballs from him too..."

"On it!" Tom nodded and ran over to Dice's side. Jolteon stepped off him, allowing Tom to turn him over and take his smokeballs out of his trenchcoat. While Tom was busy with that, Pikachu and Pippi arrived on shore.

"Pippi, Berg, Jolteon, great work guys!" Pippi congratulated them all. "Pippi, think you could get that collar off of Espeon?" Pippi nodded and ran over to the still unconscious, standing several feet away to give her room to charge.

"-Ok! One collar-cracker coming up!-" Pippi threw out her arms and charged electricity around her. "-Volt...TACKLE!-" Pippi shot forward, ramming into the unconscious Espeon and scoring a direct hit on the collar around her neck. This time the hit shattered the collar with ease, showing a bit of wear on the device.

"-She never used to say that before, did she?-" Jolteon asked a stunned Rina. Rina shook her head.

Rina decided to wait next to Espeon until she regained consciousness, eager to talk to her mother's partner pokemon. Jolteon pinned Dice down again, keeping an eye on him while Tom went back into the hut to call the Fuschia City police department to take him away. The two Pikachu went back out into the water as well so Pippi could learn the basics of trying to use the Surf technique, something which actual surfing played a big part in if you wanted to 'do it right' according to the other Pikachu.

After about fifteen minutes, Espeon finally began to stir. It took her a bit longer than usual to recover, thanks to Pippi using Volt Tackle while she was out. Espeon shook her head, trying to shake off the grogginess she felt as she rose onto her feet.

"Miss Esp! How are you feeling?" Rina asked her.

"-All things considered...I think I am doing well...-" The Espeon, nicknamed Miss Esp by Rina's mother, replied. She slowly turned her head to face Rina. "-Rina...I'm sorry about your mother...-" Rina shook her head.

"Don't be...I'm sure there was nothing you could have done..." Rina replied. She smiled lightly and patted Miss Esp on the head. "I'm just glad I was able to rescue one of my parent's pokemon..."

"-Rina, we will rescue Knight too, I am sure.-" Miss Esp replied. "-I can tell by the company you keep that you have become a talented trainer in my absence. Your mother would be proud, and would especially be impressed by your record against the hunters. You and your friend have been causing quite the stir...-"

"Well this one here..." Rina pointed to Dice, who wasn't at all thrilled to be being used as a bed by Jolteon. "...makes six hunters. So only five more to go, right?"

"-Yes, but the last five will be the hardest for sure. They don't seem to work 'in the field' like the others. I am not sure what their purpose is.-" Miss Esp thought for a moment and shook her head. "-In any case...then there is also the leader. Your parents were close to finding his identity before the hunters finally caught on. Though they didn't have enough evidence to prove it for sure, it seemed likely that the retired Kanto champion is their leader...-"

"WHAT?! Are you serious?!" Rina staggered back in shock of this revelation.

"Huh? Whats going on out here?" Tom asked, arriving late on the scene.

"N-nothing!" Rina stammered in response. "So, umm, are those police coming?"

"Yeah, hope they'll get here soon though. I promised my girlfriend I'd take her out tonight." Tom replied. "Hey! Think you could wait here in my place?"

"Umm...sure..." Rina replied, blinking. _"Figures a cute guy like him would be taken..."_

"-Hmm...you like him, don't you? I can feel it.-" Miss Esp said to Rina, forgetting about their previous conversation entirely. Rina blushed slightly at the Espeon's accusation. "-Well don't worry about it, dear. There's plenty of guys out there. You'll find a nice one someday, you're still young.-"

"That sounds like something mom would have said..." Rina thought.

Tom left long before the police arrived, leaving his Pikachu to watch over the hut. The police had a few questions for Rina, but nothing more than that. They carted Dice off to jail and took his smoke ball as well. After Dice had been taken to jail and Pippi learned the basics of using Surf, Rina returned to the main beach with the rest of her pokemon and the life guard Pikachu returned to his lookout on top of the rock.

"Where did you all run off to?" Ashley asked Rina when she arrived at their spot on the beach. She was alone, save for Bulbasaur and the rest of Rina's pokemon, with no sign of the boys in sight. "Wait...is that your mother's Espeon?" Ashley then asked, noticing the Espeon with Rina. Berg, Pippi, and Jolteon were with Rina as well.

"Its a long, long story..." Rina replied sheepishly.

"Well you can explain it to me over some hamburgers. I don't know about you, but I'm starving now..."

"Sounds good!" Rina replied enthusiastically.

"-Ah, so this must be Ashley.-" Espeon noted. "-Well its good to see you've had an older girl looking after you at least...-"

"Who was looking after who?" Rina wondered, smiling slightly. "Oh, so how did it go with all those guys? Get any phone numbers?" Rina then asked Ashley. She wasn't really interested in whether or not Ashley decided to keep in touch with any of them, but she was curious as to what she ended up doing after Rina left.

"Of course not! None of them were my type anyway." Ashley replied, stifling a giggle with her hand. "Rina, one of these days I'll teach you the finer points of toying with guys like them. It will be a precursor to Manipulating Guys 101."

_"I don't know whats worse, that she'll teach me that or that I actually want to learn..."_ Rina thought, recalling her poor luck with Red and Tom. _"Though...could Red really be manipulated?"_

"Anyway, lets go already!" Ashley said impatiently. "I really want to hear what you've been up to this whole time. We could have beaten the boys at a game of volleyball, you know. Though I guess what you ended up doing was more important anyway..."

"Hehe...yeah, I guess you're right. Though that would have been fun." Rina smiled to herself as she set about gathering up her things and recalling her pokemon. She realized now she was wrong to get upset and jealous with Ashley, though she couldn't even remember why she was in the first place...

Author's Notes: Really late with this one, yeesh. Haven't gone into Tuesday yet at least (I have 40 minutes left on the clock as of writing this!) So, Rina gets Espeon, Berg finally evolves, and Pippi can try to learn Surf now. Surf? Volt Tackle? Pippi's quite the special little Pikachu!

It wasn't enough that In had all those assignments last week though. On top of that, I ended up visiting family a lot. Random family outings? I thought I'd be rid of those now, what with the whole not living at home thing. Anyway! Next update should be on time. Clear for the week now pretty much.


	21. Chapter 21: A Poisonous Opponent

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Twenty One**

**A Poisonous Opponent**

"-Another match I won't be taking part in...-" Bulbasaur muttered. "-I get chased around by a nightmarish vine monster and continually denied the chance to battle. When did I fall from the star of the show to the team's butt monkey anyway?!-"

"-Well...you've kinda been at a disadvantage type wise...and you know how Ashley is about type matchups.-" Pippi said to him. Bulbasaur gave a 'hmph' in response and rolled his eyes.

After spending a day relaxing and staying the night in Fuschia City, Ashley was finally ready to challenge the gym leader Koga. Knowing she would be facing a poison pokemon trainer, Ashley prepared her team accordingly. The group was now outside the gym door, with Rina holding the doors open and waiting for Ashley to go inside.

"Ashley you can either go inside now or we can stand here all day!"

"You really don't have to hold the door open for me though...I can open it myself." Ashley smiled sweetly, trying to hide her intent.

"I'm not falling for that one!" Rina shot back. "You're going to throw the doors open like you always do, so I'm standing here until you go inside!"

"-Have to give her credit, she's got Ashley cornered this time." Bulbasaur admitted. Pippi nodded in agreement. "-By the way, how's that new attack coming?-"

"-I haven't had a chance to work on it since yesterday...-" Pippi shyly admitted, rubbing the back of her head with her paw.

"Is there a problem here, ladies?" Everyone was suddenly aware of a man in a purple, stereotypical ninja outfit and a red scarf was standing in the doorway of the gym next to Rina. No one heard or even saw him approaching the door.

"Ack!" Rina backed away from the door in a hurry. Without her holding it open, the door began to close. The ninja caught it though and held it open. "Where did you come from?!" Rina asked him in shock.

"From inside my gym, of course." He replied with a light shrug. "I would think that would be obvious..."

"So you must be the gym leader, Koga!" Ashley said.

"That is correct." Koga replied with a slight nod. "And if I'm not mistaken, you would be Ashley and Rina. I expected you two would show up here eventually. You've been causing quite the stir in the league, you know."

"We have?" Ashley and Rina asked in unison.

"-I didn't think they were all that special, aside from Rina's ability to understand pokemon.-" Bulbasaur said.

"You have. It is because of your efforts that the Grand Hunters have been becoming...less grand." Koga explained to them. "Another trainer has been dealing with Team Rocket. It seems these criminal groups are, understandably, not taking you seriously and thus paying the price for their overconfidence." Koga shrugged lightly.

"In any case, you did not come here to hear this. Please, come inside..." Koga beckoned for the two to follow him into the gym. Having met the gym leader, Ashley had no reason to dramatically throw the doors open and quietly followed Koga into the gym. Rina, Bulbasaur, and Pippi followed her inside as well, taking their usual seats on a bench to watch from the sidelines.

Koga was already on the other side of the gym by the time the girls were inside. He was positioned on the oopposite side of the gym's battlefield, which resembled the wooden floor of a dojo. The gym was relatively dark, lit by torches spread around the gym. Four torches along the side walls, two along the back. Ashley approached the battlefield, positioning herself in the trainer's square opposite Koga.

"The rules of this gym are like any other. We will be using four pokemon each." Koga explained to Ashley. With a flick of his wrist, he already had his first pokeball in hand. "Are you ready?"

"I've already beaten half the gyms in Kanto, you bet I'm ready!" Ashley called back. She quickly took a pokeball from her belt as well, holding it up and calling out her pokemon. "Haunter, you're up first! Go!" The pokeball opened up and released Ashleys ghost pokemon Haunter out onto the field.

"-Hmm...so this is a gym battle?-" Haunter thought aloud, grinning widely. She turned to Pippi and Rina and winked at them. "-I'll deal with you after, my pretty, and your little Pikachu too.-"

_"I don't like Ashley's Haunter..."_ Rina thought, a shiver running down her spine.

"Indeed you have, but I'm more than just another gym leader. I am next in line to join the Elite Four." Koga held out his pokeball, releasing his pokemon without another word. A floating purple pokemon filled with poison gas appeared on the battlefield. It was a Koffing, looking more alert than the Koffing that Rina had faced when battling the Kanto Federation.

"Let the battle commence! Koffing, attack with Thunderbolt!"

"Haunter, use Hypnosis! Try to get it before it can attack!"

Haunter focused waves of psychic energy on Koffing, using the attack to try and hypnotize the poison pokemon into falling asleep. Electricity began to charge around Koffing's body as it prepared to attack, but it was already beginning to feel drowsy and drop to the floor. Koffing managed to concentrate long enough to fire the attack, blasting Haunter with a bolt of electricity before falling asleep. Haunter easily endured the attack though.

"Ok, we're off to a good start now." Ashley said to herself. "Haunter, burn it with a Will-o-Wisp attack!" Haunter held out one of her clawed hands toward Koffing. A ghostly, purple flame formed around her hand which she then fired in a ball toward Koffing. The ghostly flame zigzagged through the air slowly until it reached its target, engulfing Koffing in a fire that inflicted no damage on it but immediately caused a burn.

"Now to go on the offense. Use Night Shade!" Haunter grinned and raised both her hands above her. An illusionary image grew around her, creating the appearance of a giant, transparent Haunter. The image cast a dark shadow over Koffing. Even while asleep, Koffing felt the chill from the shadow cast over it and felt itself weakening from the technique. Even so, it didn't appear to be waking up yet.

"Still asleep, huh? Lucky break for me then!" Ashley thought, smirking to herself. "Haunter, keep it up with another Night Shade attack!" Haunter maintained the enlarged illusionary Haunter. The shadow over Koffing faded briefly but another was quickly cast over it, sending another chill through Koffing's body. Koffing woke up and shook off the sleep, slowly rising into the air in an exhausted state. The burn and the repeated night shades had already worn it down quite a bit.

_"The only status effect Koffing can inflict, short of a lucky Thunderbolt, is poison."_ Koga thought to himself, grimacing at his lack of options_. "Poison won't work. I suppose we should just try Thunderbolt again..."_

"Koffing, attack quickly with Thunderbolt!" Electricity charged around Koffing's body as it prepared to attack. Bolts of electricity fired out of the pores on Koffing's body, forming into a single bolt that arced across the gym and struck Haunter. Haunter staggered back slightly as the bolt hit her and electricity coursed through her body, but quickly shook it off.

"-Shocking.-" Haunter said to Koffing. Koffing rolled its eyes at the lame joke.

"Haunter, finish this one with Shadow Punch!" Haunter curled her right hand into a fist and struck out at the air. Koffing recoiled, as if Haunter had actually punched it. Koffing dropped out of the air, falling to the ground as it was knocked unconscious. Koga sighed as he recalled his pokemon.

"Seems this was a poor match for my Koffing." Koga muttered. With a motion too quick to follow, he switched Koffing's pokeball with another one from his belt. "I commend you on gaining an early footing, but my next pokemon may make it difficult for you to maintain it." Holding out the pokeball he grabbed, Koga released his next pokemon. The pokemon that appeared on the battlefield looked to be nothing more than a very large pile of sludge with eyes, hands, and a mouth.

"Eww...what is that thing?" Ashley wondered, taking out her pokedex to quickly scan it.

"Muk, the Sludge pokemon. Thickly covered with a filthy, vile sludge. It is so toxic, even its footprints contain poison."

_"Huh? Who even writes these things?"_ Ashley wondered, staring at her pokedex screen in disbelief. _"'Thickly covered with a filthy, vile sludge'? Thats not even a complete sentence!"_ Ashley looked up from her pokedex, looking across the gym at Muk again as she put it away. _"Doesn't look like it even has footprints either..."_

"That thing just looks like a really big Grimer..." Rina commented, blinking. "I mean, its obviously evolved from it, but don't evolved pokemon usually vary more from their previous forms?"

"-What do you mean? Its clearly just a Grimer that fell into a vat of sludge.-" Bulbasaur said, snickering to himself.

"-If it could hear you two, you'd probably be hurting its feelings...-" Pippi said to the two, rolling her eyes.

"Your hesitation will cost you! Muk, Shadow Punch!" Muk raised one of its large hands and punched at the air, much like Haunter had just done to Koffing. Haunter was knocked back and nearly hit the ground, struck by Muk's punch even though she wasn't anywhere near it. She shook the attack off and resumed floating low over the ground. She was looking pretty exhausted now after just one punch due to her battle with Koffing.

"Haunter, quick! Put it to sleep with Hypnosis!" Ashley called out to it. _"I wasn't expecting this one to have a ghost attack. Haunter looks like she barely survived it, but we'll make a comeback while its asleep!" _Haunter focused psychic energies on Muk, her eyes appearing like swirling spirals to the poison pokemon. Muk's eyes slowly closed, quietly drifting off to sleep.

"Ok, now! Use Will-o-Wisp!" Ashley ordered.

"-I'm starting to notice these organized battles involve using the same techniques over and over.-" Haunter said to herself with a sigh. She held out her hand toward Muk and released a purple, ghostly flame. The flame hit Muk, seemingly catching it on fire and inflicting a burn onto its sludge body in the form of a small, continually burning flame. Muk's eyes shot open quickly when the burn was inflicted.

_"Awake already!? What a light sleeper!"_ Ashley thought.

"Muk, finish this. Shadow Punch!" Muk punched at the air with its opposite hand this time, struggling a bit with the attack due to its burn. The punch connected with Haunter from a distance, sending the ghost pokemon sprawling to the ground and knocking her out. Ashley was quick to recall her, suffering her first loss in the match.

_"Ok, Haunter couldn't beat it, but its at least burned."_ Ashley thought. She placed Haunter's pokeball on her belt and took another one in her hand. "Jolteon, you can take it from here! Go!" Ashley held up the pokeball and released her pokemon, sending out the electric-type Jolteon onto the battlefield. Jolteon growled as he emerged from his pokeball, bristling his fur.

"-Ok, lets do this!-" Jolteon said with a determined expression.

"Jolteon, attack Muk with Thunderbolt!" Jolteon charged electricity in his fur, preparing to attack, then fired the gathered electricity in a single bolt of lightning. The bolt raced through the air and struck the pile of sludge, sending electricity coursing through it. Muk groaned in pain, but the pokemon's appearance made it hard to tell what kind of an effect it had on the poison pokemon. Regardless, Koga didn't look worried.

"Muk, ancient ninja technique! Toxic!" Koga called out. Muk seemingly flung a piece of its own body at Jolteon, hitting the electric pokemon with a vile substance that seeped into his skin to cause poison. The piece of sludge Muk threw then slithered across the floor, reforming into Muk's body.

"Eww...even more gross...and thats supposed to be an ancient ninja technique?" Ashley quickly shook her head. "Nevermind! Jolteon, attack Muk with Thunderbolt again!"

Jolteon quickly charged electricity to attack again. After the first round of attacks, Jolteon hadn't even moved an inch. Jolteon took a few steps forward this time, tensing his muscles as he fired off a bolt of electricity. This time, he would be ready to dodge whatever Muk threw back. The electricity arced through the air and struck the poison sludge pokemon. Muk groaned as electricity shot through him, though again it hardly looked harmed at all.

"Muk, Rest now!" Koga called out. Muk closed its eyes and drifted off to sleep almost instantly. Its energy was completely restored and the small flame that was continually inflicting harm on it went out as well to leave Muk in perfect health.

_"It knows Rest? Thats not good..."_ Ashley thought. _"Jolteon might not be able to handle this. I need to be able to hit hard and not give Muk the chance to just keep sleeping while poison damages my own pokemon...wait! I think I know who to use!!"_

"Jolteon, thats enough for now! Return!" Jolteon shot a confused glance at Ashley, surprised that she would already be recalling him. Jolteon was returned to his pokeball and Ashley quickly swapped it for another one from her belt.

"Poliwhirl, go!" The pokeball opened in Ashley's hand, releasing Poliwhirl out onto the gym's battlefield. Poliwhirl reached up and adjusted his hat when he materialized. The hat was worn rather loosely on his now much larger head.

"Poliwhirl, set up a downpour with Rain Dance while Muk's still asleep!" Poliwhirl nodded and pumped his fists in a sort of dance. Dark rain clouds began to gather near the gym's ceiling and a downpour soon started. The rain hitting Poliwhirl's body seemed to invigorate him, and he found himself continuing to dance for no real reason. With the rain falling around it now, Muk began to slowly open its eyes.

_"Poliwag hardly seems like he changed at all when he evolved..."_ Rina thought, casting a curious glance toward Pippi. _"Pippi doesn't seem as childish now though...I wonder if thats because Pichu is a baby pokemon, and so evolving would mean she isn't a baby anymore, or because she can control her electricity now?"_

"Muk, inflict it with a deadly poison! Toxic!"

"Poliwhirl, don't give Muk the chance! Put it to sleep with Hypnosis!"

Muk raised its hand back to throw a blob of poison at Poliwhirl, but its hand drooped down with Muk seemingly frozen in place. Poliwhirl moved with incredible speed to attack before Muk could, sending out hypnotic waves at Muk while the spiral on his chest spun around. Muk fell asleep very quickly, without getting a chance to attack.

"Ok, now we've got that Muk right where we want it!" Ashley declared, smirking lightly. "Poliwhirl, attack with Waterfall now!" Poliwhirl slammed his fists together, his eyes seemingly smiling. He took off running toward Muk, as if to tackle it, and a veil of water formed around his body. Poliwhirl charged straight through Muk, seemingly carving a path through the poison pokemon although it quickly pulled itself back together even while asleep.

"Now, use Body Slam and follow it up with Water Gun!" Poliwhirl slid to a stop and did a backflip into the air, accidentally dropping his hat to the ground in the process. He flipped around to land stomach-first on top of Muk, flattening the poison pokemon and spreading much of its body away from Poliwhirl and toward Koga's side of the gym.

Poliwhirl quickly got back up after hitting the ground and turned to face Muk again, firing a quick burst of water at the sleeping poison pokemon. Muk staggered back slightly in its sleep, being pushed back another foot. Muk opened its eyes and blinked then, waking up from its deep sleep.

_"Poliwhirl could most definitely finish Muk before it can use Rest." _Koga thought to himself. _"However, it may be able to use Poison Gas and still get the attack off as its being knocked out..."_

"Muk, surround it in a cloud of gas! Poison Gas!"

"Poliwhirl, attack with Waterfall again!"

Muk began releasing a poisonous gas from its body as Poliwhirl charged toward it, plowing into Muk with a veil of water surrounding Poliwhirl's body. The force of the impact pushed Muk back this time, rather than running through it, and knocked Muk out almost instantly. However, Muk's body still released enough gas to inflict poison on Poliwhirl as he breathed it in.

_"Another loss on my part, but not without poisoning two of her pokemon."_ Koga thought to himself as he recalled Muk. _"I will use Golbat next. Golbat shall wear down her Poliwhirl and Jolteon slowly, evading their attacks while poison continues to wear them down."_

The indoor rainstorm ended soon after the final blow had been dealt. Poliwhirl immediately grabbed his hat as well, though he quickly threw it away in disgust as he rain had soaked his hat and it had become covered in sludge as well. The hat landed on the other side of the gym, near Ashley, sounding like a wet sponge when it hit the floor.

"Umm...we'll get you a new one later, Poliwhirl..." Ashley said to Poliwhirl. She didn't dare try to touch the hat.

"-Looks like that annoying Poliwag can actually do something beside putting everything to sleep now. Go figure.-" Bulbasaur commented dryly. "

"Golbat, go and let us seize the opportunity at hand!" Koga called out, releasing his pokemon from the pokeball he had in hand. Golbat appeared on the battlefield only a few feet away from Poliwhirl.

_"Golbat...ok, lets try setting up Rain Dance again. Poliwhirl should be able to handle it easily after that!"_ Ashley thought. "Poliwhirl, use Rain Dance!" Poliwhirl nodded and danced around the field, causing dark rain clouds to form over the gym and another downpour soon started.

"Golbat, show them the despair of confusion! Confuse Ray!" A small, white orb of light formed before Golbat, which it then fired at Poliwhirl. The orb spiralled through the air and orbitted around Poliwhirl. Poliwhirl watched the light, finding itself strangely attracted to it. Poliwhirl began to feel dizzy as it tried to follow the light and was rather confused by the time it disappeared.

_"Well as long as Poliwhirl doesn't hurt itself instead of attacking, he should be able to hit Golbat without any chance of it dodging."_ Ashley thought. "Poliwhirl, attack Golbat with Waterfall!" Poliwhirl seemed to ignore Ashley completely winding up and spinning into a punch aimed at nothing. The force with which Poliwhirl made the attack threw him to the floor, hard.

_"Figures..."_ Ashley thought.

"Golbat, now! Confuse the opponent further with Double Team!" Golbat focused briefly and then split off into multiple images of itself. The images surrounded Poliwhirl, who was already suffering from confusion when he looked up to see several Golbat looking down at him.

"-So many...pretty birdies...-" Poliwhirl mumbled, looking up at the Golbat as he slowly climbed back onto his feet.

_"This is ridiculous! He's just waiting out that poison while keeping my pokemon from attacking!"_ Ashley thought, narrowing her eyes. _"I need to hit with an attack and make it count. If Poliwhirl can put it to sleep with Hypnosis, then I can try to get as many attacks in as possible while its asleep at least..."_

"Poliwhirl, attack Golbat with Hypnosis!" Poliwhirl looked about briefly, trying to decide which Golbat to attack. He eventually tried to hypnotize one of them into falling asleep, but the attack had no effect. Poliwhirl had chosen the wrong target.

"Golbat, the opponent's guard is down. Now is the time to attack! Wing Attack!" The images disappeared as Golbat dove toward Poliwhirl to attack, flying past him with its wings outstretched and held stiff. Golbat struck Poliwhirl from the side, causing him to almost tip over, then flapped its wings to pull away.

"Now, Golbat, follow up with Double Team again!"

"Poliwhirl, try Hypnosis again, now!"

Golbat hovered in the air while it focused briefly, but was too slow in executing the technique. Poliwhirl, still feeling energetic from the rain hitting its body, quickly turned on Golbat and began emitting hypnotic waves to interrupt it. Golbat felt its gaze drawn toward the spiral on Poliwhirl's chest, feeling more and more drowsy as it watched the pattern spin until eventually Golbat dropped to the ground and fell asleep.

"Ok! Now we've got it!" Ashley called out triumphantly. "Poliwhirl, attack Golbat with Waterfall!" Poliwhirl regained his focus completely now, shaking off his confusion. A veil of water formed around his body and then he tackled into the sleeping Golbat, landing a powerful blow that sent Golbat rolling across the floor several feet. When Poliwhirl stopped and stood up, Ashley noticed he was panting quite heavily. The poison was taking a heavy toll on him due to the drawn out battle.

_"Poliwhirl's not going to last much longer, better make this last attack count!"_ Ashley thought. "Poliwhirl, attack with Waterfall again!" Water quickly surrounded Poliwhirl's body again, flowing like a torrent from front to back. Poliwhirl charged into his sleeping opponent in one final attack, hitting Golbat with a strong and watery tackle attack.

Golbat was sent rolling back again from Poliwhirl's attack, landing sprawled out on the floor of the gym. It slowly began to open its eyes and sat up weakly. The rain had finally stopped again by then as well, though it hardly mattered. Poliwhirl suddenly collapsed to his knees, taking several deep breaths before collapsing onto its face and falling unconscious from exhaustion.

_"Poliwhirl...you fought well for your first real battle."_ Ashley thought, recalling the water pokemon. She looked down to her belt to pick out another pokeball, but as she did a white glow caught her attention. She looked up and saw the glow surrounding Koga's Golbat as it finished evolving. The glow faded, revealing a four-winged, purple bat pokemon with a smaller mouth than its previous form.

"Well done, Crobat. I knew it would only be a matter of time before you evolved to your final form." Koga said to his pokemon.

_"I didn't even know Golbat COULD evolve!"_ Ashley thought, looking confused. _"Does this mean my Golbat could end up evolving again?"_ She then wondered. _"But...but what pokemon do I use against it? Jolteon is already poisoned, so he'll just use that to wear my pokemon down again. Golbat can't be poisoned, though, and his Crobat is already weakened. I think Golbat can handle this!"_

Ashley smirked to herself as she took Golbat's pokeball from her belt. _"Evolved or not, I've got this in the bag now!"_ She thought. "Golbat, go!" Ashley held out the pokeball and released Golbat. The green skinned bat pokemon was about to turn to her and stick out his tongue, as usual, but stopped himself when he saw Crobat. The two poison bat pokemon stared each other down, flapping their wings rapidly to stay airborn.

"-Win against me, you cannot. Evolved, I am, and you are not.-" Koga's Crobat said to Golbat.

"-BAH! I don't need to evolve to beat you!-" Golbat shot back.

"Golbat, confuse Crobat with Confuse Ray!"

"Not if we strike first! Crobat, Confuse Ray!"

Crobat easily beat Golbat to the punch, firing off a ball of light before Golbat could even finish forming its own. The ball of light distracted Golbat from attacking, drawing his attention as it circled around him. Golbat tried following the ball of light, but eventually found itself growing dizzy and confused by the light's movement.

"Now, Crobat! Strike it down with Air Cutter!" Crobat stopped flapping its upper set of wings briefly to bring them together and fire a v-shaped blade of air at Ashley's Golbat. Golbat staggered back in the air as the blade sliced across its face and was then knocked to the ground, landing on his back. Golbat shook it off and tried to focus as he stood up, still suffering from confusion.

_"In retrospect, trying to use Confuse Ray was pointless on a pokemon already weakened that much anyway..." _Ashley thought, wincing. "Ok then, lets try to finish it with an Air Cutter!"

Golbat managed to focus on his opponent clearly enough to make the attack, bringing its wings together to force air between them and pulling them apart again to fire an air blade at Crobat. The blade sliced across the front of Crobat's body, knocking it to the ground in the same way Crobat's did to Golbat. Crobat laid still for a moment and Ashley thought for sure she had won, but the weakened pokemon soon peeled itself off the floor of the gym and used its wings to prop itself up.

"No way! I thought for sure that would finish it off!" Ashley cried out in surprise. "Golbat, quick! Use another Air Cutter!" Golbat quickly brought its wings together, having no trouble focusing now that the confusion had worn off, and fired another Air Cutter at Crobat.

"Crobat, evade with Double Team!" Crobat pushed off the floor and flapped its wings very rapidly to hover. Four more images of itself appeared, with one disappearing as Golbat's attack sliced through it. The remaining images surrounded Golbat.

"Now, attack from behind with Bite!" All but one image, the one directly behind Golbat, disappeared as Crobat moved in to attack. Golbat didn't even have time to react before Crobat's fangs had sunk into the back of its head. Golbat cried out sharply and struggled to pull itself free, hopping around on the ground while Crobat held strong and followed Golbat's movements.

"Damn it..." Ashley growled under her breath. "Golbat, try to shake it off with Wing Attack!"

_"A hot-headed attack like that won't work."_ Koga thought to himself, shaking his head. "Crobat, evade it and strike back with your own Wing Attack!"

Crobat let go of Golbat as he tried to strike Crobat with a Wing Attack, backing up just out of range of Golbat's attack. Crobat then swooped down and hit Golbat from the side with both its upper wings simultaneously to hit Golbat hard. Golbat was sent sprawling onto the floor and for a moment looked like he had been knocked out. He quickly gathered his remaining strength before Ashley could recall him and pushed himself back onto his feet with his wings.

"Ashley, calm down! You're not going to beat Crobat if you just attack blindly!" Rina yelled at her, standing up from the bench.

"-You know, if she had just used me, it wouldn't have come to this.-" Bulbasaur muttered. "-Coulda Leech Seeded every one of 'em and just used Koga's own tactics against him...-"

"-Wouldn't Crobat's attacks be more effective against you though?-" Bulbasaur gave a 'hmph' and made a shrugging motion with his front legs, but didn't respond to Pippi's question. Not that she was expecting an answer.

_"Rina's right...I kinda lost focus after that Air Cutter failed to knock it out."_ Ashley thought. She glanced over at Rina, smiling and nodding to her. "Thanks...I guess I got carried away there." Rina sat back down at the bench and Ashley turned her attention back to the battle. "Ok, Golbat, ready? We're going to make this last attack count!"

"-Bah! I'm more than ready! Watch this!-" Golbat's body began to glow as Koga's pokemon had earlier. His legs formed into a second pair of wings and several other minor changes seemed to occur to his body as well. When the glow faded, Golbat's new form as a fully evolved Crobat was revealed and began flapping his wings to hover just off the ground. Unlike Koga's Crobat, Ashley's was pink.

"Crobat, quickly! Attack with Air Cutter!" Koga, being trained as a ninja, was not one to let a vulnerbility in his opponent's defense slip by. Ashley's newly evolved Crobat barely had time to adjust to its new body before Koga's Crobat fired off another Air Cutter at it. There was no time to dodge and Ashley's pokemon took the attack head on, getting knocked back onto the floor. This time, her pokemon didn't show any sign of getting back up.

"He evolved but didn't even get the chance to attack!" Ashley cried out in dismay. "That hardly seems fair somehow..." Ashley took out a pokeball and recalled her fainted Crobat. She now only had one pokemon left, and quickly switched Crobat's pokeball for Jolteon's.

_"Ok, I've got one pokemon left. Jolteon hasn't taken any attacks, but he has been poisoned. I need to take down Crobat as quickly as possible so I can focus on Koga's final pokemon..."_ Ashley thought over her options, but it didn't take her long to come up with a solution. "Ok, Jolteon! lets finish this quickly! Go!" She called out as she released Jolteon onto the battlefield again.

"Jolteon, attack Crobat with Quick Attack!" Jolteon was barely out of his pokeball when Ashley ordered the attack, but he pulled it off without any hesitation. Jolteon shot across the battlefield in a blur of movement, striking Crobat with a quick blow and pushing past it. Koga's Crobat spiralled downward and hit the floor. This time there was no question as to whether or not Crobat was still conscious and so Koga recalled it almost as soon as it landed.

"So it seems it has come down to this." Koga took his final pokeball in hand. "Weezing!" Koga held out the pokeball and pressed in the button on the front of it. The pokeball split open and released a red beam that materialized into what looked like two Koffing fused together with larger eyes and mouths. A third, faceless ball was connected to each of them by a pair of stick-like protrusions.

"-Well! Looks like Ashley will have to try again later.-" Bulbasaur snickered. "-Jolteon's already poisoned, and the poison will only get stronger. Maybe next time she'll give me a shot at it!-"

"-I can't believe you're rooting against your own trainer!-" Pippi growled at him.

"-When have I ever rooted for her? We don't exactly see eye to eye.-" Bulbasaur replied with a shrug. "-I'm the only reason she's challenging gyms in the first place but I haven't fought in a gym match since Lt. Surge!-"

"You've been at a bit of a type disadvantage since then too though." Rina reminded him. "And Ashley is pretty set on having the type advantage in battle..."

"Ok, this is the last one Jolteon! Lets not hold anything back, attack Weezing with Shadow Ball now!"

"Weezing, hide under a smokescreen to evade their attacks!"

Jolteon began forming a shadowy ball of energy while Weezing spewed out a thick black smoke around it. Jolteon fired the attack quickly, before the smoke could cover Weezing entirely. Both Weezing and the Shadowball attack disappeared under the smoke, but the sound of the Shadowball's impact followed by a pained cry from Weezing made the results clear.

"Ok, follow it up with Thunderbolt!" Ashley called out. "Then move out of the way with Quick Attack!" Jolteon fired off a bolt of electricity into the cloud of smoke, and then quickly followed it up by darting several feet forward on an angle with Quick Attack. A bright flash could be made out within the smoke when the Thunderbolt attack connected with Weezing, striking its target despite the cover.

"Weezing, strike back with the ninja art of Flamethrower!" A cone of flames erupted from the smoke, quickly dispersing the cloud. Weezing aimed its attack where it thought Jolteon was, compensating for Jolteon's quick attack. However, the technique still missed Jolteon by a foot. Jolteon could feel the heat from the attack as it passed by next to him.

_"I'm almost positive thats not a ninja technique either..."_ Ashley thought. She turned her attention to Weezing, observing the effects her previous attacks had on it now that she could finally see. Weezing was panting a bit, looking worse off than Jolteon was in spite of the poison. _"Weezing is looking pretty weak...one more Thunderbolt attack should finish it."_

"Weezing, attack now with Sludge! The poison will finish Jolteon!"

"Jolteon, Thunderbolt one last time!"

Weezing's largest head spat out a blob of sludge at Jolteon, which the electric pokemon made no attempt to evade while powering up for his own attack. Jolteon shook it off and quickly fired back with a bolt of electricity, striking Weezing with a powerful Thunderbolt attack that dropped it to the ground. Weezing lifted up an inch from the ground, as if it were going to get back up, but then dropped again.

"Alright! We did it Jolteon!" Ashley gave an enthusiastic cheer, but Jolteon couldn't find the strength to. While he had endured the battle until the end, he was still out of his pokeball for the poison to continue taking effect and drain the last of his strength. Jolteon collapsed onto his side.

"Oh...sorry Jolteon..." Ashley said remorsefully, quickly recalling him into his pokeball. "I didn't notice how weak the poison left you..." Koga, likewise, recalled his defeated Weezing.

"That was a pretty close call, Ashley..." Rina said to her. "If that last Thunderbolt didn't end it..."

"Yeah, I know..." Ashley replied, looking to Rina briefly as she spoke. When she looked back across the gym, Koga was already standing right in front of her. "EEK!" Ashley cried out in surprise, falling back. "HOW DO YOU KEEP DOING THAT?!"

"Ninja technique." Koga replied simply, then held out his hand toward her. He was holding a TM and the Soul Badge in his hand. "Though it was a close match, you have proven your worth. Therefore, I confer upon you the Soul Badge." Ashley reached out and took the two items from Koga's hand.

"Now, I must go and restore my pokemon as the day is still young. I wish you both the best of luck on your joruney. Koga took a small black ball in hand and tossed it to the ground. A puff of smoke surrounded Koga, and he was gone when it cleared. Ashley, Rina, Bulbasaur, and Pippi all stared in confusion at the spot where Koga had just been standing.

"I'd say ninja can't do that...but...seeing him disappear like that without any explanation makes it hard to deny..." Ashley said in a bewildered tone.

"Maybe thats what they want us to believe? That ninja can't really teleport or split into multiple images like a pokemon using Double Team?" Rina suggested without really putting much thought into it.

"I don't think we should think too much on this..." Ashley looked down at the Soul Badge in her hand. "All that really matters is I have the Soul Badge now, so that leaves only three gyms to go!"

"Right! Way to go Ashley!" Rina said to her. "But, we should really go now so you can get your pokemon looked after."

"-I still say I should have fought in this match...-" Bulbasaur grumbled. "-Sleep! Paralysis! Leech Seed! I'd show that 'ninja' a thing or two about 'wearing the opponent down'!-"

"-Sure you would...-" Pippi replied dryly, rolling her eyes. "-You'd have lost as soon as Crobat came out and you know it...-"

The group left the gym, closing the door behind them. Once they were gone, Koga stepped out of the shadows.

"We ninjas have many secrets..."

Author's Notes: First generation gave us a ninja, a psychic, an american soldier, and a leader of a criminal organization for gym leaders. What happened since then anyway? Now the best we have are martial artists and miners? On another note, those same four gym leaders were ALL villains in the manga. Side effect of sticking out?

Maybe the fifth generation will give us an aura master/user for a fighting gym. I think thats the best we could really hope for now though.

On an unrelated note, the site's new format bugs me. This shall take some getting used to for sure. I was rather comfortable with separate "Document" and "Story" links and a menu bar on the side. I'll get used to it I guess but...eh...


	22. Chapter 22: Still Asleep

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Twenty Two**

**Still Asleep**

With Ashley's fifth badge in hand, the two girls left Fuschia City and headed north along the Silence Bridge. The plan was to go through Vermilion City to get to Saffron. Of course, in the pokmon world, one doesn't get very far without running into a pokemon trainer eager for a match. Or two.

"Nidoran, go!" Both trainers, a boy and a girl each wearing a white sweater with a heart on the front, released their pokemon. Two Nidorans, one male and one female, appeared before their trainers and. Ashley and Rina already had their pokemon set to battle, with Bulbasaur and Pippi taking up point in front of them.

The battle was taking place near a fisherman's house, on a relatively small plot of land connecting two long bridges. The bridges themselves were fairly wide, though still meant only for people to be crossing them on foot or on bikes. The plot of land they were battling on was near where the bridge split off with one path leading toward Vermilion City.

"Ashley, let me and Pippi start this off!" Rina said to Ashley. "It'll be a good chance for us to try 'that' technique!"

"'That' technique?" Ashley scratched the back of her head while trying to figure out what technique Rina was referring to, with Volt Tackle immediately jumping to mind. "If you want to start off then go right ahead."

"-Just don't go defeating them in one hit. I'd like to get a chance to fight for once.-" Bulbasaur said to Pippi.

"-Hehe...I'm so not making any promises.-" Pippi replied, grinning widely as she stared down the two Nidorans.

"Ok then! Pippi, lets do it! Use Surf!" Rina called out, pointing with her finger in an overly dramatic fashion.

Pippi nodded enthusiastically and began to focus as she had been instructed to by the surfing Pikachu. Water began to rise from the ground behind her, building up like a wall.

"Eek! That Pikachu knows Surf?!" Gia, the female trainer, cried out in surprise and latched onto her boyfriend, Jes.

"Fear not, Gia! Our love will prevail through any attack!" Jes declared, trying to act tough in front of his girlfriend. The two Nidorans clinged to each other as well, mimicking their trainer.

_"Oh please let this attack finish them both..."_ Ashley thought, resting the palm of her hand against her forehead.

The water continued to rise up, though Pippi didn't seem to realize anything was happening. She stopped concentrating and looked at the ground under her, where she was expecting the water to rise up and not noticing it was behind her. With Pippi no longer focusing on it, the water crashed down on top of her, leaving her stunned briefly.

"I guess we need more work then..." Rina said, sighing. "Pippi, are you ok there?" Pippi struggled back onto her feet, looking around in confusion.

"-I can't believe I just got hit by my own attack...-" Pippi mumbled, shaking her head sadly.

_"Looks like they need more practice. So much for ending it with the first attack..."_ Ashley thought, smiling lightly. "Ok, our turn now Bulbasaur! Get them while they're together with a Sleep Powder!" Bulbasaur tilted his bulb toward the two Nidoran and released a green powder from it. The powder sprinkled down around them, making the two drowsy as the powder came into contact with their skin. Soon enough, the two of them fell fast asleep while still hugging each other.

"Oh, Jes, aren't they just adorable!" Gia said dreamily.

"Yes, but they are only the second most adorable thing I've ever seen!" Jes replied, pulling her closer to him. "The first, of course, is you!"

_"I never want to hear a guy using corny lines like that on me..."_ Ashley thought, suppressing a gag reflex. "Bulbasaur, attack them both with Razor Leaf!"

"-Don't mind if I do.-" Bulbasaur grumbled in response. "-I've learned more about human mating habits in the last few minutes than I could ever care to know!-" Bulbasaur fired out several sharp leaves from the base of his bulb to attack, sending them flying toward the two sleeping Nidoran. The leaves cut across their bodies, causing both to flinch in their sleep without waking up.

"Ok, lets forget about Surf for now! Pippi, attack them both with one Thunderbolt attack!" Pippi nodded, though she looked a bit disappointed. She quickly gathered electricity in her cheeks and fired out a single large bolt toward the two Nidorans. The electricity passed through each of them, shocking them both simultaneously while they slept. When the electricity finally passed through them, they both collapsed. With only two attacks, they were out.

"We were beaten before we could launch a single attack!" Gia cried out in dismay.

"We may have been beaten, but our love shall never fall!" Jes boasted proudly.

_"Oh puh-leeze..."_ Ashley rolled her eyes.

With the battle over, the young couple recalled their pokemon. They congratulated Ashley and Rina on their win, throwing in another comment about 'their love', and continued on their way toward Fuschia.

"The trainers we run into are starting to seem like less and less of a challenge..." Ashley commented with a sigh. "Its like there's no serious trainers around."

"I don't think thats the case at all..." Rina said to her, shaking her head. "Most trainers have enough trouble just trying to beat one trainer. Trust me, I know from Brock. He doesn't lose very often..."

"-He doesn't?-" Bulbasaur raised an eyebrow. "-Didn't I practically take on his whole team, all two of them?-"

"-You had help from Mankey though.-" Pippi reminded him.

"If thats true, then I guess that makes us both above-average trainers?"

"Well, of course!" Rina replied with a nod. "We fight a lot tougher competition, like the hunters and the gym leaders."

"Thats true I guess." Ashley nodded. "But...its usually not like you to battle other trainers without a good reason, so what made you want to battle Gia and Jes with me?"

"It seemed like a good chance to work on Pippi's Surf technique since you were battling them anyway..." Rina said, then looked down at Pippi. Pippi rubbed the back of her head in embarassment.

"-I'll get it eventually. Its no fun being hit by your own attack though.-" Pippi kicked shyly at the ground. "-Its like being a Pichu all over again, only with water this time...-"

"Don't worry! You'll get the hang of it eventually!" Rina assured her.

"Anyway, lets keep going. We're almost to Vermilion City now."

"About that...why didn't you just use Charizard to fly there?" Rina asked Ashley. "I mean, its not very far from Fuschia if you're flying in a straight line. Or we could have gone up the coast instead, we're kinda taking a roundabout way here."

"Most of the area north of Fuschia is part of the Safari Zone though, and we can't go through there without paying another entrance fee." Ashley said to her. "As for Charizard...well what kind of a trainer would I be if I forced a pokemon that doesn't like me to fly me everywhere?"

"Thats true I guess, you'd have to be pretty mean or uncaring toward your pokemon to do something like that." Rina replied, nodding in agreement. "Still, Berg could have ferried us along the coast without any problems. We could have been there already if we did but now its almost evening and it'll probably be really late by the time we get there..."

"You could have said so before we left then!"

"I DID say so before!" Rina shot back.

"-Having Rina as the voice of reason is pointless when Ashley won't listen to her.-" Bulbasaur stated, nodding sagely.

"Well there's no point arguing now. The longer we stand around here the longer it'll take us to get to Vermilion. Come on, Bulbasaur." Ashley started off on her way. Bulbasaur shrugged and followed along behind her.

"Ashley's a nice girl and all but...sometimes she just doesn't seem too bright." Rina said quietly. Pippi nodded in agreement. The two of them started off as well, following behind Ashley. They weren't walking for more than twenty minutes, though, before they could make out a large, rounded object ahead blocking their path.

"Hey...whats that up ahead?" Ashley stopped for a moment to examine the object from a distance. "Don't tell me the bridge is blocked off!"

"Doesn't that kinda look familiar though?" Rina said to Ashley. "Big...round...black and white..."

"Actually I think its more of a shade of blue than black." Ashley corrected her. "Wait, now that you mention it, it does look kinda familiar..."

"-What do ya want to bet its still asleep too?-" Bulbasaur said with a grin, having already figured it out.

"Asleep?" Rina repeated in confusion, but then it dawned on her. "Its that Snorlax again! Its still asleep on the road!"

"WHAT?!" Ashley cried out in shock at the realization. "Its STILL asleep and hasn't even moved from that spot?! Its been there for weeks now, at least!"

"-Maybe I should try shocking it again?-" Pippi suggested. "-I'm stronger now, so maybe it'll work this time!-"

"We don't really need to wake it up though." Rina said to Pippi. Pippi snapped her fingers in disappointment.

"Yes we do! How else are we going to get around it?"

"Umm...we REALLY don't have to wake it up, Ashley..." Rina said to her, baffled by her response. "We could climb over it, use Berg to cut across the water, or even use Charizard to fly over even though that'd just be silly..."

"OR we could wake it up and battle it!" Ashley replied with a wide grin. "You've still got that pokeflute?"

"Now I'm even more confused...you want to catch it?" Rina asked her. "Why would you want a pokemon that's la-fmph!" A vine wrapped around Rina's head and over her mouth, cutting her off.

"-Thou shall not dissuade Ashley from catching a pokemon.-" Bulbasaur said to her, nodding sagely. Rina bit down on Bulbasaur's vine. "-OW!-" Bulbasaur quickly withdrew his vines, releasing Rina, then turned around and growled at her. "-THAT wasn't necessary!-"

"Neither was putting your filthy vine in my mouth! Bleh!" Rina spat and then wiped her mouth on her sleeve.

"Quit clowning around, you two! We've got a pokemon to catch!" Ashley started off toward the pokemon again, already reaching for one of her pokeballs. She had a vague idea of what pokemon she should use against it.

"Ok...but I don't know if this will work..." Rina, Bulbasaur, and Pippi followed Ashley over to the sleeping Snorlax. Rina then set her backpack down and rummaged through until she found the pokeflute, meanwhile Ashley released her pokemon.

"Mankey, we'll give you a shot at this one! Come on out!" Ashley held out her pokeball and pressed the button on the front of it, releasing Mankey. Mankey looked around quickly when it appeared, getting its bearings and readying itself to fight. He hopped from side to side while eagerly awaiting instructions.

"Ok, we're ready whenever you are Rina." Ashley informed her.

"I don't really know how to play this though, I doubt it'll work. But here goes..." Rina held the flute to her mouth and blew through it, playing a soft note. She experimented with the three holes on the flute to see what sort of sounds each of them produced until eventually settling into a rather simple pattern of notes. She played the same tune on the flute for a few moments, then stopped to catch her breath.

"That didn't sound too bad you know." Ashley said to her.

"It wasn't that great really, I just played something I thought sounded good..." Rina replied, blushing lightly.

"-It was...great...-" Pippi said, sounding as though she were in a haze.

"-Yeah...great...-" Bulbasaur agreed, likewise sounding out of it. Bulbasaur and Pippi both had a rather calm expression.

"Well it seems to have had an effect on those two anyway, but..." Ashley looked up at Mankey and Snorlax. Snorlax still seemed to be asleep and Mankey was still hopping around as it waited eagerly for a fight. "It doesn't seem like it affected those two at all..."

"See? I told you it wouldn't work..."

"I think you're wrong about that..." Ashley said, pointing to Snorlax. Rina looked at the sleeping pokemon again.

Snorlax began to stir from its rest, stretching its arms and feet before sitting up and scratching its back. It turned its head and saw the girls and their pokemon and realized they were responsible for waking it up. Snorlax frowned and stood up. The pokemon towered over the rest of them at almost seven feet tall and was massive enough to crush any of them under its bulk.

"Oh...it worked...he doesn't look too happy about it though..." Rina mumbled nervously, slowly backing away from the angry Snorlax.

"-How dare you trainers awaken me! I was having a nice nap until you came along!-" Snorlax growled at them.

"Oh yeah? Well this guy doesn't scare us at all!" Ashley boldly declared. "Right, Mankey?"

"-Come on, fatso! Letsgoletsgoletsgo!-" Mankey screeched, stopping his hopping and raising his fists.

"-I'll have you know my weight is normal and healthy, jerk!-" Snorlax shot back, glaring down at Mankey.

"Ok, Mankey! Lets hit this guy hard from the start! Take it down with Low Kick!" Mankey jumped toward Snorlax and spun in the air, sideswiping Snorlax's left foot as he came down toward it. Snorlax staggered back a step and then tripped, landing on his back.

_"I hope Ashley knows what she's doing..."_ Rina thought, standing far back from the battle with Bulbasaur and Pippi at her side doing likewise.

"Good job, Mankey! Now hit it while its down with Karate Chop!" Mankey jumped toward Snorlax again aiming to strike Snorlax in the head with a Karate Chop. Snorlax moved his head to the side, narrowly avoiding Mankey's chop. Mankey found itself sitting on Snorlax's neck when it landed, and couldn't avoid the headbutt that Snorlax struck back with. Mankey was knocked into the air and landed on Snorlax's stomach.

Snorlax then stood up, knocking Mankey off his stomach, and gave a yawn while breathing out a white gas. Mankey finally shook off Snorlax's attack and stood up as the gas began to surround him. It had no effect on Mankey, though. Mankey was a rather restless pokemon, whose 'Vital Spirit' gave it an immunity to the sleep that would be induced by Yawn.

_"Looks like Snorlax tried to use Yawn, but that won't work on Mankey!"_ Ashley thought with a smirk. "Mankey, its left itself open! Use Karate Chop again!" Mankey nodded quickly and held his hand flat, getting ready to use Karate Chop again. He quickly jumped up and spun around, striking the side of Snorlax's body with his hand. Snorlax grunted from the attack but showed little sign of weakening.

"-Hmph. You're strong for your size, but you're still a wimp.-" Snorlax said to Mankey. Snorlax dropped to the ground and curled its body into a ball, protecting his more sensitive areas. With its face covered, Snorlax's voice sounded muffled. "-Lets see you try to hurt me now!-"

_"Thats a Defense Curl technique. Simple yet it makes physical attacks less effective."_ Ashley thought to herself. "Mankey, try using Seismic Toss! Snorlax's Defense Curl won't help it then!"

"-Seismic Toss? Like heck Mankey is lifting that thing!-" Bulbasaur said with a laugh. "-Oh, this is going to be good.-"

Pippi nodded quickly in agreement with Bulbasaur. "-I'm with Bulbasaur, thats NOT going to work!-"

Mankey rubbed his hands together and then grabbed under Snorlax's body. He tried to lift the heavy pokemon but to no avail, Snorlax didn't even budge. Snorlax snickered at Mankey's attempts to lift him, at which point Mankey decided he had enough. He let go of Snorlax and let out an angry screech, unintelligible even to the other pokemon and Rina.

"Oops...guess thats not going to work, huh?" Ashley rubbed the back of her head in embarassment.

"Ashley! What even made you think it WOULD work?" Rina yelled at her. "Thats the third stupid decision to made today!"

"HEY! I thought it would work!" Ashley snapped back. "Fighting pokemon are supposed to be strong, right? So I thought it'd be reasonable for Mankey to be able to lift a Snorlax."

Mankey eventually grew fed up with waiting for Ashley to tell it to attack and raised his hand back. Mankey attacked fiercely with a loud screech, striking Snorlax's body with the side of his hand. Snorlax didn't seem to react at all, though. In fact, while Snorlax was curled up to protect itself, it went back to sleep using Rest to restore any damage Mankey had inflicted.

"Right, the battle..." Ashley said to herself quietly, returning her attention to Mankey's fight with Snorlax. "Ok, Mankey, use..." Before Ashley could finish, Snorlax let out a loud snore. The sound reverberated through the air and Mankey actually felt the snore hit him like a punch to the face. Mankey staggered back a foot and looked rather confused to have been hurt by a snore.

_"Was that an actual attack or does Snorlax just snore very loudly?" _Ashley wondered. She took out her pokedex to check, but it was too late for her to find out what it was. Fortunately for her, she would get another chance. Snorlax let out another snore, and again Mankey staggered back and fell over, taking a hard hit. Mankey slowly got back up and was starting to look tired from enduring Snorlax's attacks. Ashley's pokedex revealed the attack to be Snore and gave a description of the technique.

_"Says here Snore can only be used while the pokemon is asleep. So Snorlax must have used Rest..."_ She thought, then reached for Mankey's pokeball. "Mankey, you did enough for now! Jolteon will take it from here!"

Ashley's words rang through Mankey's ears. He remembered the battle at the pokemon tower, where he was shown up by the evolved pokemon and found himself jealous. As Ashley raised his pokeball and fired the beam from it that would recall him, Mankey decided he wasn't finished and dodged to the side of the beam.

"Mankey! Return already!" Ashley tried again to recall Mankey, pressing the button on his pokeball to fire out another beam.

"-NonononononoNO!-" Mankey screeched as he dodged to the side of Ashley's second attempt to recall him.

"Thats odd...Mankey isn't letting Ashley recall him?" Rina said, blinking. "I know he's eccentric but I've never seen him outright disobey her before..."

"-Looks like he went berserk when Ashley said she was going to recall him!-" Pippi said.

"Fine, but when you get yourself knocked out its not my problem..." Ashley muttered, finally lowering the pokeball. Mankey wasn't quite done yet though, turning to Snorlax and letting out another enraged screech.

"-I DON'T NEED HELP! DON'T! DON'T! DON'T! I AM STRONG! I WILL BE STRONG! I WILL BE STRONGER! I CAN HANDLE YOU ON MY OWN!-" A white glow surrounded Mankey's body when he finished his speech. He grew to over double his original height at roughly three feet tall, and his small hands took on a shape similar to a pair of boxing gloves. The glowing then faded as quickly as it started, revealing Mankey's new form as a fully evolved Primeape.

"-You've evolved now. Big deal.-" The wild Snorlax finally uncurled from its protective pose and stood up. "-You still can't beat me.-" Snorlax began to pound hard on his chest, producing a sound like a drum.

"No mistaking that attack!" Ashley thought. "Man-Primeape, be ready to dodge Snorlax's next attack! It'll hit hard!" Though Primeape was hardly in a mood for listening to Ashley, he took heed of her warning. Snorlax jumped forward, aiming to land on top of Primeape, but Primeape was ready and quickly jumped back. As Primeape had been standing on the bridge, Snorlax landed hard on the structure. The power he put into his attack combined with his bulk was too much for the bridge to take. The structure began to crack under it.

"Ok, Primeape! Now lets try..." Before Ashley could finish, Primeape was already moving around behind Snorlax. He had already decided he was defeating Snorlax on his own, without even Ashley's orders. Primeape grabbed Snorlax from behind and, with seemingly little struggle, rolled back to flip Snorlax behind him with Seismic Toss. Snorlax landed with a heavy thud, cracking the ground where he landed slightly. Both pokemon were slow to get back on their feet, the act of throwing Snorlax had hurt its back.

"-So...you've gotten quite a bit stronger...after all...-" Snorlax muttered as he stood up.

"-I am lots stronger! LOTS LOTS LOTS!-" Primeape shot back.

"Now he's just ignoring me entirely!" Ashley grumbled.

"Well, he IS a bit of an eccentric and tempermental pokemon. Not a good combination..." Rina said to her.

"Maybe you're right, but I didn't have any problems before now." Ashley replied, folding her arms over her chest. "Well, he's on his own now." Ashley thought back on what she said before Primeape evolved, trying to determine just what it was that set him off.

"-You may have gotten stronger, but this will end you!-" Snorlax crouched down and then jumped several feet into the air, aiming to land on Primeape in another attempt at a Body Slam attack.

"-NO! NO! NO! This ends you!-" Primeape let out an enraged screech and summoned all its strength, drawing power from the injuries Snorlax had inflicted on him. Primeape jumped into Snorlax's attack, striking Snorlax shoulder first and putting all his strength into the attack.

Snorlax and Primeape slammed together in the air over the spot where Snorlax had been sleeping and fell to the ground together, landing next to each other. They both hit hard, and neither seemed like they would be getting up again anytime soon. Their colliding attacks inflicted enough damage on each of them to knock each other out.

"Knew this would happen. Sorta..." Ashley mumbled to herself. With Snorlax knocked out she had an easy catch now. Ashley set her travel bag on the ground and opened a side pocket to take out an empty Great Ball and then threw it at Snorlax. The great ball opened up and a red beam shot out at Snorlax, pullingit inside. A quiet click was heard as the ball locked shut, and then it glowed white and vanished as it was transported off to storage.

"And now for you..." Ashley took Primeape's pokeball from her belt again and held it out, finally recalling her pokemon without any trouble. She then placed the pokeball back on her belt.

"Glad thats over..." Rina breathed a sigh of relief. "Between a grumpy Snorlax and an enraged Primeape, I thought for sure we'd be getting hurt when it was over..."

"-Please, like I couldn't handle that.-" Bulbasaur muttered, rolling his eyes. "-At least Ashley's caught another pokemon. That makes what...-" Bulbasaur thought for a moment, counting them off in his head. "-Eleven pokemon, not counting evolved pokemon or Rina's. Eleven pokemon does not a pokedex make!-"

"-Why do you care so much about Ashley's pokedex anyway?-" Pippi asked him.

"-Look, kid, Professor Oak raised me since I first hatched.-" Bulbasaur said to her. "-I don't like Ashley, but I've got nothing but respect for Professor Oak. If he wants to write a pokedex, then I want to help him to do it. Unfortunately, that means working with Ashley in my case.-"

"-Oh...-" Pippi replied, staring blankly.

"I don't know...you really think Primeape would have attacked us?" Ashley asked Rina. "You'd know that better than I would since you could understand what he was saying..."

"He's just so hard to understand though!" Rina replied. "He talks quickly, repeats himself, and sometimes just doesn't make any sense at all. He did say something about 'being strong' and 'not needing help' though..."

"Oh...huh..." Ashley scratched her head then shrugged. "Oh well. Anyway, Snorlax is out of the way now and we've still got another route to go through to get to Vermilion!"

"You make it sound like its far away from her...we'll be there soon!" Rina giggled and smiled lightly. "We could have gotten there faster though, but I'm sure you'd tell me this was worth taking the long way."

"Of course!" Ashley replied with a grin. "Now lets get going!"

* * *

Author's Notes: Short chapter, meant to focus on Ashley catching Snorlax. The double battle at the beginning was so I could have a brief scene where Pippi tried (and failed) to use Surf and was going to be against two random trainers from the route. Since there was already a double battle there (Young Couple Gia and Jes) I went with that instead.

There actually ended up being a fair bit of exposition in this chapter too. I don't think I show enough interactions between Ashley and Rina, come to think of it. Often end up focusing on one or the other with brief dialogue between them.

Also, next chapter (23) was going to skip through Vermilion and straight into Saffron. However, next chapter will take place in Vermilion instead. Gives Lt. Surge another chance to appear since I'm trying to give gym leaders more appearances outside the gym this time around. I kept debating up until now whether or not to actually include the upcoming chapter, but I think its better if I did.

Title of this chapter was meant to be a play on "Still Alive"


	23. Chapter 23: All Rumors Are True

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Twenty Three**

**All Rumors Are True**

After finally arriving in Vermilion City, the group spent the night at a cheap, run-down hotel. The next morning they were up bright and early, eager to get a move on. It was barely past eight in the morning but they were already well on their way toward the city's northern exit.

"So you're going to try to use that Snorlax against Sabrina?" Rina asked Ashley as they walked through the city. Rina and Ashley walked side by side with Pippi and Bulbasaur following behind their respective trainers.

"If it'll listen to me then I'll definitely use it." Ashley replied, nodding affirmatively. "I hear Sabrina uses psychic pokemon. Psychic pokemon mean special attacks, and Snorlax is apparently good at withstanding special attacks. Fire and ice attacks especially."

"-When'd she hear that?-" Pippi wondered.

"-She apparently decided to look it up. Go figure.-" Bulbasaur replied with a shrug.

"And you plan to see if it'll listen on the way to Saffron?" Rina continued.

"Yep!" Ashley replied with an enthusiastic nod. "We left early as it is anyway, so we're more than making up for arriving late yesterday."

_"I didn't think we were on a schedule..."_ Rina thought, blinking. "Ashley...why does it matter that we make up for lost time from yesterday?"

"Umm...well..." Ashley stopped in her tracks and thought for a moment, though came up blank. "Good question...come to think of it, we haven't even grabbed any breakfast yet have we?"

"No, we skipped it to leave early." Rina replied, stopping and narrowing her eyes at Ashley. "Whats with you lately anyway? You haven't been making any sense since we left Fuschia!"

"Ok, maybe I have been making a few stupid decisions lately..." Ashley admitted, rubbing her head. "Maybe I was out too long in the sun or something when we were at the beach. Though, as stupid as it was, I did get a Snorlax out of it." Ashley shrugged. "Who knows, maybe something else will happen today because of it?" Ashley laughed lightly at the notion, though Rina found it less funny.

"You're right, we do end up in the right place at the right time a lot..." Rina said quietly. "We always manage to show up whenever the hunters are up to something, and we manage to stop them everytime too."

"Now that you mention it, yeah, that is kinda odd..." Ashley said, nodding slightly. "I can understand that they stick around because they don't consider us a threat, but that we always manage to be there in the first place is never more than a coincidence..."

"-Yeah, that IS odd...-" Pippi added, tilting her head to the side. "-It never seemed like they were following us...-"

"-So what? Lets just chalk it up to coincidence and be done with it!-" Bulbasaur grumbled. "-Thinking about it isn't getting us anywhere, and it hardly makes a difference!-"

"Bulbasaur has a point too I guess, we're overthinking it." Rina said to Ashley and smiled at her. "So how about breakfast? I'm starving already!"

"Right." Ashley nodded to her. "Know what? Breakfast is on me! Lets go!" Ashley and Rina turned around to head back toward downtown. As they turn around, they both notice a flash of light in the distance. "Huh?"

"What was that?" Rina wondered, both her and Ashley looked off in the direction where they saw the flash but couldn't see anything. Pippi and Bulbasaur followed their gaze as well but couldn't even see past the buildings due to their height. As the two girls watched they eventually saw a bolt of lightning rise up from the ground.

"Oh...its probably just a pokemon battle." Ashley shrugged and continued on her way, but Rina didn't budge.

"Ashley, wait! I think I just saw a pokemon!" Ashley stopped and looked out toward the sky southeast of them. At first she couldn't see anything, but then a yellow bird and a blue bird rose up briefly. They stayed within sight long enough to launch an attack toward the ground, the yellow one clearly firing an electric attack and the other firing a blue beam, before diving back down again.

"Those pokemon...an ice bird and an electric bird?" Ashley said quietly, hardly believing what she was seeing.

"The only ice and electric bird pokemon I ever heard of were the winged mirages!" Rina said, barely able to contain her excitement. "Ashley! You don't think that could be them, do you?!"

"We won't know for sure unless we check it out, lets go!" Ashley and Rina took off again, this time running toward the area where they saw the two pokemon. Bulbasaur and Pippi were almost left behind when their trainers suddenly took off.

"-I don't get it! Whats the big deal?!-" Pippi called out to them in confusion.

"-Yeah, just what the heck are the 'winged mirages'?!-" Bulbasaur called out as well. Neither of them got an answer though.

- Insert Line Here -

Though Ashley and Rina didn't know it yet, they were right about the identity of the two bird pokemon. Legendary pokemon of thunderstorms, Zapdos, and the wintery legendary pokemon, Articuno, were engaged in battle with Lt. Surge. Both legendary birds had a black collar around their necks, putting them under the control of the Grand Hunters.

Surge's Pikachu and Raichu faced off against the legendary bird pokemon while Voltorb patrolled the area around them to keep civilians away. The battle was taking place just north of the harbour area, which was now closed off while Lt. Surge battled two mysterious men controlling the legendary birds.

"Raichu, attack Articuno with Thunderbolt! Pikachu, provide support fire with Thundershock!" Raichu sent up a bolt of electricity at Articuno flying overhead, followed by a short blast of electricity from the Pikachu standing behind it. Articuno manuevered to the side, evading Raichu's Thunderbolt attack but turning right into Pikachu's Thundershock. Articuno easily shrugged off the attack though, as if it were nothing at all.

"You certainly live up to your reputation, lieutenant." A blonde-haired man said to Lt. Surge. He was wearing a black trenchcoat, black leather gloves, and a pair of sunglasses to hide his eyes. Another similarly dressed man with long, blue hair was standing next to him. "You really should just surrender though. Gym leader or not, you can't stand up to the combined might of Zapdos and Articuno."

"There's no point telling him that, he won't back down anyway." The blue haired man said to his partner. "Articuno, freeze both those rodents with Ice Beam."

Articuno responded to the command, opening its beak and firing a blue beam down at Raichu and Pikachu. The two pokemon jumped in opposite directions, avoiding the blast that froze the ground where they had been standing, then hopped back in a synchronized movement and stood next to each other again.

"I have a sworn duty to protect the innocent civilians of this city! There's no way I'm backing down!" Lt. Surge shot back. "Just who are you anyway? You're not like the other hunters at all!"

"Astute observation. We are what you would call the...directors of the Grand Hunters." The blonde haired man replied. "While the others were capturing rare and powerful pokemon for sale, we were focusing on the legendary pokemon. At long last I have captured the legendary pokemon Zapdos, and as such you may call me Thunder."

"Likewise, with Articuno under my command, I am now known as Freeze." The blue haired man, Freeze, added. "Our names are hardly of any importance to you, however. Since we've been forced out into the open by recent events, we intend to strike back at the Kanto League."

"You can always count on the bad guys to spill their plans when asked." Lt. Surge said to them with a wide grin. _"I need to keep this up. I can't beat their pokemon but I can try to stall them until I get backup."_

"On the contrary, we haven't told you a thing. Or at least..." A smirk spreead across Thunder's lips. "Nothing you will be telling anyone else. Zapdos, blast his pokemon with Thunderbolt." Electricity charged around the edges of Zapdos' wings. The thunder bird then dove toward the ground, firing out a blast from each wing that combined into a single bolt of electricity.

As the bolt raced toward them, Raichu and Pikachu joined hands and placed their tails on the ground. The bolt struck Raichu first, but the immense electricity from the attack was spread through both pokemon. With their tails on the ground, the electricity was quickly grounded out. Though the attack still caused noticeable damage to the two, its effectiveness was greatly reduced.

"You two have no idea who you're messing with! My pokemon fought by my side during the war. They zapped my enemies into paralysis!" Surge grinned. "The same as they'll do to Zapdos and Articuno! Raichu! Pikachu! Choose your targets and use Thunder Wave!"

"-I've got Zapdos, you take Articuno.-" Raichu quickly instructed his partner. Pikachu nodded, releasing Raichu's hand as they both began to charge electricity. Electricity sparked from their cheeks and then fired out in a weak pulse, carrying enough voltage to cause paralysis without inflicting any damage.

Zapdos tried to evade to the side of Raichu's Thunder Wave attack and ended up only taking a glancing blow to the wing, not enough to paralyze it. Articuno wasn't so lucky, however. Each pulse of electricity from Pikachu hit its mark without fail, paralyzing Articuno's muscles. The icy bird pokemon dropped out of the air like a rock and crashed into the ground in front of Raichu and Pikachu.

"A good try, Surge, but not good enough." Freeze said to him. "Articuno, on your feet and use Mind Reader. Take aim at Raichu." Articuno slowly picked itself up off the ground, almost falling over again due to the paralysis. When Articuno was steady on its feet again it focused its gaze on Raichu, reading its thoughts to predict its movements.

_"Mind Reader? Whats he planning?"_ Surge wondered, gritting his teeth. Though he was experienced as a gym leader, even he had no idea as to what Articuno was capable of. "Raichu, be careful! They're up to something!"

"Indeed we are." Freeze snickered. "Articuno...Sheer Cold." Articuno began flapping its wings, sending out wave after wave of intensely cold air. Raichu felt a chill go through its body and started charging electricity in an effort to warm itself up. However, Articuno simply turned up the intensity of its attack the more Raichu tried to warm itself. Ice slowly began to form on Raichu's body.

"-RAI!-" Surge's Pikachu suddenly jumped out in front of Raichu, taking the brunt of the cold air and giving Raichu the chance to warm up and free itself from the ice. However, it came at a cost. The Pikachu, who hadn't been making any effort to warm itself, was taking the full effect of the cold air. Ice began to form on its body and within only seconds it was completely frozen.

"-PIKACHU!-" Raichu cried out in anguish upon seeing his partner frozen. The ice shattered almost immediately, leaving the unconscious Pikachu to fall to the ground. "-That does it! Legend or not I'm taking you down!-" Raichu, growled while large sparks shot from his cheeks.

"Mind Reader and Sheer Cold? You've been holding that back this whole time?!" Surge angrily accused Freeze as he recalled his fainted Pikachu. _"Damn it! We don't stand a chance against that kind of tactic!"_

"It hardly makes a difference, you were outmatched from the start." Freeze replied, grinning smugly. "Now, lets deal with that Raichu of your's. Articuno, Mind Reader!"

"Raichu, don't give it the chance!" Surge called out. "Strike with a quick Thunderbolt!"

"Zapdos, block Raichu's attack." Raichu gathered a small amount of electricity, aiming for a quick strike rather than a strong attack. Zapdos tried to dive down to block it, but Raichu had already fired by the time Zapdos had reached the ground. A weak bolt of electricity lanced through the air and struck Articuno. The small jolt barely hurt it but was enough to disrupt Articuno's concentration.

"I'm impressed...but you seem to forget that you're outnumbered here." Thunder said to Surge. "And by two of the winged mirages, no less. We shall end this here with one attack! Zapdos! Use..."

"That IS them! The winged mirages, Articuno and Zapdos!" Ashley cried out in shock as she and Rina arrived on the scene. They were still a good fifty feet away, with Surge's Voltorb blocking their path. Even from a distance, though, Thunder and Freeze could recognize them.

"Ashley! Look! They're wearing collars!" Rina pointed out, then noticed the two men in trenchcoats. "Those two must be hunters!" Rina tried to take a step forward, but Voltorb produced sparks to ward them off.

"-NO CIVILIANS BEYOND THIS POINT!-" Voltorb bellowed at the two, its voice sounding like static.

"-Hey, I don't know if you've noticed, but your trainer needs a bit of help there, buddy.-" Bulbasaur said to it. "-Now move aside and let us through.-"

"Seems even we can't get a break from those two." Freeze noted to his partner. "Mystique better not take much longer. We can't risk taking any chances after what they did to the others."

"I disagree, this seems like the perfect time to take them down for good!" Thunder said defiantly. "Zapdos! Attack those two girls with Thunderbolt!" Zapdos flew past Raichu, charging electricity across its wings as it barreled toward the two girls.

"Damn!" Surge cursed, turning around to follow Zapdos' movements. "Voltorb, stop it with a Spark attack!"

"-STOP!-" Voltorb rolled toward the attacking Zapdos, charging electricity around its body and then throwing itself at it. Zapdos shrugged off the attack with little effort and continued toward Ashley and Rina.

Pippi and Bulbasaur moved in front of their trainers, ready to block the attack themselves, while Ashley and Rina each reached for a pokeball as quickly as they could. Zapdos came to a stop as it prepared to fire, focusing its gaze on Ashley. Seeing her, though, it suddenly squawked and staggered back as if it had been struck by something. Zapdos began flying around wildly and shooting off sparks, trying to resist the effects of the collar.

"Zapdos, stop!" Thunder commanded harshly. Zapdos responded to the command and stopped its struggling, dropping down to the ground. It didn't make another attempt to attack. "Maybe controlling a legendary pokemon with these collars is more difficult than we thought. We may have to upgrade..." Thunder noted to his partner.

"You may be right..." Freeze muttered in response. _"But why did Zapdos only resist when it was about to attack?" _Freeze wondered._ "Could it have such a strong aversion to attacking humans, or is there something else to it?"_

"I don't know what just happened but now's our chance!" Ashley called out, holding up the pokeball she grabbed. "Snorlax, here's your debut! Go!"

"Right! Tangela!" Rina took a pokeball in hand as well, pressing the button on the front of it as she called out her pokemon's name. "Go!"

Ashley and Rina's pokeballs opened up simultaneously, releasing their respective pokemon. The massive Snorlax immediately blocked both girl's from the hunter's view with its immense bulk, while Tangela appeared next to it. Bulbasaur took up position on the side of Snorlax opposite Tangela when she appeared, not wanting the other grass pokemon to see him.

"Snorlax, I hope you don't mind, but I need you to act as a shield against those two pokemon." Ashley instructed her pokemon.

"-Wha? You wake me up, stuff me in a ball, and then tell me to act as a shield?-" Snorlax gave a 'hmph' and folded its arms over its chest. "-I don't care what happens, I'm not moving from this spot!-" Ashley looked to Rina, expecting a translation.

"Snorlax won't move from this spot..." Rina replied.

"Good!" Ashley nodded. "Ok, we'll use Snorlax for cover and try attacking them with status inducing techniques."

"-Yay! Friend!-" Tangela wrapped her vines around Snorlax, oblivious to the threat from Articuno and Zapdos.

_"Well, backup is backup."_ Surge thought to himself with a smirk. _"Their timing couldn't have been better, thats for sure."_

"If you think that Snorlax is going to stop us, you are sadly mistaken." Freeze said to them. "Articuno, target that Snorlax with Mind Reader!" Articuno focused its gaze on Snorlax, using Mind Reader to ensure its next attack would hit.

"That Snorlax won't help you, period!" Thunder called out. "Zapdos, attack the Bulbasaur with Drill Peck!" Zapdos responded without hesitation, despite its previous struggle. A vacuum of air swirled around Zapdos' beak, spinning like a drill. Zapdos flapped its wings and took off, flying toward the group of pokemon.

"Hey now, me and my Raichu are still here!" Surge reminded the two hunters. Raichu emphasized this point by producing sparks from its cheeks. "Raichu, attack Articuno with Thunderbolt!" Raichu fired a bolt of electricity toward Articuno, shocking it with another powerful electric attack. Articuno seemingly shrugged off the attack with little effect.

"Tangela, pull Zapdos toward you with Vine Whip! Pippi, attack Articuno with Volt Tackle!" Rina called out to her pokemon, hiding the disbelief she felt in attacking a legendary pokemon.

"Bulbasaur, paralyze Zapdos with Stun Spore! Snorlax, use Amnesia!" Ashley commanded, then took up her camera from around her neck and focused it on the attacking Zapdos. She managed to grab a quick picture just before Tangela's vines wrapped around it in an effort to pull it away from Bulbasaur.

"-I got-EEP!-" Rather than pulling Zapdos away, as intended, Tangela ended up being pulled toward it herself as she tried to pull it in and ended up slamming into Snorlax's side and let go. Snorlax looked down at her with its usual grumpy expression. Snorlax gave a light shrug and focused for a moment, deciding to follow through with Ashley's command since it didn't involve it moving and knew it would protect it from any attacks.

Zapdos, meanwhile, flew through a cloud of spores, released by Bulbasaur, to finally reach its target and strike Bulbasaur repeatedly with its beak while pushing him along the ground. Zapdos eventually crashed into the ground as paralysis set in and slid to a stop. Bulbasaur was knocked back further when he was finally released from Zapdos' attack, stopping when his legs gave out from underneath him.

"-Damn it...why'd it target me...first?-" Bulbasaur grunted. He tried to get back up on his feet, but just couldn't get the strength to stand. Exhausting himself from the attempt, Bulbasaur fell unconscious.

"Bulbasaur went down in just one attack?!" Ashley said in shock. "I guess thats why its a legendary pokemon..."

While Ashley was busy with Zapdos, Pippi had taken off running across the ground as fast as she could toward Articuno. Electricity charged around her body as she ran, leaving a trail of sparks across the ground behind her like the tail of a comet. Voltorb made no effort to stop her, accepting that the 'civilians' could handle themselves.

"Raichu, aim a Thunderbolt at that Pikachu when it passes by!" Surge commanded. Raichu nodded in understanding and charged electricity, preparing its attack so it would be timed perfectly.

"We're not going to wait around for that. Articuno, attack that Snorlax with Sheer Cold now!" Articuno flapped its broad wings slowly, needing to get closer to Snorlax to reach with the attack. However, its paralysis decided to kick in at that moment and Articuno fell flat on the ground. Freeze grumbled under his breath.

Pippi flew past Raichu, barreling toward Articuno. Raichu timed its Thunderbolt perfectly, aiming the attack at Pippi as she ran past. The electricity in the bolt of lightning Raichu fired at Pippi surrounded her, adding to the coat of electricity already around her body. Shortly after, she slammed full force into the downed Articuno. Pippi staggered back from the impact and shook off the recoil while Articuno cried out and struggled back onto its feet. Articuno was finally starting to look pretty exhausted.

"Even with two legendary pokemon, we can't keep up with them..." Freeze muttered.

"We are starting to get a bit outnumbered here, aren't we?" Thunder noted bitterly. "We need to hold out as long as we can though so they don't get suspicious..."

"Voltorb, I hate to do this to ya pal, but take down that Articuno now with Selfdestruct!" Voltorb quickly rolled forward without giving the command a second thought, already building up energy in its body for the attack.

"-MY LIFE FOR VERMILION!-" Voltorb cried out, throwing itself into Articuno. Voltorb released its stored energy while only inches away from Articuno's face. A sudden explosion engulfed both pokemon, sending them flying in opposite directions to land at their respective trainers feet. Voltorb was clearly unconscious when its body rolled to a stop, and Articuno struggled briefly to get back to its feet before collapsing as well.

"Looks like I'm out." Freeze took a small smokeball from his belt. "Thunder, good luck." Thunder nodded, and Freeze threw the smokeball to the ground. A cloud of smoke surrounded Freeze and Articuno, and both the hunter and his enslaved pokemon were gone when the smoke cleared. Meanwhile, Lt. Surge recalled his Voltorb.

"Ok, I guess that leaves only this one then!" Ashley turned around to face Zapdos while moving next to Snorlax. Zapdos was only now recovering from its paralysis enough to get back into the air.

"We'll handle this, Ashley! Tangela, use Poisonpowder!" Rina called out.

"-Kay!-" Tangela climbed up Snorlax's body to stand on its head and then shook her body, loosing a purple powder from within her vines. The powder floated toward its target, but didn't quite reach.

"We're really not having much luck with this..." Rina mumbled to herself.

"Zapdos, attack Tangela with Drill Peck!" Zapdos flew toward Tangela, air currents swirling around its beak like a drill again. Zapdos flew into Tangela, striking a harsh blow as its beak drilled into Tangela's vines and knocked her off Snorlax. Tangela hit the ground hard at Snorlax's feet, but managed to gather its strength to shake off the attack and get back up again. Tangela was in pretty bad shape, but still able to fight.

"Tangela, lets try again! This time use Sleep Powder!" Tangela turned toward Zapdos, which had stopped in the air while awaiting further orders, and released a cloud of green powder. This time, the attack reached its target. Zapdos dropped to the ground, fast asleep.

"Fools. Don't you realize..." Thunder began, but realized his mistake when he saw Lt. Surge charge toward him with his fist raised. "Damn!" Thunder reached for his smoke ball as quickly as he could, dropping it on the ground. The smoke surrounded Thunder just before Surge reached him. Surge punched at where he thought Thunder was, but his fist struck empty air. Likewise, the sleeping Zapdos suddenly disappeared as well.

"Rina! Did you see that?!" Ashley exclaimed in surprise. "Is that how they do it? Do they teleport somehow?"

_"Teleport?"_ Rina wondered. _"If thats how they're doing it...then why hide it?"_

"-Rina!-" With the battle over, Pippi bounded happily up to her trainer. "-Did you see that?! I just beat the legendary pokemon, Articuno!-"

"Of course I did! You and Tangela both did great!" Rina replied, congratulating both of her pokemon.

"-Don't get cocky, you didn't do it alone.-" Lt. Surge's Raichu reminded her.

_"Shoot...I only got a picture of Zapdos out of that too." _Ashley held up the picture she took of Zapdos. She had managed to get a pretty good one, catching Zapdos in mid-flight and about to use Drill Peck. _"Couldn't get a decent shot at Articuno..."_

"You two handled yourselves pretty well out there!" Surge said to Ashley and Rina. "Not quite soldier material, but for facing down those two pokemon you did pretty well!"

"We didn't really do anything though, aside from Pippi..." Ashley replied, rubbing the back of her neck in embarassment. "Bulbasaur was knocked out, Tangela almost knocked out, and Snorlax just sat there..."

"-Its what we Snorlax do best.-" Snorlax snorted.

"Even so, I woulda been in trouble if you hadn't shown up." He said to them. "I have to go open my gym for the day, but if there's anything I can do for you..." Surge was cut off by a loud grumbling from Rina's stomach. Rina blushed in embarassment.

"Umm...sorry...we didn't have breakfast yet..." Rina said, twiddling her fingers.

"Well in that case, breakfast is on me!"

"Really? Thanks!" Rina replied, grinning widely.

"I wonder though...what were those two after in Vermilion City anyway?" Ashley said thoughtfully.

"Something about getting back at the league." Surge replied with a shrug. "I doubt there was anything more to it than that."

- Insert Line Here -

Meanwhile, down by the dock, a female hunter with purple hair was roaming near the edge of the pier. Her hair was short, and she was dressed similarly to Thunder and Freeze.

"How long do you expect to hide from me, little one?" The woman said, though she was the only one in sight. "I'm not called Mystique for nothing, you know. Like you..." The woman reached into her coat and took out a small slave collar. She spun around quickly, throwing the collar under a nearby truck. A surprise squeak could be heard as the collar struck something underneath it.

"I have psychic powers." The woman grinned to herself. "Well, that took longer than I expected, I admit. I hope those two didn't get in over their heads in the meantime." Mystique reached into her coat again, this time taking out a smokeball. She threw the ball to the ground, creating a smokescreen around her that allowed her and her captured pokemon to disappear.

- Insert Line Here -

Author's Notes: No points for guessing the mystery pokemon in the last three paragraphs there, I think the reference is rather obvious. Zapdos' reaction to Ashley? Maybe not to obvious...

So! Two legendary pokemon introduced in this chapter, alongside three more hunters. I kept changing my mind about whether or not to include this chapter at all, though it does give a glimpse into how the remaining hunters are going to shape up and gives Lt. Surge another appearance. I've been trying to give gym leaders more appearances in this series, outside of their gyms.

Not much else to say really, though I feel this could have been handled a bit better...


	24. Chapter 24: Hostile Takeover

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Twenty Four**

**Hostile Takeover**

"This...strikes me as suspicious for some reason." Ashley commented, looking around the empty outpost that separated route 6 and Saffron City. "Hello? Is anyone here?" She called out, but got no response from the empty building. "This place is deserted..."

"Maybe we shouldn't push our luck and just go?" Rina suggested. "Last time we were here they wanted to keep us out of Saffron for some reason..." Ashley nodded in agreement with her and the two of them continued on toward the exit.

"-I don't see whats suspicious at all.-"Bulbasaur muttered to himself. "-They're all probably slacking off. Humans seem to be good at that.-"

"-But Ashley and Rina don't slack off at all.-" Pippi said to him. "-Ashley challenged, and beat, five gyms now and they both battle those hunters without giving it a second thought! They even beat two legendary pokemon earlier!-"

"-You do realize that we just end up doing all the work, right?-"

Leaving the building, Ashley and Rina found themselves walking straight into Saffron City. They expected to find a bustling city, but found the streets were deserted.

"-This, on the other hand, is definitely suspicious...-" Bulbasaur noted. The group walked out onto an empty street and looked around.

"Ok, this is starting to get a bit creepy now. Where IS everyone?" Ashley wondered aloud. The street they were on stretched from east to west in the southern end of the city, and they could almost see from end to end. There was still no sign of anyone though, even by the pokemon center.

"Well there's the pokecenter. We should probably get our pokemon checked out first since we ran into a few trainers on the way here." Rina suggested. Ashley nodded in agreement and the group headed over to the pokecenter.

Inside the pokecenter was almost as empty as the city itself seemed to be. There were no trainers inside at all, and only a single nurse could be seen running the place. Ashley and Rina stepped inside and approached the counter.

"Where is everyone?" Ashley asked the nurse. "This place is like a ghost town..."

"The police have ordered everyone to stay inside." The nurse explained. "Team Rocket has taken over the Silph building, so its not safe outside until they've taken care of it."

"Hmm..." Ashley thought over the situation. Rina looked at her questioningly but realized what she was thinking and kept quiet.

"Ok, Pippi, into your pokeball for now." Pippi nodded as Rina took her pokeball from her belt. She recalled Pippi and then handed over all six of her pokeballs to the nurse. Ashley then did likewise, though still looking lost in thought. She recalled Bulbasaur without a word and then handed her six pokeballs over to the nurse. The two girls then went over to the waiting area to the right side of the counter.

"So...whats the plan?" Rina asked Ashley once she was sure the nurse was out of earshot.

"Huh?"

"You're planning to go into the Silph building, right?" Rina said to her. "But...we'll be outnumbered for sure. To take over the entire Silph building, every Rocket in Kanto must be there..."

"Was it that obvious?" Ashley smiled sheepishly. "Well, there will be a lot of them, yeah. But they'll probably be split up between the floors too, and the individual grunts in Team Rocket wouldn't have pokemon as strong as the hunters did."

"Wow, you've thought this out already?" Rina asked her.

"Yep!" Ashley replied with a nod. "If we rushed the front door we could take out whoever's on the first floor. Whoever is leading the operation is likely to be on the top floor, in the president's office, and a building that big definitely has elevators. So we just take the elevator straight to the top and corner their leader! We can even get past most of the grunts that way too!"

"That actually sounds like it could work!" Rina nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "We fought a few Team Rocket grunts once and they were pretty weak, so with twelve strong pokemon between us I bet we could rush through them easily!"

"Exactly, but don't get overly excited about it." Ashley gestured toward the front desk and Rina quickly covered her mouth in embarassment. The nurse was busy operating one of the center's machines, though, and didn't take notice.

* * *

Ashley and Rina didn't have to wait long for their pokemon to be healed since there were no other trainers there ahead of them. Once their pokemon were ready they immediately set off toward the Silph Company building in the middle of the city. They stopped and ducked into an alley only a few buildings away and finally released Bulbasaur and Pippi from their pokeballs.

Ashley peeked out from the alley and saw a single Team Rocket grunt leaning against the wall next to the Silph building's main entrance. "Looks like they have the outside guarded too." Ashley said to the others. "There's only one, but we'll need to take him out without alerting the ones inside."

"Ok, so whats the plan?" Rina asked.

"Hmm..." Ashley ducked back into the alley and folded her arms over her chest while she thought it over. "Well, we could put him to sleep with Sleep Powder easily enough. But I don't think it'd reach him from here, and we probably couldn't get close enough without him noticing either..."

"-Wait, what are we doing exactly?-" Pippi asked, tilting her head to the side.

"-Yeah, I'm all for attacking this guy, but why do we want to get in there exactly?-" Bulbasaur added.

"Oh, right, we didn't tell you guys. Team Rocket took over the Silph Building for some reason, so now we're going to kick them out!" Rina explained to them.

"-Oh, well in that case...-" Bulbasaur grinned widely. "-Sounds fun. Whats the plan?-"

"So how are we going to get around that then?" Rina asked Ashley, getting back on the subject.

"Well...maybe if Bulbasaur used Sleep Powder...and then Pidgeotto used Gust to push it along..." Ashley hummed thoughtfully to herself and then took a pokeball from her belt. "Ok, Pidgeotto, come on out and lets try this." She pointed the pokeball further into the alley and released Pidgeotto.

"Ok! Bulbasaur, you fire Sleep Powder out of the alley and then Pidgeotto will use Gust to send it toward the Rocket. Got it?" Bulbasaur and Pidgeotto nodded and took up position at the opening of the alley. Bulbasaur released a cloud of green powder from his bulb, then Pidgeotto flapped his wings and created gusts of wind to send the powder toward the Rocket grunt.

"Good job! That should put him out like a light!" Ashley moved closer to the opening to watch the powder. The cloud of powder floated past the Rocket with seemingly no affect. The grunt didn't even seem to take notice.

"Hmm...I see they chose quite the resilient grunt for guard duty. We may need another plan..." Ashley ducked back into the alley and tried to come up with another method of attack while Rina peeked out to see for herself.

"You know...I don't think he's moved or anything since we got here. His hat is kinda over his eyes so its hard to tell if he's awake..." Rina thought this over for a moment and looked down at Pippi. "Pippi! If he's awake he probably wouldn't think much of a Pikachu running by."

"-Got it!-" Pippi nodded and ran out the alley. She ran up to the grunt and looked up at him for a moment before running back.

"-He's asleep. Snoring too.-" Pippi snickered lightly.

"So? What'd she find out?" Ashley asked Rina.

"He's asleep apparently..." Rina replied, smiling wryly. "So much for being resilient, he was probably asleep all this time. All we really did was make sure he stayed asleep."

"-Oh, well THAT just figures.-" Bulbasaur muttered.

"-Why did we want him asleep in the first place?-" Pidgeotto wondered. No one explained what was going on after releasing him from his pokeball.

"That figures..." Ashley sighed. "I guess he wouldn't be a grunt if he was actually good at his job..."

With the 'guard' taken care of, Ashley and Rina were free to go into the building. Ashley recalled Pidgeotto and then the rest of them approached the building and walked inside. The grunt standing guard didn't show even the slightest sign of waking up.

Inside the building, there wasn't much to be seen. The entrance level of the building appeared to be nothing more than a reception area with two large fountains joined together in the middle, a reception desk in the upper-left corner from the entrance, and several seating arrangements. There were also two grunts standing in front of the fountain, ready to greet the two girls.

"What?! How'd you get past the guard?!" One of the grunts demanded.

"Forget about that!" The other grunt yelled at his partner, hitting him in the shoulder. "They're our problem now!" Both grunts reached for a pokeball and released a pokemon each to fight Ashley and Rina. The first grunt sent out a Raticate and the second sent out a Golbat. Bulbasaur and Pippi immediately moved out in front of their trainers.

"Guess this is the welcoming committee then." Ashley said to Rina. "I'll take the Raticate, you take the Golbat." Rina nodded in agreement.

"Ok then! Pippi, attack that Golbat with Thunderbolt!" Pippi nodded affirmatively and gathered electricity in the sacs on her cheeks. Electricity then poured out of each into a single bolt which shot across the room, striking the opposing Golbat. Golbat let out a shriek and collapsed, downed in a single hit.

"Damn it! They're tough!" The grunt recalled his Golbat, which seemed to be his only pokemon.

"Oh yeah? Well my Raticate is pretty tough too!" The other grunt declared. "Raticate, attack that Bulbasaur with Hyper Fang!" Raticate charged toward Bulbasaur, its incisors bared and ready to strike.

"Bulbasaur, knock Raticate back with Vine Whip!" Bulbasaur lashed out at the charging Raticate with a pair of vines extending from the base of his bulb. The tip of the vines struck Raticate head on, knocking it over onto its back.

"Great! Now lets hit it while its down with Razor Leaf!" Bulbasaur retracted his vines and fired several sharp leaves at Raticate as it was rolling back to its feet. Raticate was soon down again, letting out a sharp cry and falling over as the sharp leaves slashed across its body.

"Damn it! Even I go down without landing a hit?!" The Raticate's trainer growled before recalling his pokemon.

"-This hardly even qualifies as a workout.-" Bulbasaur noted dryly.

"-Why couldn't the hunters have grunts? They're much easier to beat...-" Pippi said to herself, letting out a sigh.

"Now, why don't you two tell me who's running the show here and where can I find him?" Ashley asked the two grunts. "And if you don't answer, Bulbasaur gets to practice Vine Whip on you."

_"Wow, Ashley is REALLY taking this seriously!"_ Rina thought. _"I don't think she's even the least bit worried about the number of Rockets that'd be in this place. Maybe thats not a good thing though..."_

"Our boss is on the top floor with the president." One of the grunt's replied. "It doesn't matter though, there's no way you'll beat all of us." He added, snickering.

"Actually, I just plan to take the elevator straight to the top." Ashley shot back. "Rina, lets go. Oh, and put them to sleep Bulbasaur. We don't need them warning anyone." The grunts' eyes went wide in surprise at their mistake, but were quickly put out by a Sleep Powder from Bulbasaur. The girls and their two pokemon then piled into the elevator at the far end of the room.

"You know, this seems entirely too easy." Rina said once they were inside.

"Don't worry about it!" Ashley replied. She quickly entered the number for the top floor of the building. "We'll be up there in a minute and then we'll kick their leader's butt, forcing Team Rocket to leave and we'll definitely get some kind of a reward from the president!" The elevator shook slightly as it came to life and started to move up the building.

"Reward?" Rina narrowed her eyes at her. "Ashley, you're just doing this because you're expecting a reward?"

"Of course not!" Ashley replied, flashing Rina a grin. "It certainly provides additional motivation though."

_"Additional motivation?"_ Rina thought, keeping her eyes narrowed on Ashley. _"Team Rocket is just as bad as the hunters, that should be motivation enough!"_

"-Hey, why are we just standing around anyway?-" Pippi asked.

"Oh, I guess you've never been on an elevator before, huh?" Rina said to her. Pippi shook her head. "Well the elevator moves up or down a building on its own. In fact, we should be at the top soon!"

"-In other words, lazy humans need machines to move them around.-" Bulbasaur added, getting a snicker out of Pippi.

The elevator continued to go straight up, passing floor after floor. It was going smoothly at first, but then suddenly shook violently and knocked everyone over but Bulbasaur. The elevator had come to a sudden and unexpected stop just after the sixth floor.

_"Being a quadraped certainly has its advantages."_ Bulbasaur thought, grinning to himself.

"-Ow...I don't think I like these elevator things...-" Pippi muttered, sitting up and rubbing her head.

"What was that? Why'd we stop?" Ashley wondered. She and Rina stood up and Ashley looked at the floor numbers over the elevator door. "We're not even stopped on a floor! Did they find out we were using the elevator somehow?"

"They took over the building, maybe they have access to security cameras?" Rina suggested.

"Great, so much for stealth..." Ashley grumbled. She looked around the elevator and spotted an emergency hatch at the top of the elevator. "Well looks like we can get onto the seventh floor anyway if we use that hatch."

"Huh?" Rina looked up at the hatch in question. "Does that even open from the inside? And we're going to need help just to reach it..."

"We have pokemon though. According to the pokedex, Blastoise weighs about the same as an overweight human so the elevator should be fine if you used Berg."

"If you say so...but its going to get cramped in here..." Rina backed up near the door and took a pokeball from her belt. "Ok, come on out! Berg!" Rina aimed the pokeball at the corner of the elevator, under the escape hatch, and released Burg. Burg took up about a quarter of the floor space in the elevator on his own.

"Ok, now we need to do something about that hatch. I've got this one I think..." Ashley drew a pokeball from her belt. "Primeape, go!" Ashley released Primeape in the opposite corner, next to Blastoise. Between Primeape and Blastoise, half the elevator was almost used up entirely and little room was left for the two trainers, Bulbasaur, and Pippi.

"-Ok...whats going on exactly? Where are we?-" Berg asked them.

"-GRRRR! I hate hatehatehatehatehate HATE this place!-" Primeape growled, flailing its arms and nearly hitting Berg "-ITS TOO CRAMPED!-"

"-Thats not helping you know.-" Pippi said to him. Primeape stopped flailing his arms about and cast an angry glare at Pippi. She quickly ducked behind Bulbasaur.

"We're stuck in an elevator...long story, but we need to get that hatch open to get out." Rina pointed to the escape hatch over Berg.

"-I see...so you need me to boost you up, and Primeape to break...-" Berg barely got out the word break before Primeape suddenly jumped onto his head and then jumped straight up into the hatch above. Primeape punched straight through the panel in one blow, busting through and landing on top of the elevator.

"-Ow! Hey!-" Berg growled. Primeape screeched victoriously from atop the elevator.

"Well, thats part of the plan done...you don't mind giving us a boost, Berg?" Rina asked him.

"-As long as you don't step on my head like he did...-" Berg turned his back to them. "-Just climb up my shell, you should be able to reach it then.-"

"Your Berg seems to be quite understanding." Ashley said to Rina. Rina nodded in agreement.

With Berg and Primeape's help, the two girls easily made it out of the elevator. Rina climbed out first, followed by Ashley. Pippi quickly hopped out next, and Bulbasaur used his vines to latch onto the edge and pull himself out. When everyone was out of the elevator, Rina recalled Berg and Ashley recalled Primeape.

"Looks like the elevator is half covering the door to the seventh floor...yet the door's open." Ashley noted after recalling Primeape. Rina crawled over to the door to see for herself after recalling Berg.

"I don't see anyone around, but I can't help but feel like someone is expecting us for some reason." Rina hopped down off the elevator to take a closer look. Pippi soon followed her down and sniffed at the air. Ashley and Bulbasaur soon followed.

"-This place seems...stuffy.-" Pippi noted, scrunching her nose.

"I think its mostly offices here." Rina said to her. "That might be why."

"Well, guess we'll be taking the stairs from here on out then." Ashley said with a sigh. She glanced over to the right side of the elevator, where a door lead to a flight of stairs that went through each floor of the building. "Funny though...if they knew we were here, then you'd think there'd be a welcoming party if you know what I mean."

"You're not going anywhere." A familiar male voice said to them.

"What?! It can't be!" Ashley scanned the corridor ahead as Gary Oak stepped out of one of the offices.

"What are you doing here?! Are you part of Team Rocket too?!" Rina angrily demanded.

"Who are you again?" Gary shot back, taunting Rina. "Anyway...I'm not in Team Rocket. I was waiting here for someone, but since you arrived here first..." Gary pointed a finger at Ashley. "Ashley! I challenge you to a pokemon battle! Three pokemon each!"

"What? HERE!?" Ashley cried out in shock. "Gary! Do you even realize what you're doing?!"

"I know exactly what I'm doing!" Gary shot back. "I haven't been able to win a match at all against you or Red. I'll become better than both of you, no matter what!"

"Fine then...you want to battle that badly..." Ashley took a pokeball from her belt. "Rina, you take the stairs. I'll deal with this jerk..."

"Well...umm..." Rina hesitated for a moment, remembering what happened when they ran into Gary in the Pokemon Tower. Rina went on alone and was hypnotized by a wild Haunter as a result.

"-Don't worry Rina! I'll protect you for sure this time!-" Pippi assured her.

"Ok..." Rina nodded. "Ashley...be careful. Someone's bound to show up eventually..." Rina and Pippi took off toward the stairs, leaving Ashley to battle Gary.

_"No one is going to be interrupting this battle."_ Gary thought to himself with a smirk, drawing a pokeball as well. _"I already saw to that."_

"Pidgeotto, go!"

"Pidgeot, go!"

Ashley and Gary sent out their first pokemon into the narrow corridor. Gary's pokeon, an evolved Pidgeot, stood like an opposing figure before Gary in comparison to Ashley's Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto clenched his beak tightly in annoyance when he saw his evolved form staring him down.

"Thats the best you can do? A Pidgeotto?" Gary taunted Ashley. "Don't make me laugh! All of my pokemon are fully evolved, and here you are lagging behind with a Pidgeotto and Bulbasaur!"

"-For the record, I could probably be a Venusaur by now if I wanted.-" Bulbasaur muttered. "-I'd just rather my evolutions be more dramatic.-"

"Evolved or not, my Pidgeotto is strong. Just remember who won when they were both still Pidgey!" Ashley shot back. "Pidgeotto! Attack with Swift and Quick Attack!"

"We'll see about that! Pidgeot, use Feather Dance!" Pidgeot shook its body and then flapped its wings, sending a cloud of feathers in Pidgeotto's direction.

"-Like she said, evolved or not...-" Pidgeotto flapped his wings and sent a barrage of star-shaped rays at his opponent. "-I'll still WIN!-" Pidgeotto flapped his wings and took off toward Gary's Pidgeotto, surpassing his own attack as he gained a burst of speed using Quick Attack.

The Swift dispersed Pidgeot's cloud of feathers enough for Pidgeotto to speed through with Quick Attack, striking Pidgeot in a blur of movement. The Swift attack soon followed, following up Pidgeotto's Quick Attack and knocking Pidgeot back slightly. The feathers, which had been dispersed, fell around Pidgeotto and clung to his body to weigh him down.

"A good start, but you're too aggressive Ash!" Gary said to her. "Pidgeot, attack with Steel Wing!" Gary's Pidgeot quickly rebounded, lashing out at Pidgeotto with steel-coated wings. Coming from the more powerful Pidgeot, it was a harsh blow that sent Pidgeotto flying back and hitting the floor hard.

"Now, Pidgeot! Use Gust!" Pidgeot began flapping its wings, sending strong gusts of wind at Pidgeotto just as he was getting back on his feet. Pidgeotto tried to steady itself against the gusts of wind but was being pushed back. Even Ashley found herself holding onto her hat as the wind was still strong when it reached her.

"_There's not much Pidgeotto can do against that attack..."_ Ashley thought. _"His Pidgeot is too powerful, and Pidgeotto has little room to manuever in this corridor. We have to stop it!"_

"Pidgeotto, attack Pidgeot with another Swift attack!" Pidgeotto gave a flap of its wings, sending out a burst of star-shaped rays that homed in on Pidgeot. The wind caught Pidgeotto when he tried to attack and, even though he got off the attack, it blew him back and sent him crashing into the wall. The Swift attack had the intended effect, though. Pidgeot staggered slightly as the rays hit it, disrupting its attack.

"Looks like your Pidgeotto just isn't strong enough to deal with my Pidgeot." Gary snickered.

"-I'm not...giving up yet...-" Pidgeotto mumbled weakly, slowly picking himself up off the floor where he landed after hitting the wall.

"-You're a resilient little pest.-" Pidgeot said mockingly. Pidgeotto shot it a glare.

_"If his Pidgeot uses Gust again, there's no way Pidgeotto can get past it in his current state."_ Ashley thought to herself while she drew Pidgeotto's pokeball from her belt. _"I should probably switch for another pokemon then, maybe Snorlax..."_

"-If power is how you want to fight, then lets see how you handle this!-" Pidgeotto's body began to glow as he triggered his evolution. His body began to expand, growing a foot taller while the crest on his head more than doubled in length. When the glow faded, Pidgeotto stood as a mirror image of his opponent, fully evolved into Pidgeot.

_"On the other hand..."_ Ashley put Pidgeot's pokeball back on her belt. "Ok then, I can see you want to win this one! Pidgeot, let 'em have it with an Air Cutter!"

"-With pleasure!-" Pidgeot brought his wings together, forcing air between them, then pulled them apart to fire a blade of air at the opposing Pidgeot. Gary's Pidgeot was stunned by the sudden turn of events and took a direct hit without making any attempt to evade. The blade slashed across it's neck and down its body, landing a harsh blow that brought the Pidgeot to the ground.

"Pidgeot!" Gary cried out in shock. _"Damn it! Holding back an evolution...why would any pokemon do that? Why would their trainer let them?!"_ He wondered, casting an angry glare at Ashley.

"Now, Pidgeot! Move in and attack with Wing Attack!"

"Pidgeot, block it with Steel Wing!"

Ashley's Pidgeot flapped its wings and took off, quickly closing the gap between itself and Gary's Pidgeot. Gary's Pidgeot was still getting up from the previous attack, but was still able to defend itself. Both of its wings took on a metallic appearance and it crossed them in front of itself defensively. Ashley's Pidgeot came to a stop in front of Gary's and dropped down toward it, striking with his wings but causing little damage against his opponent's defenses.

"Its too late in the battle for that evolution to make a difference!" Gary called out to Ashley. "Pidgeot, strike back with Gust! Now!"

"Like we're letting you get away with that again!" Ashley called back. "Pidgeot, counter with Gust!"

Ashley's Pidgeot jumped back from Gary's and both pokemon began flapping their wings, sending powerful gusts at each other. Neither pokemon seemed to gain any ground at first, their attacks effectively cancelling each other out though some wind was still thrown back in their faces.

Both bird pokemon put more and more effort into their Gust until eventually they couldn't withstand the wind being thrown back at them. They simultaneously stalled their attacks and suddenly a strong gust of wind blew both pokemon back, throwing each of them to the ground. Gary's Pidgeot landed behind him, and Ashley's landed at her feet. Both pokemon quickly got back up, though they were starting to look exhausted.

"-You're good...but...I'm still better!-" Ashley's Pidgeot squawked weakly.

"-You just evolved, there's...no way you're beating me!-" Gary's Pidgeot called back.

"Pidgeot, finish it off with a Quick Attack!" Both trainers called out simultaneously. Their respective Pidgeots flapped their wings and took off flying down the corridor toward each other. They then took off toward each other in a blur of movement. They collided in a flash and kept going, eventually skidding to a stop on the floor. They seemed fine at first, but then both pokemon collapsed and fainted.

"A draw, and against a newly evolved pokemon too..." Gary grumbled, bitterly recalling his Pidgeot. Ashley, likewise, recalled her own Pidgeot.

"See Gary? Even when you start off ahead of me, you can't win." Ashley said to him. "Now lets just end this battle! We should be fighting Team Rocket!"

"I didn't come here because of Team Rocket!" Gary shot back. "I'm not just going to call it quits! You're going to have to beat me first!" Gary took another pokeball from his belt. "Alakazam, go!" Gary released his next pokemon, sending a yellow humanoid pokemon with a long mustache.

"Stubborn jerk..." Ashley muttered. She reached for another pokeball. "Go! Snorlax!" Ashley held out the pokeball and released Snorlax out into the corridor. It was a tight squeeze, and the floor creeked slightly under the pokemon's weight.

"-You know, I wouldn't mind taking a shot at this guy.-" Bulbasaur grumbled.

"Snorlax, use Amnesia!" Snorlax concentrated for a moment, briefly forgetting something to increase its defense against special attacks. Ashley was ready to deal with Gary's Alakazam this way, as she planned to use the same techniques against Sabrina.

"That Snorlax is going to be trouble...but since I plan to use Blastoise last, Alakazam is still my best bet to beat it." Gary thought. "Alakazam, stop it from using Amnesia again with Disable!" Alakazam concentrated, focusing its psychic powers on Snorlax. A harsh, yellow glow surrounded Snorlax as Disable took effect and rendered it unable to use Amnesia.

_"That won't help you against what I have planned."_ Ashley thought with a smirk. "Snorlax, use Belly Drum now!"

"-Fine, whatever...-" Snorlax mumbled. It began pounding on its chest like a drum. Power pulsated through Snorlax's body, maximizing its attack power.

_"Doesn't matter how powerful she makes her Snorlax, Alakazam will just dodge everything she throws at it."_ Gary thought. "Alakazam, her Snorlax isn't even a threat. Just power up with Calm Mind and we'll end this quickly." Alakazam nodded and concentrated, focusing on increasing its mental abilities.

_"You're going to regret that line of thinking!"_ Ashley thought. "Snorlax, use Rest!"

"-Finally...-" Snorlax mumbled. Snorlax leaned its head forward slightly as it fell asleep, restoring the damage it inflicted on itself with Belly Drum.

_"Why does she listen to Ashley at all?"_ Bulbasaur wondered. _"She obviously doesn't care at all..."_

"Ha! Just keep using Calm Mind, Alakazam!" Gary smugly commanded his pokemon. "As if she wasn't making this easy enough as it is!" Gary's Alakazam continued to focus, meditating to further increase its mental prowess.

"Now, end this in one blow with Snore!" Snorlax lifted its head slightly, while still asleep, aiming toward Alakazam as it let out a very loud Snore. The Snore reverberated throughout the corridor, sending a powerful soundwave toward Alakazam. Alakazam was caught completely off guard by the attack and was thrown back by the sound burst, hitting the ground hard next to Gary. Alakazam was knocked out instantly.

"What?! No way! You actually planned that from the start didn't you?"

"Something like that." Ashley replied with a smirk. "So, still want to battle knowing what you're up against?"

_"Damn it...I hate to admit it, but after that slip up there's not a single pokemon that could take on her Snorlax."_ Gary thought, gritting his teeth angrily. Keeping his gaze focused on Ashley's Snorlax, as Ashley herself was well hidden behind it, he held out a pokeball toward Alakazam and recalled it.

"Fine, I'll admit it then. I can't beat your Snorlax now." Gary said bitterly. "But I still want one more match! My starter against your's!"

"In other words, your fully evolved Blastoise against my Bulbasaur. Just why should I do that?" Ashley shot back.

"-Hey now, don't be too hasty in refusing!-" Bulbasaur extended a vine and tapped Ashley on the shoulder to try to let her know he wanted to battle Blastoise. "-Damn it, where's Rina when you need her?-"

"Nevermind...I accept." Ashley recalled Snorlax, who was just starting to wake up from her Rest. Bulbasaur then eagerly moved into the spot where Snorlax had been sitting previously.

"Good." Gary grinned as he took a pokeball from his belt. "Blastoise, go!" Gary held out his pokeball and released Blastoise. The blue turtle pokemon appeared before its trainer and immediately fixed its gaze on Bulbasaur, still remembering its defeat at Bulbasaur's hands shortly after being taken by Gary. Blastoise's cannons popped out of its shell and took aim at Bulbasaur.

"A Blastoise is sure to be a tough opponent, but we still have the type advantage." Ashley thought. "Bulbasaur, use Sleep Powder!" Bulbasaur ran toward Blastoise to close the gap between them and then launched a cloud of green powder from his bulb, aiming it toward Blastoise.

"Not so fast! Blastoise, Protect!" Blastoise crossed its arms defensively and formed a blue bubble around itself. The bubble blocked the powder from getting anywhere near Blastoise and Blastoise kept it up until the powder had dispersed completely.

"Now, Blastoise, use Yawn!"

"Bulbasaur, use Sleep Powder again!"

Blastoise opened its mouth and breathed out a white gas in a yawn. The gas quickly reached Bulbasaur and surrounded him. Bulbasaur, likewise, released another burst of green powder toward Gary's Blastoise. Bulbasaur began to feel drowsy as he breathed in the gas, but Gary's Blastoise fell asleep almost immediately upon contact with the powder.

_"I've got one shot before Bulbasaur falls asleep, have to make it count!" _Ashley thought. "Bulbasaur, use Leech Seed!" Bulbasaur tried to focus on Blastoise, his vision hazy from the drowsiness. He fired a seed from his bulb and just barely hit his target, landing the seed on Blastoise's knee. The seed sprouted thin vines and latched onto it, and then Bulbasaur fell into a deep sleep.

_"Blastoise will wake up before Bulbasaur."_ Gary thought, grinning to himself. _"Once Blastoise is awake, we'll take that Bulbasaur down. As strong as it might be for an unevolved pokemon, its still unevolved. It doesn't stand a chance!"_

The two trainers waited in silence while both pokemon slept, waiting for one of them to wake up so the battle could continue. As Gary had predicted, his Blastoise was the first to wake up. It slowly began to open its eyes and grinned when it saw its opponent still asleep. It looked over its shoulder and nodded to Gary, letting him know it was awake now.

"Ok, Blastoise, lets take that Bulbasaur down now! Ice Beam!" Blastoise as more than happy to oblige and fired a blue beam from each cannon. The two beams collided and then shot out from the point of collision to strike the sleeping Bulbasaur as a single beam. Ice briefly coated Bulbasaur's body then shattered. Bulbasaur cried out in pain, seemingly woken up by the attack.

"-Damn it...that burns...in a cold kinda way...-" Bulbasaur muttered.

_"Ice Beam...I should have known he'd have an ice attack. Otherwise he wouldn't have been so eager to battle Bulbasaur."_ Ashley thought. "Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf and watch out for that Ice Beam!"

"-Got it!-" Bulbasaur nodded and fired several sharp leaves from the base of his bulb. The barrage of leaves slashed across Blastoise's body, causing the water pokemon to groan in pain. Bulbasaur's attack was still managing to inflict quite a bit of pain on it, despite Blastoise being two evolutionary stages above Bulbasaur.

"Blastoise's Ice Beam should be the least of your worries now!" Gary said to Ashley with an unusual enthusiasm. "Blastoise, use Yawn again! We'll finish it with another Ice Beam while its asleep!" Blastoise opened its mouth and released a cloud of white gas. The gas soon enveloped Bulbasaur, causing him to become drowsy.

"-Damn it...not this again...-" Bulbasaur mumbled.

"Bulbasaur, quick! Put Blastoise to sleep again as well with Sleep Powder!"

"Blastoise, Protect!"

Bulbasaur fired a cloud of green powder toward Blastoise. The powder floated through the air and then sprinkled down around the water pokemon. By then, though, Blastoise had already formed a protective bubble around itself. Bulbasaur's Sleep Powder landed harmlessly on the bubble surrounding Bulbasaur and Bulbasaur fell asleep soon after.

"Now, Blastoise, finish it with Ice Beam!" Blastoise fired another blue beam from its twin cannons at Bulbasaur. The beams combined and struck Bulbasaur, quickly forming a sheet of ice around the sleeping pokemon. The ice shattered and Bulbasaur cried out again, but quickly fell silent as he was knocked out by the attack.

"Happy now? Your Blastoise managed to beat my Bulbasaur." Ashley said bitterly as she recalled Bulbasaur.

"I won't be 'happy' until I've surpassed both you and Red." Gary shot back as he recalled his own pokemon, offering no thanks or encouragement to it as he did so. "I'll settle for this victory now, but I'm far from satisfied."

"Whatever, I've wasted enough time with you. I need to go catch up with..." As Ashley turned around to head for the stairs, she found herself facing dozens of men and women in black Team Rocket uniforms and backed up reflexively.

"Umm...other way then..." Ashley turned around, about to run until she saw Gary was facing the same problem. Another group of Rockets had moved behind him as well. The two trainers backed away from the Rockets until they were standing next to each other.

"Damn it, Gary! This is all your fault!" Ashley said angrily. "If I hadn't agreed to your childish little battle, this never would have happened!"

_"I don't get it! This shouldn't have happened!"_ Gary thought in disbelief. _"I thought we had a deal!"_

"Give yourselves up, kids. Yous ain't goin' anywhere!" One of the male Rockets said to them.

_"I still have Snorlax, Primeape, and Jolteon, but there's just too many of them!"_ Ashley thought in dismay. _"What about Rina? Is she ok?"_

Suddenly, Ashley felt a hand on her shoulder. And just as suddenly, the scenery shifted. Gone was the corridor filled with Rocket grunts, and instead she found herself looking down one of the streets of Saffron.

"Wait...what the?!" Ashley said in disbelief. She quickly turned around and saw that it was an Alakazam whose hand was on her shoulder as well as Gary's. Standing behind the Alakazam was a woman with long, dark hair and wearing a form-fitting red and black suit.

"Its pointless for me to say so, but it was foolish of you two to ignore the situation at hand to engage in your childish rivalry." The woman said to the two of them.

"What? How did you..."

"She's psychic." Gary said, interrupting Ashley. "And I'm not going to stand around for a lecture, I'm outta here. Smell ya later." Gary stuck his hands in his pockets and started off on his way.

"That would be why it was pointless." The woman said in a monotone voice. She then looked to her Alakazam and the two nodded to each other. A pokeball removed itself from Sabrina's pokeball and floated in the air, held up by the woman's telekinetic powers. The pokeball opened up and pulled Alakazam inside, recalling it.

"Wait! Just who are you anyway?" Ashley asked her.

"You already know who I am." The woman replied. "My name is Sabrina. And to answer your next question, your friend is fine. Everything will be taken care of."

"What?! But she's all alone in there!"

"No." Sabrina replied flatly. "There is another."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside, Rina was nearing the top floor of the building.

"I can't believe we haven't seen a single Rocket..." Rina said to Pippi. "I bet they're all waiting for us on the top floor..."

"-Want me to go check it out? I could go check it out and be back before they notice!-" Rina thought about it for a moment and then nodded to Pippi.

"Ok, but don't let them see you." Pippi nodded in agreement and ran up to the top of the final flight of stairs. Pippi took a quick peek through the door at the top and then jumped on the railing to slide back down to Rina.

"-Umm...there's only one of them up there.-" Pippi informed Rina in a confused tone.

"Huh?! Where ARE they all then?" Rina ran up the final flight of stairs, taking the steps two at a time with Pippi following along behind her. When they reached the top they found a single grunt, as Pippi said, standing in front of an office door.

"What?! Some kid managed to make it all the way up here?!" The grunt shouted in surprise. "Well you're not getting past me and my Marowak then!" The grunt reached for a pokeball, and Rina did likewise.

"Well if you're using a ground type, I'll use a grass type!" Rina called out. "Geri, go!" Rina held up the pokeball and released her Tangela. Geri appeared before Rina just as the opposing Marowak appeared from its pokeball in front of its own trainer.

"-Ooo! Ooo! I get another battle!?-" Geri cried out excitedly.

"Geri, use Sunny Day!" Geri's body began to glow and gave off heat. A ray of energy then shot up from her body and expanded at the ceiling until the area around them was bathed in a seemingly natural light.

"Marowak, crush that viney freak with Bone Club!" Marowak jumped into the air and brought its bone down toward Geri. Geri quickly jumped to the side, her speed enhanced by the effect of Sunny Day. Marowak's club struck the floor instead, breaking a foot-wide hole in it where Geri had been standing. Geri

"Now, use Solarbeam!" Geri quickly gathered energy from the fake sunlight in her vines. She then extended four vines and pointed them toward Marowak while she focused the energy. A beam of solar energy fired out from the tip of her vines and blasted Marowak at nearly point-blank range. Marowak was flung backwards and smashed into the wall, knocking it out instantly.

"Now get out of my way!" Rina commanded the grunt.

"Y-y-yes mam!" The grunt quickly recalled his Marowak and moved off to the side.

"-We won! Yay!-" Geri cheered loudly, waving her vines around in the air. Suddenly, the door leading into the office shattered as a rhino-like rock pokemon barreled through. The pokemon charged straight toward Geri and smashed her hard with its horn, flinging her into the wall next to the stairs.

"Geri!" Rina cried out.

"Another child who seeks to hinder my plans?" A man with black, slicked-back hair and a black business suit stepped out of the office. He looked across the corridor at Rina and noticed Pippi standing next to her. "And with a Pikachu no less. Well, I don't show mercy to anyone who stands in my way."

"You're the leader of Team Rocket?! But aren't you..."

"The gym leader of Viridian City, Giovanni. That is behind me now." Giovanni replied sternly. "I suggest you worry more about your pokemon. Rhyhorn, Stomp!" Rhyhorn moved toward Geri and then raised up on its hind legs to stomp down on her. Geri cried out in pain as Rhyhorn's weight slammed down on her and then fell unconscious. Rina stared in shock. As if on cue, the fake sunlight faded as well.

"Had you been paying attention, your Tangela might not have lost." Giovanni said to her. "I can't imagine how someone so naive made it all the way here." He then added, shooting the nearby grunt a look that sent a chill through his spine.

"-Grr...Rina! Let me take this guy on!-" Pippi growled, sparks flying from her cheeks.

"No, your attacks won't have any affect on his Rhyhorn." Rina said to her, shaking her head. She raised a pokeball to recall Geri and then placed it back on her belt and took another one in hand.

"Miss Esp, go!" Rina held out the pokeball she grabbed and released Miss Esp, her mother's Espeon. Miss Esp appeared from her pokeball and glanced around, her gaze falling first on Giovanni and then on his Rhyhorn.

"-Rina, when this is over we will be discussing your habit of challenging criminals.-" Miss Esp said sternly.

"Fine! But we have to stop that Rhyhorn!" Rina said to her. "Miss Esp, attack with Psybeam!" Miss Esp focused her psychic power through the gem on her forehead. A beam of psychic energy fired out from the gem and struck Rhyhorn in the face as it turned toward her. Rhyhorn staggered back a few steps and shook it off.

"I see you can speak with pokemon." Giovanni said to Rina. "A useless gesture. Whatever pokemon would have to say is meaningless."

"Funny! I could say the same about you!" Rina shot back. "Miss Esp, attack Rhyhorn again!" Miss Esp focused again and fired out another psychic beam from her gem. The beam shot across the room and struck Rhyhorn in almost the exact same spot. Rhyhorn grunted in pain and staggered back again, but again shook off the attack rather quickly.

"Have it your way, then." Giovanni said. "Rhyhorn, run that Espeon through with Horn Attack!" Rhyhorn quickly charged toward Espeon, lowering its horn toward her.

"-Rina! Watch out!-" Espeon quickly whipped her tail into Rina, knocking her back and out of Rhyhorn's way and then tried to jump out of the way herself. By then, though, it was too late. As she jumped to the side, Rhyhorn smashed into the rear of her body and knocked her away. Espeon hit the floor hard and rolled over a few times.

"MISS ESP!" Rina cried out in anguish. To her relief, Miss Esp started to slowly get back on her feet. It was clear she was in a lot of pain, though. _"How can his Rhyhorn be that much stronger than my pokemon?!"_

"Rhyhorn, finish this. Horn Attack!" Rhyhorn turned back around and lowered its horn, preparing to charge Miss Esp again.

"I have no choice, we have to try to finish this!" Rina thought desparately as she stood back up. "Miss Esp, Psybeam! One more time!" Miss Esp weakly turned her head to face Rhyhorn and fired a beam from her gem. The beam lanced out and struck Rhyhorn head on again, causing it to suddenly drop and skid to a stop. Rhyhorn struggled to get back up, but dropped again and fainted.

"Congratulations. You managed to beat one of my weaker pokemon." Giovanni taunted Rina and recalled his Rhyhorn. "Strengthened by Swords Dance previously, mind you. Regardless, you are sorely outmatched." He held out another pokeball and released his pokemon. A huge pokemon, standing at seven feet tall, appeared before him. Its body had an almost rock-like textur and there was a pouch on the front of its body and a pair of horns on its head.

"Miss Esp, I'm sorry about all of this but you need to rest!" Rina held up Miss Esp's pokeball. Miss Esp nodded weakly and was recalled by Rina. "Ok, Pippi, you can take this one on!"

"-Got it! I'll give her a good Volt Tackle or two!-" Pippi ran out in front of Rina and growled menacingly at her opponent.

"Kangaskhan, use Shadow Ball!"

"Pippi, Thunderbolt!"

Kangaskhan brought its hands together and gathered shadowstuff between them. Pippi fired a bolt of electricity while Kangaskhan was still gathering its attack, already charged and ready to fire. Kangaskhan growled in pain but wasn't deterred from its attack. She threw the black ball almost straight down at Pippi, but Pippi swiftly hopped back out of the way. The ball hit the floor where Pippi had been standing and dispersed harmlessly.

"Kangaskhan, follow it up with Mega Punch!" Kangaskhan quickly moved to strike, leaving Pippi little time to react after having dodged its first attack. Kangaskhan ducked down and delivered a powerful punch, sending her rolling back across the floor until she came to a stop next to Rina.

"-Ow...that one hurt...-" Pippi mumbled as she slowly stood up.

_"No good, his pokemon are just too strong for us!"_ Rina thought in dismay after seeing how hard Pippi got hit.

"-DON'T YOU DARE HURT MY DAUGHTER!-" A pokemon suddenly shot past Rina and Pippi in a yellow blur. Another Pikachu landed between Kangaskhan and Rina, then it fired out a huge bolt of electricity. Kangaskhan cried out in agony and fell to its knees as the electricity passed through its body and then collapsed, fainting in only one hit.

"-Mom?!-" Pippi looked between the Pikachu, unmistakably her mother, and the fallen Kangaskhan with her jaw agape.

_"Damn it!"_ Giovanni thought angrily. _"A Pikachu that powerful could only belong to..."_

"Giovanni, this ends here." Red proclaimed as he walked up to the top of the stairwell. "I won't let you escape a second time." Rina felt her heart skip a beat when she turned around and saw him standing behind her.

"R-red?! You're here?!" Red nodded slightly and walked past her without another word.

"I'm afraid I have no intention of being caught by you here. I've already planned my escape." Giovanni took what looked like a small pokeball in his hand and pressed the button on it. An explosion rocked the building and a cloud of dust and debris filled the hallway as a nearby wall was blown out. The dust cleared out soon enough as the sound of a helicopter filled the air. When the dust settled, Giovanni was already getting on the helicopter.

"Damn it! He's getting away again!" Red grumbled, clenching a fist. Giovanni grinned and waved as the helicopter took off into the distance.

"BOSS! Don't leave me here!" The lone grunt that had been guarding the hallway ran up to the hole in the wall, calling out frantically to Giovanni.

"-Mom!-" Pippi tackled her mother to the ground and hugged her tightly. "-You were so cool! I can't believe you beat that pokemon in one attack!-"

"-Well you did soften her up for me.-" Pikachu returned the embrace.

"Red, sorry about Giovanni but..." Red turned and cast a sharp glare at Rina.

"I would have had him cornered if you weren't here first!" Red said angrily. "Next time just stay the heck away from Team Rocket and let me deal with them!"

"R-red...I..." Rina stammered in response. She didn't know what to say. Having Red yell at her, she felt as though she had been stabbed.

"-Red...that was uncalled for...-" Pikachu shook her head sadly. "-Rina, don't let him get to you. He's just upset about Giovanni...-"

"-Whats Red's deal with him anyway?-" Pippi asked her.

"-Well...-"

"You two have saved my company, how can I ever repay you!" The president of Silph Company, a rather round old man with a short beard, emerged from his office to thank the two trainers.

"Forget it. I didn't do a thing anyway." Red muttered, turning his back to him.

"Are you sure? The least I could do is give you one of these..." The president reached into his pocket and pulled out a purple and white pokeball with an 'M' on it. "This is the Master Ball. Its very rare and catches pokemon without fail. Giovanni was trying to bully me into mass producing these for him..."

"Keep it. I don't need anymore pokemon." Red shot back.

"You might as well take it then." The president handed the Master Ball to Rina. She held it in her hand and looked at Red, but just got the silent treatment from him.

"Thank you, sir..." Rina quietly thanked the president.

"No, no! Thank you! Its you who saved my company!"

"Red, are you sure you...

"I don't need it." Red snapped, cutting her off. "Pikachu, lets go and get back on Giovanni's trail." Red started toward the stairs, but suddenly the air shimmered in front of him and an Alakazam appeared. Red looked at the pokemon curiously and made no effort to stop it as it placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Gadzooks! Where did that come from?!" The president cried out in shock when Alakazam suddenly appeared.

"-Red...you never changed.-" Pikachu said with a sigh. "-Well I guess thats our ride out of here then.-"

"-Mom! You're leaving me already?-" Pippi asked her, fighting back tears.

"-Pippi...you don't need me anymore.-" Pikachu patted her on the head. "-You have your own trainer, and you've become much stronger. You've even evolved since the last time I saw you...-"

"-Hey. I'm not waiting here forever. Rest of you, get over here.-" Alakazam said to them.

"-Oh. Guess we're all getting on the Teleport express.-" Pikachu giggled quietly. The two Pikachu each grabbed on to one of Alakazam's legs.

"Sorry about your company, sir." Rina said to the Silph president, bowing politely.

"Don't worry about it dear! I'll be sure to step up security after this!" The president replied. "Is that pokemon taking you all out? If not I could have a helicopter come to get you since Giovanni seems to have left a rather nasty hole in my wall!"

"Umm...thats ok, the pokemon will take us." Rina replied, smiling sheepishly. She walked over to the Alakazam and allowed it to place its remaining hand on her shoulder. Alakazam then concentrated and disappeared, taking the group with it.

"Teleportation, how convenient!" The president said with a laugh after they left. "We should have something like that in here!"

* * *

Alakazam reappeared on the streets of Saffron, where Ashley and Sabrina had been waiting for it.

"Rina! ...Red?" Ashley blinked in disbelief.

"Yeah, me." Red muttered in response. Everyone let go of Alakazam, which was then recalled by Sabrina. Alakazam and Sabrina could read each other's minds, so their was no need for Sabrina to say anything.

"Why are you here?" Ashley asked him.

"I came here to stop Team Rocket." Red replied, shooting Rina a glare. "And I would have stopped them too if it wasn't for her."

"Giovanni would have escaped either way, Red." Sabrina said to him. Red looked at her curiously. "It is only because they attacked first that you were even able to get to him without being noticed. If you had arrived before they did, he would have been gone by the time you reached him."

"Whatever." Red shrugged. "Either way, I'm done here."

"What do you mean you're done here?!" Ashley yelled at him. "To me, it sounds like you owe Rina an apology."

"He...he doesn't have to do that, really..." Rina blushed slightly and turned away from them. Her voice betrayed how upset she felt over it, though. Red's Pikachu tugged at his pants and looked up at him sadly while pointing to Pippi. Pippi's eyes were watering up over the thought of her mother leaving so soon.

_"Guess there's no escaping it, I'll have to do something..."_ Red thought, looking over at Rina. _"Apologizing to her should be easy...so why can't I bring myself to say it?" _Red struggled quietly with his inner turmoil before finally deciding to do what he thought to be the next best thing.

"Ashley, you're battling Sabrina right?" He asked Ashley.

"I plan to, but what does that have to...

"I'll stay and watch." Red said, cutting her off. "I want to see for myself whether or not you've gained any skill as a trainer."

"Fine." Ashley replied. "But I'm not letting you out of my sight until you've apologized to Rina, got that?!"

"Whatever." Red shrugged. _"Off the hook for now anyway..."_

* * *

Author's Notes: Had a feeling I'd be late with this one, was really late starting it. I think more than half of it was done just Sunday and today. If only I had that kind of work ethic every other day of the week...

Anyway. Few things of note here. First off, left out the warp tile chaos of the Silph Company. It works as an in-game puzzle, but as an actual transportation system, stairs and elevators work just fine. Not to say such a thing is impossible in the pokemon world (heck, there's plenty of reason to think they'd have teleporters) its just impractical under the circumstances.

Also, this chapter marks only Red's second appearance in the story. It was originally going to be his third, but I ended up cutting out the chapter that he was going to appear in originally because it seemed out of line with the rest of the story. So now he's sticking around for the next two chapters at least. And, as you can probably tell (and I've probably said before) Red has basically been doing the main plot of the game for the most part. If you're doing the math, that means Giovanni will be gone by the time Ashley reaches that gym. I have something planned in his place, though.

Was going to give Professor Oak an appearance in this chapter to scold Gary, but couldn't think of any good reason for him to be there when he usually stays in his lab and sends other people to do his work for him. Like three unsuspecting teens from Pallet Town. As for Gary, sorta took a new approach to him in this chapter to make things a bit more interesting.

Think thats about it...hope it was worth the wait!


	25. Chapter 25: Losing From the Start

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Twenty Five**

**Losing From the Start**

_"I can't believe Red agreed to watch Ashley's match..."_ Rina thought, glancing out of the corner of her eye at the boy sitting next to her. _"He must be feeling guilty. Last time he wasn't at all interested in watching Ashley's match with a gym leader."_

"-You know, when Red battled Sabrina I beat her Alakazam single-handedly!-" Pippi's mother said. "-Red always recalls his pokemon after a single match, and because of it none of us have ever lost before.-"

"-Wow! You must all be really strong to never lose a match!-" Pippi exclaimed in awe.

"-Yeah? Well this is Ashley's sixth gym battle, and the third in a row I haven't fought in.-" Bulbasaur muttered.

After a quick stop by the Saffron City pokecenter, where Ashley healed her pokemon and made a very changes to her team, the group went to the gym with Sabrina. To Ashley's dismay, she was waiting with the door open when they got there. Now, Ashley and Sabrina stood on opposite sides of the gym's battlefield while Rina, Red, Pippi, Pippi's mother, and Bulbasaur watched from the sidelines.

Sabrina's gym didn't have much style to it, unlike most gyms. While much of the gym was painted with a purple motif, that was about it. The battlefield itself wasn't even marked out, rather the tiled floor of the gym gave way to a large dirt field in the middle. Though the gym appeared rather bland, it reflected Sabrina's "no nonsense" attitude.

"We will use four pokemon each." Sabrina explained to Ashley. She had already chosen her first pokemon, whose pokeball was now hovering in the air near Sabrina. "I will begin with Kadabra. You may choose your first pokemon accordingly." The pokeball levitating next the Sabrina opened up and released Kadabra, the pre-evolved form of Alakazam, out onto the field.

"I already know what pokemon I'm going to use!" Ashley thought, a smirk crossing her lips. She took a pokeball from her belt and held it out in her hand. "Snorlax, you're up first! Go!" The pokeball in her hand opened up and released Snorlax out onto the field. Snorlax gave a yawn and raised her head lazily to see what was going on.

"-More fighting? I'm still not budging.-" Snorlax grumbled.

"She managed to catch a Snorlax, too? Maybe she's improved afterall." Red mumbled to himself.

"Red? Do you have a Snorlax?" Rina asked him curiously.

"Yeah." Red mumbled in response without even looking at her. _"Whats wrong with me? Why can't I just say it already and get it over with?"_

"-Red caught a Snorlax that was blocking the cycling road.-" Pippi's mother explained. "-It was actually Ivysaur that fought him though, so I don't know the exact details.-"

"An Ivysaur too?" Rina blinked in disbelief.

"-Feh. I could be an Ivysaur anytime I wanted now.-" Bulbasaur muttered.

"-So you keep saying.-" Pippi said to him, rolling her eyes.

"Snorlax, start off by powering up with Amnesia!" Ashley called out. Snorlax focused briefly to forget something, trading the memory for enhanced defenses against special attacks. A yellow glow then surrounded her as Kadabra focused its psychic powers on Snorlax, using Disable to prevent it from using Amnesia anymore.

_"I didn't hear her give her pokemon any commands, is she communicating telepathically?"_ Ashley wondered.

"I am." Sabrina informed her.

"HEY! Get out of my head!"

"I already saw glimpses of our battle, including the outcome." Sabrina said to her. "The result will be inevitable."

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!" Ashley shot back. "Snorlax, use Belly Drum now!" Snorlax pounded on her chest like a drum, injuring herself in the process but sending a surge of power through her body. Kadabra didn't seem to do anything, though. The pokemon simply closed its eyes as though it were meditating. Ashley recognized the technique as Calm Mind, from when Gary's Alakazam used it.

_"Disable...Calm Mind...so far this match has mirrored my battle with Gary exactly." _Ashley smirked to herself. _"I already know how that ended."_

"Now, use Rest!" Snorlax laid back and went to sleep, restoring the damage it inflicted on itself. Sabrina's Kadabra still seemed to be using Calm Mind, again mirroring the same tactics Gary had been using in Ashley's battle against his Alakazam. Kadabra seemed to suddenly change its tactics soon after, though. It opened its eyes and a flash of psychic energy seemed to pulsate from it, but still nothing happened.

_"She's making this entirely too easy..."_ Ashley thought. _"Whats her plan? Snorlax is one attack away from beating her Kadabra in one hit and she hasn't even launched an attack."_ Ashley looked over at Sabrina, as if trying to read her mind. _"Does she have something planned? Well if so, I guess I'm about to find out..."_

"Snorlax, Snore now!" Snorlax let out a loud snore that shook the gym and launched a powerful shockwave toward Kadabra. The psychic pokemon barely had time to blink before being blasted by the attack. Kadabra cried out sharply as it was suddenly thrown back, flying past Sabrina and smashing into the rear wall of the gym. Sabrina didn't even flinch and quite calmly levitated Kadabra's pokeball into the air and activated it to recall her pokemon.

_"...She made that way too easy for me. Something's not right here." _Ashley thought, narrowing her eyes at Sabrina as she again tried to figure out what the psychic gym leader was thinking. _"If she was trying to lure me into a false sense of security, it worked. She couldn't possibly have a pokemon that could stop Snorlax now!"_

"Ah! Snorlax did that with just one attack?!" Rina said in disbelief.

"After using Belly Drum, Snorlax's attack power is quadrupled." Red explained. He closed his eyes as if he was in deep thought. "With that much power, even Snore could knock each of Sabrina's pokemon out in one attack. Except..." Red opened his eyes and looked at Sabrina expectantly.

Sabrina took Kadabra's pokeball in hand and placed it back on her belt. At the same time, another pokeball seemingly unclipped itself from Sabrina's belt and floated in front of her. The pokeball opened up and released another humanoid pokemon out onto the field. It had a red and white body, pink face, and wore white gloves on its hands.

"Ok Snorlax, same thing! Take it down in one attack with Snore!" Snorlax let out another loud snore, sending a shockwave toward her opponent. The shockwave struck the opposing pokemon, but suddenly dispersed and had absolutely no effect on it.

"No way! Its immune?!" Ashley cried out in surprise. The enemy pokemon began clapping its hands together, as if offering a sarcastic applause. The clapping echoed through the gym as if Snorlax had an audience. Snorlax began to wake up at that point, but looked rather confused as she sat up. She wanted to use Snore again, but couldn't do it while she was awake.

Ashley's troubles weren't ending there, however, as Kadabra's final technique revealed itself. A white blast of energy suddenly rained down upon Snorlax from above as Kadabra's Future Sight technique activated, dealing a fairly strong blow that would have left any other pokemon reeling after being powered up by Calm Mind. Snorlax pretty much shrugged it off, though, courtesy of its strong defense against special attacks boosted by Amnesia.

"-Hmm...I'm not sure who it was that beat Sabrina's Mr. Mime.-" Pikachu reached up to tug on Red's sleeve and pointed at Mr. Mime when she got his attention. Unlike Rina, Red couldn't understand pokemon speech. However, he could usually figure out what they were trying to tell him regardless.

"Squirtle beat that one." Red said. "That was when he evolved into Wartortle."

"You have a Wartortle too?!" Rina exclaimed in disbelief. "Those pokemon are supposed to be really rare and used only by pokemon researchers like Professor Oak! You must be really lucky!"

"Yeah...well..." Red mumbled, trailing off as he turned away from Rina again. _"How can she be so upbeat anyway?"_

_"I wonder if all boys are like this..."_ Rina thought, turning her attention back to the battle.

"-Mom, how'd you and the rest of Red's pokemon get so strong anyway?-" Pippi asked.

"-Well...umm...I don't know honestly...-" Pikachu rubbed the back of her head in embarassment. "-It just kinda...happened.-"

"Snorlax, come on! Stop using Snore and knock that pokemon out with Headbutt!" Ashley called out. Snorlax seemed to consider this order for a moment, but in the end all she managed to do was open her mouth in a vain attempt to Snore. Mr. Mime, meanwhile, seemed to be meditating.

_"Looks like that pokemon is using Calm Mind again. Snorlax can still take special hits at least, we can still pull out of this!"_ Ashley reached into her travel bag and took out her pokedex to scan Mr. Mime. _"Just what am I dealing with here anyway?"_

"Mr. Mime, the Barrier Pokemon." The pokedex read. "If interrupted while it is miming, it will suddenly Doubleslap the offender with its broad hands."

_"Well knowing that doesn't exactly help me, but at least I know its name now."_ Ashley thought. She placed her pokedex back in her bag and looked out onto the battlefield. Thats when she noticed Snorlax no longer seemed confused about what to do. _"Ok! Looks like Snorlax can use a different attack now!"_

"Snorlax, now! Use Headbutt!" Ashley called out.

"-Not happening.-" Snorlax replied, turning her nose up at the notion. "-Its over there, I'm over here, and I'm not going over there. I don't see any reason why I should follow your orders.-"

"What? Why is Snorlax ignoring my orders all of a sudden?" Ashley wondered, blinking in disbelief. With Snorlax still pretty much immobile, Mr. Mime stopped its meditations and raised its fist back. Its fist began to glow as it focused energy into it, and then Mr. Mime charged across the field with its clenched fist held out straight toward Snorlax.

"Focus Punch?!" Ashley cried out in surprise. "But if its using Focus Punch, then that meditation technique..." Mr. Mime's fist connected with Snorlax's stomach at the end of Mr. Mime's charge. Snorlax staggered back, taking a very harsh blow from a pokemon that was normally physically weak. Only Snorlax's immense bulk kept it in place. Mr. Mime then backflipped twice away from Snorlax to distance itself.

"It was a different technique...that increased Mr. Mime's attack power..." Ashley said in disbelief, Mr. Mime's attack confirming her suspicions. "Snorlax! Use Rest!" Without any hesitation, Snorlax closed her eyes and went to sleep. The damage inflicted on it by Focus Punch was instantly restored. Sabrina's Mr. Mime seemed to go back to meditating.

_"I don't get it..."_ Ashley thought. _"Snorlax ignored me when I told her to use Headbutt...but listened to me when I told her to use Rest? Whats going on here?"_

"Isn't it obvious?" Sabrina, who had been reading her thoughts, said to her. "Your Snorlax doesn't like you. As such, she only listens if she doesn't have to move."

"What? Thats why Snorlax didn't listen?" Ashley said, blinking in disbelief. "But then...what other tactics can we use? I can't recall Snorlax after she managed to power up!"

"I knew waking Snorlax up to catch it wouldn't work out!" Rina said in an astute tone. "Ashley should be thankful Snorlax listens to her at all! It wasn't at all happy when we woke it up."

"-I think any pokemon would be upset if you woke it up.-" Pippi said, nodding in agreement.

_"I had that problem too, but I was able to resolve it the first time I talked to Snorlax."_ Red thought to himself. _"Ashley...you need to put more effort into your relationship with your pokemon. You can't just expect every pokemon you catch to listen to you without question."_

Snorlax continued to sleep for the short period in which its Rest technique forced her to do so. With Mr. Mime immune to Snorlax's Snore attack, there was nothing she could do. Mr. Mime, meanwhile, was continuing to use its meditation technique. The gym fell silent during the brief pause in the battle, but that was about to end as Snorlax finally woke up and opened her eyes.

"Ok, Mr. Mime isn't that far away...so maybe Snorlax will accept using Body Slam?" Ashley wondered briefly, knowing she didn't have long to think over the attack. "Snorlax, use Body Slam!" Ashley called out the attack expecting Snorlax might be willing to just 'fall over' to attack, however it didn't work. Snorlax turned away, ignoring Ashley's command.

In disobeying Ashley, Snorlax had left itself wide open for attack. Mr. Mime raised its fist back, which began to glow from the energy it focused into it. Mr. Mime jumped into the air and then dove down toward Snorlax, driving its powerful punch into Snorlax's face. Snorlax toppled over while Mr. Mime backflipped several times, putting it halfway across the gym by the time Snorlax hit the ground.

"Snorlax..." Ashley whispered her pokemon's name sadly. Ashley had hoped to sweep Sabrina's entire team with Snorlax, but now it had been taken down in only one blow. Ashley raised Snorlax's pokeball and recalled her. She then paused for a moment to analyze the situation before she would send out her next pokemon.

_"Ok, with that kind of attack power now, Mr. Mime is definitely a dangerous foe."_ Ashley thought. _"Whatever pokemon I send out has to stay on the offensive to keep it from using Focus Punch, but also can't get close or else it'll be able to use Doubleslap. Vaporeon knows Quick Attack and Shadow Ball, that'll allow him to hit hard from a distance while still being able to evade Mr. Mime's attacks. Wait a minute..."_

Ashley blinked as another thought struck her and shot Sabrina a glare. "HEY! You better not be reading my mind right now!"

"It hardly matters. The end result of this battle is inevitable." Sabrina replied calmly. "No matter how strange the means to achieve that result may be, my predictions are never wrong..."

"I already said I don't plan to give in to your predictions!" Ashley yelled back. She returned Snorlax's pokeball to her belt, clipping it on in one quick movement and taking another pokeball in hand. She then thrust the pokeball out in front of her. "Vaporeon, GO!" She called out her pokemon's name as she pressed the button, releasing Vaporeon from its pokeball. Vaporeon gave a yawn as he appeared on the field.

"-Finally...I thought I'd never get to see any real action.-" Vaporeon tensed his muscles, looking ready to pounce. "-Ok, you freaky looking...thing! Prepare to be defeated!-" Mr. Mime made a few motions with its hands in response, though no one could make any sense of them.

"If you wish to try to fight your fate, then by all means. I won't stop you." Sabrina said to Ashley. "Regardless, you will find your fate is inevitable. You seem to have quite a special fate in store..."

"Enough with the psycho mumbo-jumbo already! This is a pokemon battle, not a fortune teller's booth at a carnival!" Ashley shot back. "We're through talking! Vaporeon, use Shadow Ball!"

"-Heh. I can see Sabrina's starting to get to her.-" Bulbasaur mused.

Vaporeon began forming its Shadow Ball attack, while at the same time Mr. Mime made several gestures with its hands as if it were pretending to be trapped in an invisible box. As Vaporeon fired the Shadow Ball attack at Mr. Mime, a blue barrier surrounded it. The Shadow Ball passed through the ball and knocked Mr. Mime off its feet, though it quickly got up and shook it off. The barrier remained around it as well.

_"A barrier like that could only be Reflect."_ Ashley thought. _"That halves the effectiveness of physical attacks, but I won't let that stop us. We'll keep going with Shadow Ball for as long as we can!"_

"Vaporeon, again! Attack with Shadow Ball!" Vaporeon formed another Shadow Ball attack in front of him and then gestured with his head to send it flying toward Mr. Mime. Mr. Mime's barrier flashed as the attack passed through, but it still had enough power to cause Mr. Mime to stagger back and nearly fell over. It flailed its arms around and eventually managed to regain its balance, then proceeded to close its eyes and clear its mind in a form of meditation.

_"Meditating again? But isn't it strong enough?"_ Ashley thought. _"Wait...or is it using Calm Mind this time? Well either way, we need to keep up the attack!"_

"Vaporeon, Shadow Ball again and then move in with Quick Attack!" Vaporeon focused and formed another Shadow Ball, then flung it at Mr. Mime. Mr. Mime's barrier flashed, weakening the Shadow Ball, but the attack striking it still distracted it briefly from its meditation and caused it to stagger back a step.

Vaporeon then followed up its Shadow Ball attack by shooting toward , striking it in a blur of movement. The sudden Quick Attack threw Mr. Mime completely off balance, knocking it to the ground. Mr. Mime quickly sat back up and held out both hands toward Vaporeon, preparing to attack.

"Vaporeon, Quick Attack!" Mr. Mime fired a beam of psychic energy from the palms of its hands, nearly at point-blank range with Vaporeon. Vaporeon was caught by the attack briefly before he managed to build up energy for a sudden burst of speed, shooting out of the attack's line of fire. Vaporeon winced in pain when he came to a stop, feeling a lingering effect from the attack.

_"Evading her attacks isn't as easy as I thought it'd be, even with Quick Attack!"_ Ashley thought. _"Without calling hearing her call her attacks, I have no idea what she's going to use next! I'm lucky I even caught that visual cue, I'll need to watch Mr. Mime closely." _Almost as soon as Ashley had thought it, Mr. Mime held its hands out flat like the wings of an airplane. It was a sign of another impending attack.

"Vaporeon! Get ready with a Quick Attack!" Vaporeon tensed his muscles, getting himself ready to dodge Mr. Mime's next attack. Mr. Mime spun around, sending several sharp leaves flying from its body. Vaporeon swiftly moved out of the way as the sharp leaves came flying toward it. The attack missed completely, but the leaves began to turn around to come back toward him.

_"A Magical Leaf attack?!"_ Ashley thought in surprise. "Vaporeon! Quick! Shoot it down with Ice Beam!" Vaporeon quickly turned around to face the incoming leaf attack and fired a blue beam from his mouth. The beam struck a few leaves, freezing them instantly, and several more were knocked off course from the proximity of the beam.

Several leaves still reached Vaporeon and slashed across his body. He cried out in pain, barely able to endure the attack. Mr. Mime then started to spin around, preparing to launch another Magical Leaf attack to finish Vaporeon off. However, as it did, Ashley noticed Mr. Mime's Reflect barrier become visible briefly and then vanish.

"Vaporeon, Mr. Mime's barrier is down! Finish it with another Shadow Ball now!" Vaporeon nodded and turned toward Mr. Mime while gathering a shadowy substance for its attack. Mr. Mime fired several sharp leaves while spinning, to which Vaporeon responded by firing its Shadow Ball attack. None of the leaves hit the Shadow Ball, leaving both attacks to reach their targets without hinderance.

The sharp leaves fired by Mr. Mime reached Vaporeon first, slashing across Vaporeon's body. Vaporeon cried out in pain and its legs gave way under it, bringing Vaporeon to the ground. Vaporeon was instantly knocked unconscious. Mr. Mime, likewise, was knocked to the ground when it was struck. The Shadowball burst on contact, knocking Mr. Mime out instantly. Both trainers recalled their pokemon.

_"Vaporeon...I shouldn't have used you in battle before we had more practice."_ Ashley thought remorsefully as she placed Vaporeon's pokeball back on her belt. Sabrina returned Mr. Mime's pokeball to her belt without hesitation and levitated another one, already releasing her next pokemon. A purple-colored moth pokemon appeared, flapping its broad wings to remain aloft.

"Huh? That doesn't look like a psychic pokemon." Rina noted curiously.

"Its not, but it can still use psychic attacks." Red explained to her.

"Oh." Rina blinked. "So what pokemon did you use to beat this one?" She then asked, glancing over at him. Red looked at Rina briefly as he was about to reply, but quickly turned away again.

"I...well...I used Espeon..." Red mumbled quietly. _"Its hard just to look at her after what I said..."_

_"There he goes again..."_ Rina thought. "Red...if you're still worrying about what happened earlier, don't." Red blinked in disbelief and looked back over at Rina.

"Rina?"

"I know you didn't mean to say any of that, you were upset. You don't need to say anything." She continued, smiling at him.

"Rina...I'm sorry about all that, its not like me to let my emotions get the better of me." Red said to her apologetically.

"Red! I told you not to worry about it, ok?"

"Right...sorry..." Red rubbed the back of his head in embarassment and turned to face the battlefield.

"-You know, they'd make a cute couple.-" Pikachu's mother said, stifling a giggle with her paw.

"-Oh, Rina's totally into him! You should hear the way she talks about him in her sleep!-" Pippi added, giggling with her mother.

"I...I don't talk in my sleep!" Rina interjected. Her face was turning beet red. "You take that back, Pippi!"

_"Well at least they seem to be getting along now..."_ Ashley thought, smiling to herself._ "Anyway! I have a battle to finish here!"_ Ashley looked across the field, casting a fierce glance toward her opponent as she reached for another pokeball.

"Ok, Charizard! You can take this one!" Ashley called out. She held Charizard's pokeball out in front of her and pressed the button, releasing him out onto the field. Charizard gave a mighty roar as he appeared, announcing his presence.

_"Her Charizard...whats wrong with it?"_ Red wondered, noticing the cracked appearance of Charizard's skin. _"I can tell its weak for its species at any rate. Ashley must not be raising her pokemon properly at all."_

"-Red's Charizard doesn't look like that at all...-" Pippi's mother noted, blinking in disbelief.

"-Its a long story.-" Pippi said to her.

"Charizard, attack Venomoth with Flamethrower!" Charizard opened his mouth and belched out a cone of flames, engulfing Venomoth completely in fire. Charizard maintained the attack for as long as he could, keeping Venomoth surrounded by flames until he ran out of breath. When the flames died down, Venomoth was still floating in the air and began to glide toward Charizard. Though heavily scorched, it managed to remain airborn.

_"What? It purposely stayed in the flames?"_ Ashley thought in disbelief. _"Why would it do that, though?"_ As Venomoth approached Charizard, it stopped and gave a flap of its wings. A green, powdery substance was released from its body and sprinkled around Charizard. Charizard felt his eyelids grow heavy and his legs give out from under him. He fell fast asleep and dropped to the ground.

Once Charizard was asleep, Venomoth set about using more status-inflicting techniques on it. First, it released a cloud of purple powder, inflicting poison on him. It next released a cloud of spores to paralyze Charizard while he continued to sleep, and then followed that up by focusing a psychic power on Charizard. A yellow glow surrounded him, sealing off his Flamethrower attack.

_"Sleep Powder, Poisonpowder, Stun Spore, AND Disable?!"_ Ashley thought in disbelief. _"There should be some kinda rule against this or something!"_ To Ashley's relief, Charizard finally started to wake up after being disabled. He didn't look too thrilled about what Venomoth did to him.

"-Annoying insect...is this the only way you can fight me?!-" Charizard growled as he slowly got up on his feet.

"Charizard, use Wing Attack!" Charizard rose up on his feet and lunged toward Venomoth. He made a punching motion while bringing one of his wings forward, holding it stiff and striking the bug pokemon. Venomoth stagger back but quickly shook it off, despite already growing weak from Charizard's attacks. It then released a green powder toward Charizard, sending him crashing to the ground, knocking him out with another sleep attack.

_"Charizard's really taking a beating from Venomoth's status-inducing abilities." _Ashley thought. _"We can still win this, though. The only damage inflictedon Charizard so far was from poison, but Venomoth took a heavy hit from Charizard's Flamethrower. I bet if I could just land one more attack, any attack, I could take it down..."_

While Charizard was still asleep, Venomoth took the time to back away from it to avoid another possible Wing Attack and then fired twin beams of psychic energy from its eyes, blasting Charizard in his sleep. Charizard woke up almost immediately after, looking even more enraged than he was before.

"Charizard, attack now and finish it off with Ember!"

"-If I can't incinerate you with another Flamethrower, then this will have to do!-" Charizard growled at Venomoth. He weakly raised his head from the ground, struggling with his paralysis, and quickly spat out a ball of fire. The attack caught Venomoth in the mid-section of its body. Venomoth cried out and fell back to the ground as it was knocked out by Charizard's attack.

_"Phew...at least that was an easy one."_ Ashley thought to herself, breathing a sigh of relief. _"Wait a minute...her Kadabra was easy too, and then that Mr. Mime of her's took out Snorlax and Vaporeon!"_ Ashley clenched her fist in determination. _"I can't relax now! I've still got one more to go!"_

"Compared to most evolved pokemon, Venomoth is weak. Sabrina tried to make up for this with status-inflicting techniques rather than giving it any special care, thats why it falls so easily." Red thought to himself. Catching sight of something glowing out of the corner of his eye, he looked over at Charizard and saw it evolving.

_"What the...?"_ Red thought, looking on in disbelief.

"Alright! Ashley's Charizard is finally evolving!" Rina shouted enthusiastically. Red looked at her in utter disbelief.

"Finally? Im positive it doesn't work like that..." Red muttered in response.

Charizard's body didn't appear to undergo any immediately visible change while surrounded in the white light. The changes were more apparent when the light faded, as its skin looked normal. The poison and paralysis effects seemed to have worn off as well, as Charizard rose to his feet without any difficulties and gave a triumphant roar.

"-HELL YEAH! I AM THE KING OF FIRE!-" Charizard roared and fired off a Flamethrower attack toward the roof of the gym in a dramatic display.

"Alright! Charizard's finally reached his true evolution!" Ashley shouted excitedly.

_"I see...so this is why I foresaw Charizard evolving."_ Sabrina thought to herself. _"Its evolution was incomplete, this 'true' evolution seems to have restored it to its true potential. Now it all makes sense to me."_

_"I wonder, when Berg evolved he learned that Hydro Cannon technique..."_ Rina thought to herself, then called out to Ashley. "Ashley! Check your pokedex!"

"My pokedex?" Ashley took her pokedex back out of her bag and pressed a few buttons to open Charizard's statistics page. "Wait! It learned THAT?!" She blinked in disbelief and looked over at Rina, wondering how she knew.

"Ok, explanation someone?" Red asked.

"Charizard's evolution was forced on him by his...uh...previous owners." Rina said to him. "The resulting evolution was actually weakened by the unnatural means used to achieve it, but by reaching a point where he would evolve normally it would remove the effects of the forced evolution."

"I see..." Red nodded slightly. _"So Charizard's weakness and appearance weren't Ashley's fault..."_

"So, Sabrina, still so confident in your predictions now?" Ashley said to her with a smirk.

"Of course. I had forseen this already." Sabrina replied. She finally recalled Venomoth, which was starting to recover by that point. She returned Venomoth's pokeball to her belt and then held out her final pokeball.

"Now, you will face my most powerful pokemon. This will be the beginning of the end." The pokeball opened up and released a pokemon that Ashley was already well familiar with. A yellow, humanoid pokemon with a long mustache appeared on the field. Alakazam, the evolved form of Kadabra.

_"Ok, I can't take any risks with this one."_ Ashley thought to herself, taking Charizard's pokeball in hand. _"I'll use Haunter first, since she has an advantage against psychic-types, and save Charizard for last if I have to."_

"Charizard, good job, but thats enough for now!" Ashley recalled Charizard and returned his pokeball to her belt. She then took another pokeball in hand, Haunter's, then held it out in front of her and pressed the button. "Haunter, go!" The pokeball opened up and released Ashley's ghost pokemon, Haunter. Haunter gave a maniacal laugh as she appeared on the field.

"-My dear, 'Haunter' won't do! Let us up the ante, shall we?-" Almost as soon as she had appeared, Haunter's body began to glow.

"Ehhh...thats the last of Ashley's pokemon I wanted to see evolved..." Rina mumbled, shuddering at the thought. Pippi nodded in agreement.

_"Another evolution?"_ Red thought to himself. _"But then again, Haunter's evolution is triggered by being transferred via PC, so Ashley must have withdrawn it recently."_

Haunter's body began to change shape with her evolution. Her detached hands moved closer to her body and grew a pair of short arms. From the bottom of her body, a pair of short legs grew out. The trailing edge of her body turned into a tail. The glowing then ceased as her evolution came to an end, revealing a very different looking pokemon as Gengar.

"She evolved so suddenly..." Ashley mumbled to herself, blinking in disbelief. She shook her head and focused her attention on the battle. "Ok then, Gengar! Lets win this one! Attack Alakazam with Hypnosis!"

"-Don't mind if I do. Hehehehe...-" Gengar looked Alakazam straight in the eyes and began focusing her psychic powers on it. Alakazam disappeared from view almost as soon as she started, though, evading the attack with Teleport. Alakazam reappeared near the middle of the gym, off to the side, and a yellow glow then surrounded Gengar to cut her off from using Hypnosis again.

"Ok then! Lets try Will-o-Wisp instead!" Ashley called out next. She was determined to hinder Alakazam with some form of status effect in to make sure she could still take it on if Gengar was defeated.

"-Now this one might...burn a little.-" Gengar said with grin. A purple flame formed between her hands, and it zigzagged through the air when she released it. Alakazam made no effort to stop it, instead taking the moment to close its eyes and concentrate, which Ashley assumed to be a Calm Mind technique. The flame struck Alakazam, inflicting a burn on the pokemon's stomach. To Ashley's surprise, Gengar grimaced in pain as a burn suddenly formed on her stomach as well.

_"That burn...a synchronize ability?"_ Ashley wondered. _"Unfortunately, thats going to weaken Gengar's Shadow Punch quite a bit. I'll have to stick to Night Shade when I go on the offense. This isn't really going as planned though, I should have thought more about her pokemon's abilities!"_

"Gengar, attack Alakazam with Confuse Ray!" Gengar formed a ball of light in her hands and then threw it toward Alakazam. Alakazam followed the ball of light with its eyes, finding itself drawn to the orb. As the light began to circle around Alakazam's body repeatedly, the psychic pokemon found itself getting dizzy. When the light faded, Alakazam suddenly smacked itself in the forehead with its spoon.

"Now use Night Shade!" Gengar created an illusion around herself, making it seem as though her body was growing much larger. The illusion cast a darkness around Alakazam that sent a chill down its spine. Alakazam responded by using Recover. Its body shimmered briefly as Gengar's attack began to fade, and Alakazam was restored to nearly full strength.

_"Even with Night Shade, Sabrina's Alakazam can just Recover off any damage we inflict on it."_ Ashley thought to herself. _"Ok, new strategy then!"_

"Gengar, put a Curse on Alakazam!"

"-Ooo, with pleasure!-" Gengar snickered malevolently. A pin appeared from the shadows, hovering in front of Gengar, and then stabbed through her. The pin vanished, and Gengar nearly collapsed from the sudden loss of energy. A dark aura then surrounded Alakazam, placing a deadly curse on it that would inflict a great deal of damage over time.

Alakazam didn't seem to take too kindly to the curse being placed on it, though. Alakazam's eyes flashed, and a blue glow surrounded Gengar. Gengar winced in pain as Alakazam's psychic powers were focused on it, and she soon collapsed after. She had little strength remaining after using Curse, and so she couldn't endure the attack.

_"Gengar, you might not have been able to hold up against Alakazam, but you've definitely paved the way for Charizard to finish this!"_ Ashley recalled Gengar and then quickly swapped pokeballs. "Charizard! Lets end this!" She called out as she held out Charizard's pokeball and released him out onto the battlefield again.

_"And this...is where it ends."_ Sabrina thought to herself, her face remaining expressionless as usual. _"Every option...now leads to defeat. Alakazam, use Psychic."_ Alakazam's eyes flashed and it began to focus its psychic powers around Charizard's body.

"Charizard, push through it and fly to the top of the gym!" Ashley called out. Charizard struggled through Alakazam's psychic attack to lift his wings. A red glow soon surrounded his body briefly and the fire on his tail doubled in size. With a renewed strength, Charizard flew up to the gym's roof.

_"Whats she plan to do up there?"_ Rina wondered. Red smirked to himself, having already figured it out.

"Now! Blast Burn! Aim for the floor below you!" Ashley called out. "Just try to dodge this!"

Charizard opened his mouth and began to gather a ball of fire. The ball expanded quickly and remained hovering in front of Charizard's mouth as he continued to add to it. He then pointed his attack toward the ground and released. A massive wave of flames shot downward and then spread across the battlefield, turning the entire field into a sea of flames and leaving nowhere for his opponent to run.

At first, Alakazam seemed to endure it well. Although the psychic pokemon was clearly in pain, it was still standing throughout the attack. However, as the curse and its burn continued to take effect, Alakazam found the last of its strength leave it and collapsed into the fire. Charizard ended his attack then and dropped to the floor of the gym just as the flames began to vanish. Charizard gave a triumphant roar, signalling his victory over Alakazam.

"So much for your predictions, Sabrina." Ashley said smugly.

"I never said what outcome I predicted." Sabrina said calmly as she raised a pokeball and recalled Alakazam. "You merely assumed I meant you would lose. However, I foresaw your choice of pokemon, as well as Charizard's evolution and Alakazam's defeat."

"What! Then why would you make it seem like you knew I would lose?"

"I did nothing of the sort."

"You know, Sabrina's right there..." Rina said.

"If you predicted all that, then why didn't you do anything to try to change the outcome?" Ashley then asked her.

"I did all I could." Sabrina replied. "Had I chosen to do things differently, then your Snorlax alone likely would have won you the match. Only my Mr. Mime was capable of stopping it, and even then only after I allowed you to defeat Kadabra so you would become overconfident and reluctant to recall Snorlax."

"-And Sabrina again.-" Pippi noted.

"So you set it up for Snorlax to lose from the beginning..." Ashley muttered to herself. "But even then, you're so good at reading my mind, why couldn't you just predict my every move and counter it?"

"Reading your mind is pointless." Sabrina replied with a slight shrug. "You already call out all your attacks. Trying to counter your attacks before you do so is pointless, as then you can simply change your tactics."

"-And Sabrina for the win.-" Bulbasaur said, snickering to himself. "-Ashley might have won the pokemon battle, but she just lost this one.-"

_"What are they talking about?"_ Red wondered, then shrugged to himself. _"Well, either way, looks like Ashley managed to win this time. She actually seems to have improved afterall."_

"In the end, whether I win or lose is hardly of any consequence." Sabrina explained to Ashley. "As a gym leader, my role is to test your capabilities. Even if the result is inevitable, what happens throughout the battle is more important."

"-Hey, know whats even more important than that?-" Charizard began. "-ME! Thats what! I came, I evolved, and I totally KICKED ASS!-" Charizard raised his head and gave another roar, reminding everyone that he had won the match.

"Well, I guess now that you've evolved you can go free Charizard." Ashley said to him, but he quickly turned around and snorted at her.

"-'Go free'? And what does that leave you with, huh?-" Charizard said to her. "-Face it, human! You NEED me, and I'm in such a good mood right now I'm actually willing to lend you my services! You can thank me later.-"

"Ashley, he basically said he's willing to stay with you." Rina translated for her, and soon found Charizard's fiery gaze on her as well.

"-HEY! Translate it exactly or don't do it at all!-" He said to her. Rina coughed to clear her throat, then said it again.

"Face it, human! You NEED me, and I'm in such a good mood right now I'm actually willing to lend you my services! You can thank me later." Rina looked to Charizard and not an approving grin. _"Berg didn't change at all after evolving."_ She thought to herself. _"Ashley's Charizard? It all went straight to his head..."_

"Well in that case...congratulations, and welcome to the team!" Ashley said to Charizard, grinning widely to try to hide what she really thought of Charizard's speech. _"He's become awfully arrogant all of a sudden..." _Ashley raised Charizard's pokeball and he allowed her to recall him.

_"These ones are certainly strange."_ Sabrina thought to herself. _"Though, perhaps not as strange as the blue haired one and her friend I seem to be expecting three years from now." _

Sabrina reached into a pouch tied to her belt and pulled out a badge and TM disc. She focused briefly, levitating the two small objects and then floating them over to Ashley. "The Marsh Badge, you earned it."

"Thanks, though somehow it doesn't feel like I earned it as much when you knew I'd win from the start." Ashley took her trainer card out of her bag and placed her new badge on the card. She now only needed two more.

"Red, for your next badge, I must warn you to keep an open mind. Rina, you as well." Red and Rina looked at Sabrina curiously, and then looked at each other. Sabrina then disappeared into the rear office of her gym to heal her pokemon.

"What was that all about?" Rina wondered. "I'm not even trying to collect badges..."

"When Sabrina speaks, I listen." Red hopped up off the bench and his Pikachu followed suit. "Ashley, you've made a lot of progress. I think its for the best that you chose to challenge the gym leaders instead of becoming a photographer."

"Oh no! I totally forgot about that!" Ashley slapped the palm of her hand against her forehead. "I completely forgot to take pictures during the gym match..." Red blinked and stared at her in disbelief.

"Maybe next time you should give me your camera, since you always forget?" Rina suggested.

* * *

With Ashley's gym match over with, the group headed outside. With Red heading back to Viridian City, and Ashley and Rina's next stop being Cinnabar Island way down in the south, it was time for them to say goodbye.

"Well, it was nice seeing you guys again." Red said to Ashley and Rina. He thought for a moment to come up with something else to say, but couldn't think of anything. "See you around I guess."

"-Pippi, you've managed to evolve, and someday you'll be stronger than me for sure.-" Pikachu said to her daughter.

"-Mom...I'm not going to cry this time!-" Pippi replied with a nod, smiling widely. "-I know for sure I'll see you again this time!-"

"-Be good, and don't give Rina too much trouble!-" Pikachu waved, and then turned around with Red and the two started off on their way.

"Red! I'll become a great trainer AND photographer, just you wait!" Ashley called out after him.

"I hope we run into him again soon..." Rina sighed softly and turned around to face Ashley. She was about to suggest they head to the pokecenter when she noticed what looked like another gym nearby. "Hey, whats that?" She asked, pointing to the gym.

"That?" Ashley looked back, following Rina's direction. "Thats the fighting dojo, it used to be a gym. They still take challenges but they're not official."

"Ok then! In that case, I'm going to challenge that gym!" Rina declared, then started off toward the building.

"Huh...well, suit yourself I guess." Ashley shrugged and followed behind her. Meanwhile Red, who hadn't gotten very far, couldn't help but overhear.

"I'm kinda curious actually..." Red said to Pikachu. "I think we'll stay a bit longer. I want to see what that girl is capable of."

"-No complaints here! I just know my Pippi will be involved, so I'll get to see how far she progressed too.-" Red's Pikachu nodded in agreement, and the two of them went to the fighting dojo with the girls.

* * *

Author's Notes: (Rant, feel free to skip)In many anime, you run into an opponent who is either psychic or can read their opponent's every move. This usually manages to translate into them being immune to everything the character fighting them tries to attack with. The two examples I can immediately think of are from the Super Robot Wars OVA episodes, with the mobile suits that become immune to an attack after its been used on them by being able to dodge/counter it, and Pegasus from Yugioh.

In particular, in both these cases that just shouldn't have worked. There comes a time when knowing your opponent's next move just means you know how screwed you are, but you never see that happen. Its one thing for Pegasus to know every move Yugi is going to make, but he also just happens to have the right card to counter it? Yeah, I know, that anime is like that, but still.

And the hive mind robots from SRW, sure, they can see the attack coming after its used once and know of any possible ways to avoid it. How does that help you dodge homing missiles? Or a beam attack with a wide area of effect that can essentially sweep? I would have loved to see them evade a Cyflash after the first, but maybe thats why they just didn't show a second Cyflash.

This sort of thing has never happened in pokemon, as far as I can tell, and as its been pointed out it'd be rather pointless. Trainers have to call out their attacks so their pokemon know what to do, and thus are basically telling their opponent their next move. Even in the games, if you had hacked someone's game so it'd tell you what they were going to do next, you'd still have to have an answer for it. This actually happens a lot in the competitive field. You know your opponent is going to use Earthquake, but your remaining pokemon are either weak to it or just have frail defenses. So this knowledge does you no good.(End rant)

Looking back, I honestly can't think of a way for Sabrina to have put up much of a fight if her Mr. Mime didn't beat Snorlax. Snorlax would have rampaged all over her team, shrugging off psychic attacks like nothing and defeating them in one hit with Snore. That tactic would work just as well against Sabrina in-game too I bet. Better, in fact, since Snorlax WILL Headbutt Mr. Mime and you can use items. Belly Drum, Rest, Snore, Headbutt.

Also, I knew I had to throw in the 'I predicted your arrival three years ago' Sabrina pulls from G/S/C. Its just a brief aside by Sabrina to say she's predicted it at this point.

Think thats all there is to say.


	26. Chapter 26: Rina Vs The Dojo!

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Twenty Six**

**Rina Vs. The Dojo!**

"I'm here to challenge the...EH?!" Rina stared in shock when she got her first look at the competition in the gym. Five trainers in total, all of whom were towering, muscular men in white karate gi's. Four of them were spread out across the gym and had been sparring with each other until Rina had announced her prescence.

_"Ok...relax..." _Rina thought to herself. _"Its their pokemon I'll be fighting, not them..."_

"Yes?" An older man at the far end of the gym spoke up, waiting for Rina to continue. Ashley, meanwhile, entered the gym with Bulbasaur and walked over to the side to sit down at the bench.

"Well I...uh..." Rina took a deep breath and summoned all her courage. "I want to challenge this gym!"

"Very well." The gym's leader replied, nodding to her. "If that is what you wish, then you will first have to battle my four trainees in one on one matches. If you manage to beat each of them, I will then face you in a double battle match."

"Got it!" Rina nodded enthusiastically. _"I wonder if I'll get anything out of this. It doesn't feel right to challenge them for a badge if I won't be using it, but I guess winning here would make my pokemon happy anyway."_

Rina approached the gym's battlefield, which had nothing but a red marking on the gym's wooden floor to signify where it started and ended. The four fighters that had been training moved off to the far end of the gym, standing in front of their leader, and one of them stood opposite Rina to be her first opponent. Meanwhile, Red had finally caught up with them and entered the gym.

"Red? I thought you were leaving?" Ashley asked him. She was the first to notice him enter, though Rina quickly turned around to see him standing behind her as well.

"I overheard Rina and decided to come by and watch." Red explained.

"-Pippi! Do your best!-" Pikachu, still out of her pokeball, said to Pippi and gave her a thumbs up.

"-Hehe! You bet I will!-" Pippi replied.

"Oh...well...umm...thanks..." Rina quickly turned her back to Red again when she felt her cheeks getting warm. Red and Pikachu then went over to the bench to sit next to Ashley.

_"I can't afford to lose now! Not with Red watching me! I can't let the pressure get to me!"_ Rina thought. She looked down at Pippi and nodded. "Ok! Pippi, you can take the first one!"

"-I can't wait!-" Pippi ran out onto the field, looking particularly eager for a fight.

"I, HITOSHI, AM YOUR OPPONENT!" The fighter called out to Rina. He took a single pokeball from his black belt in an exaggerated movement. "PRIMEAPE!" Hitoshi released his pokemon as he called out its name. A Primeape appeared on the gym floor in front of him, giving a loud cry and flexing its muscles.

_"This guy has no indoor voice..."_ Rina thought.

"So what made you decide to come here anyway, Red?" Ashley asked with a sly grin. "Did Rina manage to get through that shell of your's?"

"I wanted to see her battle, thats all." Red replied with a light shrug. "So don't look too far into it."

"Its hard not to, since I can't remember the last time you showed interest in anything besides pokemon."

"You're right, and there's absolutely no pokemon involved in a pokemon battle." Red said to her in his usual deadpan tone.

"Hmph. You win this round..." Ashley muttered to herself. _"Still, I don't recall him being at all interested in my battle against Misty, and staying to watch my match against Sabrina was an excuse. Either you've changed, or there's a reason you're interested in Rina..."_

"-You know, I'm getting awfully used to getting this kind of view of a gym battle.-" Bulbasaur muttered. "-I know I can't expect to battle for Rina, but do I REALLY need to be here to watch this?-"

"-My, you're an awfully grumpy Bulbasaur. Not like Red's at all.-" Pikachu said to him.

"-I don't have to impress you.-" Bulbasaur replied.

_"His pokemon is definitely strong."_ Rina thought, examining the opponent's Primeape. _"But...I think Pippi could still take at least one hit from this guy if she has to. So we'll weaken it to start!"_

"PRIMEAPE, BRICK BREAK!" Hitoshi called out, yelling in an unecessarily loud voice. Primeape took off charging toward Pippi, raising a fist in the air to attack.

"Pippi, slow it down with Thunder Wave!" Pippi fired a pulse of electricity at the charging Primeape. The electricity passed through Primeape's body, inflicting paralysis. Primeape nearly stumbled when the paralysis set in but continued to charge on, eventually bringing its fist down on top of Pippi's head. Pippi cried out in pain and staggered back a few steps.

"NOW! SEISMIC TOSS!"

"Pippi, evade with Double Team!"

Primeape reached out to grab Pippi, but she disappeared as soon as it tried. It then noticed several more images of Pippi were surrounding it on all sides. Pippi was able to successfully use Double Team before Primeape could touch her, and Primeape hadn't noticed until it had tried to attack.

"Ok! Primeape's open! Use Thunderbolt!" The remaining images of Pippi all gathered electricity around their cheeks and then fired out a bolt of lightning. The images then disappeared, with the only real bolt coming at Primeape from behind. Primeape screeched in agony as the electricity passed through it. Primeape was seething with rage when the attack was over and quickly turned to face Pippi.

"PRIMEAPE! STRIKE NOW! BRICK BREAK!" Primeape slowly raised its fist back and lunged toward Pippi. Pippi quickly jumped straight up into the air just in time for Primeape to strike the ground where she had been standing instead.

"Pippi, use Slam now!" Pippi flipped around in the air as she came back down toward Primeape, whacking him in the head with her tail. Primeape staggered back and Pippi bounced off him to land a few feet away.

"PRIMEAPE, SEISMIC TOSS!" Primeape took a step toward Pippi and reached out to grab her, but paralysis set in and Primeape was sent plummeting to the floor.

"Ok! Now's our chance!" Rina called out. "Pippi, use Quick Attack and distance yourself from Primeape!"

"-I think I know where you're going with this!-" Pippi nodded quickly and then shot past the paralyzed Primeape in a blur of movement. She came to a stop about a dozen feet away but then shot off with another Quick Attack, putting her at the edge of the gym. She then turned around to face Primeape as it was getting back up and doing the same.

"PRIMEAPE! DON'T LET IT ATTACK! BRICK BREAK!" Primeape slammed its fists together in a dramatic display of strength, then raised one fist above its head and charged toward Pippi.

_"Does he really have to yell so much?"_ Rina thought with a grimace. "Pippi, finish it now! Volt Tackle!"

"-I was waiting for those words!-" Pippi said with a grin. Sparks were already billowing from her cheeks as she prepared to attack. Electricity gathered around her body and then she took off running on a collision course with Primeape.

As the two pokemon approached each other, Pippi jumped up at the last second to avoid Primeape's fist. She connected with Primeape's face, releasing a shockwave upon impact that knocked both pokemon to the ground. Pippi quickly got back up, though appearing to be in a bit of pain. Primeape, on the other hand, struggled for a moment and then collapsed onto its back. The first match was over and Rina had won.

"Alright! We did it!" Rina cheered.

"-Mom! Mom! Did you see? Did you?!-" Pippi called out, waving her arms excitedly.

"-Of course I did!-" She called back. "-You've gotten a lot stronger since you went with Rina.-"

"Not bad...she might not be challenging the league, but she's no slouch." Red commented.

"Hehe, I actually have a pretty good view here from the sidelines!" Ashley lowered her camera and held up her newly printed picture. To her dismay, it was nothing but white. "Gah!"

Red glanced over at the picture Ashley took and smirked to himself. "You should have known better than to try to take a picture during Pippi's Volt Tackle."

"It seemed like such a perfect opportunity too..." Ashley sighed and held up her camera to take another quick picture of Pippi and Primeape. "I can at least get a picture of Pippi's win then, even if just to have..." Ashley had snapped the picture just in time as Primeape's trainer recalled it right after. Hitoshi bowed respectfully and moved aside.

"Well done. You move on to the next round." The leader gave a gesture, and another trainer moved to challenge Rina.

"I, Hideki, will be your next opponent." The trainer said to Rina and gave a bow.

"Well at least he doesn't yell." Rina thought, breathing a sigh of relief. "Ok, Pippi, you can sit this one out now." Pippi nodded and ran over to the bench where everyone else was sitting and cuddled up with her mother. Rina then took a pokeball from her belt to call out another pokemon.

"Miss Esp, your turn now! Go!" Rina called out, releasing her Espeon from her pokeball. A red beam shot out of the pokeball and materialized into Espeon.

Hideki then reached for his only pokeball as well, his face hardening into a more serious expression. "MACHAMP!" He yelled out as he drew the pokeball. "GO!" The pokeball opened in his hand, releasing the four armed fighting pokemon Machamp.

"So much for not screaming..." Rina said in dismay.

"-I've noticed you seem to like your Volt Tackle technique.-" Pippi's mother noted.

"-Of course! Its my best attack, I even took down a legendary pokemon with it!-" Pippi boasted.

"-Don't get too attached to it.-" Her mother cautioned her. "-Sometimes your strongest technique isn't necessarily the best.-"

"Ok, since Miss Esp has the advantage here, I can probably risk trying to set up Calm Mind." Rina thought to herself. "Miss Esp, use Calm Mind!" Miss Esp closed her eyes and focused, clearing her mind and increasing her mental capabilities.

"MACHAMP! LIGHT SCREEN, SET UP!" Machamp thrust its four arms out in front of it and a yellow light surrounded its body in the form of a barrier. The technique was similar to Reflect, however it filtered special attacks instead of physical.

_"Light Screen? I didn't expect that from a fighting pokemon!"_ Rina thought in surprise. _"But if we use Calm Mind again, that should make up for it."_

"Miss Esp, use Calm Mind again!" Rina called out.

"-I am not sure this is a wise decision, but very well.-" Miss Esp kept her eyes closed and continued to focus. She found it difficult to keep her mind clear as she felt uneasy about Rina's decision.

"MACHAMP! ATTACK WITH RETURN!" Machamp wasted no time, quickly charging across the gym toward Miss Esp. It then launched a full attack with all four, punching Miss Esp repeatedly with several light blows. Machamp followed up its flurry of punches with a kick, nearly knocking her into Rina.

"Miss Esp! Are you ok!?" Rina asked worriedly.

"-I...am fine...-" Miss Esp replied weakly as she slowly rose back onto her feet. "-We must be cautious with this one...it seems to be prepared for combat with psychic pokemon.-"

"Right." Rina nodded in agreement. She watched her opponent, waiting for him to make the next move.

"MACHAMP, SEISMIC TOSS NOW!"

"Miss Esp, Quick Attack!"

Machamp took several steps toward Miss Esp and then reached out to grab her with its four arms. By the time Machamp reached her, though, she had already moved out of the way. Using Quick Attack, Miss Esp shot past Machamp in a blur of movement and came to a stop behind it.

"Ok, now lets use Wish!" Rina called out. Miss Esp focused and quietly uttered something to herself, initiating a Wish technique to restore herself.

"MACHAMP, AGAIN WITH RETURN!" Machamp turned around and quickly closed the gap between itself and Miss Esp, then unleased a flurry of attacks at the psychic pokemon. After another round of rapid punches, Miss Esp is flung back and hits the floor hard. It takes her a moment to gather herself up again, barely hanging on after Machamp's attack.

"NOW! FINISHING TECHNIQUE! VITAL THROW!" Machamp nodded and then watched Miss Esp intently, waiting for an opportunity to attack.

_"Need to stall it a few more seconds so Wish will take effect..."_ Rina thought to herself. "Miss Esp, move past Machamp with Quick Attack!"

Miss Esp quickly got back on her feet and then shot toward the waiting Machamp, managing to slide between its legs. Machamp wasn't fooled for long, though. With its lower pair of arms it reached back and grabbed onto Espeon's tail. Machamp pulled Miss Esp over its shoulder, slamming her into the floor in front of it.

Despite its successful attack, Miss Esp quickly got up and shook it off, actually looking better off than she had before Machamp threw her. While Machamp was in the process of throwing her, Wish activated and restored her health. Miss Esp was still looking a bit tired, but much better than she had been previously. With Miss Esp ready to continue the battle, a pink aura shimmered around Machamp and then faded. Its Light Screen had worn off.

"Miss Esp, now's your chance!" Rina called out. "Attack with Psybeam!" Miss Esp raised her head so the red gem on her forehead was aimed at Machamp's face, then fired a beam of psychic energy from her gem. Machamp tried to shield its face with its hands, but was too slow. The psychic energy blasted Machamp. The fighting pokemon grunted and staggered back, soon losing its balance and falling to the floor.

"MACHAMP, DO NOT FALL SO EASILY!" Machamp got up and raised one of its fists back, getting ready to strike Miss Esp despite being nowhere near her. It then suddenly punched itself in the face and fell down again. Miss Esp's attack had left Machamp confused, causing it to hurt itself instead.

"Ok, Miss Esp! Once more! Psybeam!" Miss Esp fired off a second Psybeam attack at Machamp while it was still on the floor. Another blast to the face knocked Machamp flat out. Machamp didn't move at all after or even make an attempt to get back up. The battle was clearly over. Hideki held out his pokeball and recalled Machamp.

"You are more skilled than I. This match is your's." Hideki bowed to Rina and then stepped back from the battlefield while another trainer took his place.

_"He suddenly goes from quiet, to yelling, to quiet again?"_ Rina thought. _"I don't get these guys at all..."_

"I managed to get that picture at least, but the end of that match wasn't nearly as climatic." Ashley sighed and took her newly printed picture in hand. The picture showed Miss Esp's last Psybeam attack hitting Machamp. Though it appeared multicolored when the attack was used, the beam appeared entirely white on camera.

"These attacks keep messing up my pictures." She mumbled to herself as she put the picture away.

"I think I can see how Rina battles now." Red noted, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "With both Pippi and Miss Esp, she had a clearly defensive style." Red nodded slightly. "Yeah, knowing her she probably thinks her pokemon are better off this way when it actually amounts to taking more hits in the end."

"Now that you mention it, she does have a tendency to play it safe." Ashley thought. She could recall times when she was training against Rina in which Rina used a defensive strategy.

"Miss Esp, good job! You can rest now." Rina said as she took Miss Esp's pokeball in hand again.

"-Very well.-" Miss Esp nodded. "-Having experienced this battle, I can honestly say you are quite skilled, Rina.-" Rina recalled Miss Esp into her pokeball and then switched for another pokeball from her belt.

"You have done well to make it to have defeated Hitoshi and Hideki." Rina's next opponent said to her. "However, this ends here. I, Mike, shall defeat you."

_"Mike? Thats a bit different from the first two..."_ Ashley thought.

"We'll see about that!" Rina shot back. "Berry, go!" Rina held out her pokeball, pressing the button and releasing her pokemon. Berry the Butterfree appeared hovering several feet in the air, flapping its wings to stay aloft.

"POLIWRATH!" Mike yelled as he took out his pokeball. Like the previous two trainers, it seemed Mike would yell everything during battle as well. Much to Rina's dismay. Mike held out the pokeball in his hand and released Poliwrath, the fighting-type evolution of Poliwhirl. Poliwrath didn't look much different from its pre-evolved form at all, aside from being a bit taller and slightly more buff looking.

_"Poliwrath? Is that the evolved form of Poliwhirl or is he just calling it that?"_ Ashley wondered. She took out her pokedex to confirm it was Poliwhirl's evolved form.

"Do you guys have to yell everything?!" Rina asked Mike.

"A true martial artist must pour out all their spirit into a battle!" Mike replied. "POLIWRATH! BEGIN WITH RAIN DANCE!" Poliwrath shuffled from side to side while waving its arms around. Thunderclouds spread over the battle area and soon a downpour started inside the gym.

_"I don't see why that means they have to yell though..."_ Rina thought. _"Anyway! If he's using Rain Dance, then he must be planning to use it for a speed boost like Ashley did when she battled Koga. So I just need to counter by slowing it down instead!"_

"Berry, get close and use Stun Spore!" Rina called out.

"-Ok, master!-" Berry replied. She then flew across the gym to get closer to Poliwrath and released a cloud of spores from her wings. Berry was close enough to keep the rain from negating her spore attack completely, allowing enough spores to reach Poliwrath and inflict paralysis on it.

"WE WILL NOT FALL TO YOUR DIRTY TRICKS!" Mike yelled to Rina. "POLIWRATH! HYPNOSIS!"

"Berry, dodge with Double Team!" Berry focused briefly and created several illusionary images of itself. Two images flanked Poliwrath from the sides and three more remained directly in front of it. Poliwrath focused on the middle one and used Hypnosis, but the Butterfree it focused on showed no sign of getting sleepy. The real Berry was hovering to the right side of Poliwrath.

"Now lets put that Poliwrath to sleep!" Berry nodded affirmatively. Even though Rina didn't call out a specific technique, Berry only knew one attack that would do such. She released a green powder straight down onto Poliwrath. Poliwrath closed its eyes and fell over, falling into a deep sleep.

"MORE OF YOUR DIRTY TRICKS?!" Mike yelled angrily. "YOU HAVE NO HONOR!"

"Oh, so its ok for you to put my pokemon to sleep but not ok for me to do it to your's?!" Rina shot back. "Thats called a double standard you know!"

"-Master?- Berry interrupted before a yelling match could start. "-We should attack before it wakes up...-"

"Right, sorry..." Rina replied sheepishly. "Ok! Berry, attack with Psybeam!" Berry nodded and fired a beam of psychic energy from her eyes. The beam was aimed between Poliwrath's eyes, as Berry figured that was the closest thing to a head that it seemed to have. Poliwrath grunted from the blast and slowly started to sit up.

_"Waking up already...thats what I get for wasting time."_ Rina thought to herself. "Berry, confuse it with Supersonic before it can get up again!" Berry let out a high pitched shriek to try to confuse Poliwrath. Poliwrath was completely unaffected though and managed to stand up while Berry was attacking.

"POLIWRATH, USE MIND READER!"

"Berry, attack with Psybeam again!"

Berry took aim at Poliwrath's face again and fired another Psybeam attack from her eyes. She missed her mark slightly, though, hitting the spiral pattern on Poliwrath's chest instead. Poliwrath forced itself to endure the hit and then focused on reading Berry's mind to ensure its next attack would hit.

"NOW! HYPNOSIS!"

"Berry, evade it with Double Team!"

Berry split up into multiple images, surrounding Poliwrath with four duplicates. Poliwrath wasn't fooled for even a second, though. Having already predicted where Berry would hide, Poliwrath took aim at the Butterfree directly behind it and released hypnotic waves while drawing Berry's attention to the swirling spiral on its chest. Berry slowly dropped to the floor and fell fast asleep. The rain finally stopped at that point as well, preventing Poliwrath from taking advantage of it.

_"I didn't think Berry would be able to dodge it at that point, but I had to try anyway!"_ Rina thought.

"NOW YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR UNDERHANDED TECHNIQUES!" Mike said to Rina in his usual tone. Rina frowned at his accusation. "POLIWRATH, BODY SLAM!" Poliwrath stood over Berry and then made a short hop to slam its weight down on top of her. Berry flinched from the impact but was still asleep.

_"These guys are just getting annoying now. Why did I challenge this gym again?" _Rina wondered. _"Well it seemed like it'd be fun at the time, but with all this yelling and this Mike guy accusing me of using dirty tricks to win..."_

"AGAIN! BODY SLAM!" Mike's Poliwrath stood back up so it could attack again. Paralysis suddenly struck it though, causing it to fall away from Berry as its muscles gave out. The paralysis bought time for Berry to recover from the Hypnosis and wake up. She stood up and glanced over at her fallen opponent.

"Berry, attack Poliwrath with Giga Drain!" Berry spread out her wings as she stood over Poliwrath and began drawing energy away from it while Poliwrath was trying to get up. Poliwrath fell back again as a green stream of energy suddenly burst from its body and flowed into Berry. Berry had drained the last of Poliwrath's strength from it, and Poliwrath collapsed as a result.

"This match goes to you it seems." Mike said as he recalled Poliwrath. He seemed more than a little miffed by his loss and quickly stepped aside.

"Well that one came out clear at least, but it doesn't look all that interesting..." Ashley sighed and put another picture away. "Well, still two battles to go! I'm sure I'll get a decent picture yet!"

"-I don't think I've seen her this focused on taking pictures since...ever.-" Bulbasaur said, blinking in disbelief. "-Now if only...-"

"-She would focus on catching more pokemon?-" Pippi said, cutting Bulbasaur off and finishing his sentence for him.

"-I must be starting to sound like a broken record if even you're noticing.-" Bulbasaur grumbled.

_"What a grumpy Bulbasaur."_ Red's Pikachu thought. _"Well maybe I'll give him something else to be grumpy about..."_ Pikachu tugged on Red's sleeve and looked up at him with a determined expression while pointing to Bulbasaur. Red nodded to her, understanding what she was thinking.

"Later." Red whispered to her. Pikachu nodded, accepting Red's response.

_"What are those two up to?"_ Ashley wondered.

"You have done well to make it this far." Another trainer said to Rina as he stepped up to battle. "I, Aaron, am the last trainer you must face before you may challenge our leader."

"So I just need to beat you and then I'm in the clear!" Rina replied with a light smirk. "Berry, good job! You can sit this one out though."

"-Ok, master!-" Berry replied cheerfully. Rina held out her pokeball and recalled her.

"I told you not to call me that..." Rina said quietly. She placed Berry's pokeball back on her belt and took another one in hand. "Ok! Your turn now! Clyde, go!" The pokeball opened up and released Clyde out into the battle area.

"She's using Clyde?!" Ashley exclaimed in disbelief.

"Whats wrong with that?" Red asked her.

"Clyde is at a complete disadvantage here, he's going to get creamed!"

"There's more to pokemon battles than type advantages." Redi said to Ashley. "Just because Rina's at a disadvantage type-wise doesn't mean she'll lose."

"HITMONTOP, GO!" Aaron called out, switching to the loud voice Rina had come to expect from the dojo's trainers. He took his only pokeball in hand and released Hitmontop. The pokemon quickly flipped over to stand on his head when he appeared, precariously balancing on a spike on the top of it.

"HITMONTOP! TRIPLE KICK!"

"Clyde, block with Protect!"

Hitmontop spun like a top as he moved across the gym toward Clyde. Clyde quickly threw up a barrier to block Hitmontop's attack, just barely getting it up in time due to Hitmontop's surprising speed. Hitmontop kicked Clyde's barrier three times while spinning, striking a harder blow against Clyde's barrier with each hit and bouncing back after the third kick. Clyde's barrier held against each attack though.

"Now! Put it to sleep with Sing!" Clyde dropped his barrier and immediately began to sing in a soft, soothing tone. Hitmontop lost his balance as he began to feel drowsy, falling flat on his face and then drifting into a deep sleep.

_"Ok, Clyde is at a disadvantage against Hitmontop, so I'll use this time to power up his defense."_ Rina thought to herself. "Clyde, use Cosmic Power until Hitmontop wakes up!" Clyde focused and began drawing power to himself. A protective purple aura began to wrap around Clyde's body, raising Clyde's defenses. Clyde maintained the aura while Hitmontop slept, continually increasing his defensive capabilities. Hitmontop finally woke up while Clyde was in the middle of using the technique again.

"HITMONTOP! TRIPLE KICK!" Hitmontop quickly sprung back up to balance on its spike-tipped head. He then spun toward Clyde and kicked him three times, bouncing back after the third and strongest kick. Clyde seemed to shrug off each attack with little effort and the aura around him faded when he finished using Cosmic Power again.

_"After those defense boosts, Clyde's actually pretty tough!"_ Rina thought, smiling to herself. _"Clyde should be able to shrug off another hit so he can power up one more time."_

"Clyde, use Cosmic Power again!"

"TRIPLE KICK! DO NOT LET UP!"

_"This style of battle does not suit me..."_ Clyde thought to himself as he began to focus again. _"Though, I am out of my league against a fighting pokemon, so perhaps this is for the best."_ The purple aura surrounded Clyde again, strengthening the mystical defenses that surrounded him. Hitmontop whacked Clyde with its feet again while spinning around, delivering another three successive hits. Clyde shrugged off each of them with little effort.

_"Ok, now I think we're safe to go on the offensive!"_ Rina thought. "Clyde, attack with Pound!"

"-Now thats more like it!-" Clyde eagerly jumped forward and aimed a punch at Hitmontop's face, hoping to knock it over. Hitmontop grunted from the blow and tilted sharply, but managed to flip back up without falling over.

"HITMONTOP, GET REVENGE!" Hitmontop began spinning around and a dark aura began to surround one of his feet. Hitmontop drew power from a desire to get back at Clyde for hitting him and delivered a powerful kick, sending Clyde flying back and landing at Rina's feet. Clyde didn't stay down for long, but he still looked to be in a fair bit of pain from the powerful blow dealt to him

"NOW! ROLLING KICK ATTACK!"

"Clyde, put it to sleep with Sing again!"

Clyde desperately began to sing a lullaby as Hitmontop spun toward him. With only a few feet left between them, Hitmontop suddenly stopped and flipped over to stand on his feet. This bought Clyde enough time for Sing to take its effect, causing Hitmontop to collapse to the floor in a deep sleep.

"Now heal up with Moonlight until you're back to full strength!" Clyde nodded and closed his eyes as he began drawing in light. He focused the light to provide him with the energy he needed to restore himself. It took long enough for Clyde to heal himself fully for Hitmontop to wake up again and hop back up on its feet.

"HITMONTOP, ROLLING KICK NOW!"

"Clyde, use Metronome!"

Hitmontop made a quick roll toward Clyde, delivering a strong kick as he uncurled his body. Clyde braced himself against the attack and seemed to take little effect from it. He then raised his index finger on each hand and waved them about, initiating his Metronome technique. His body then began to glow as he absorbed light energy.

"-Huh?-" Bulbasaur blinked in disbelief. "-No way! He's using Solar Beam!?-"

_"Solar Beam! Great! We can get a good hit in on Hitmontop with that!"_ Rina thought to herself.

"HITMONTOP! GET BACK AND BRACE WITH DETECT!" Aaron called out. Hitmontop flipped over onto his head and quickly spun away to put some distance between himself and Clyde. A bright beam of energy fired out from Clyde's body toward Hitmontop, but Hitmontop saw the attack coming through Detect and quickly sidestepped it in a blur of movement.

_"So much for hitting it with Solar Beam..."_ Rina thought, wincing. "Clyde, put Hitmontop to sleep again with Sing!" Clyde began singing, and soon Hitmontop collapsed and fell into a deep sleep for the third time in the match.

"Now attack with Pound, then follow it up with Metronome!" Clyde jumped toward Hitmontop and raised his fist back. He then came down hard, striking Hitmontop in the gut and then doing a backflip to jump off.

While standing in front of Hitmontop, Clyde began to wave his fingers around again and activated Metronome. Clyde raised one hand into the air once he was finished. Orange claws, glowing with energy, sprouted from each of his fingers. Clyde used the claws to deliver a powerful slash to the sleeping Hitmontop, after which they disappeared. Hitmontop suddenly snapped awake and hopped back onto his feet.

_"I have no idea what that attack was..."_ Rina thought, scratching the back of her head. She quickly forgot about it to call out another attack. "Clyde! Put it to sleep with Sing again!"

"HITMONTOP, DETECT!" Clyde began to sing again to put Hitmontop to sleep. This time, though, Hitmontop was ready. He used Detect to brace himself against the technique and felt nothing from Clyde's singing as a result.

"NOW! ROLLING KICK!" Hitmontop rolled forward, using the momentum he gained from rolling to spring up into a kick aimed at Clyde's face. Clyde staggered back, but easily shrugged off the hit due to his enhanced defenses.

"Clyde, lets try Metronome one more time!"

"HITMONTOP! WE WILL STRIKE BACK WITH REVENGE!"

Clyde waved his fingers around again as he used Metronome, tricking his mind into using a random technique that it didn't know of. Clyde stopped when electricity suddenly crackled around his body and he charged toward Hitmontop, crashing into him with a Volt Tackle technique. A jolt of electricity sent both pokemon flying after they collided, knocking both of them to the ground. Clyde quickly got back up and was still ready for more, but Hitmontop didn't get back up at all.

"-CLYDE! Get your own special technique! Volt Tackle is mine!-" Pippi whined. Her mother patted her on the head and Clyde turned to give her a sheepish grin.

"-Sorry, I don't exactly get to pick what attack I use.-" Clyde said to her. Ashley took a picture of Clyde while he was facing them, having realized that taking a picture during Volt Tackle was pointless.

"Looks like Rina managed to win afterall, despite that type disdvantage." Red said to Ashley with a smirk. "Quite the one sided battle too. Think you could have done that?"

"Could if I wanted to..." Ashley mumbled in response.

"-Yeah, right.-" Bulbasaur said, snorting derisively. Ashley shot him a glare, but Bulbasaur took no notice.

"Congratulations on your victory." Aaron said to Rina after he recalled Hitmontop. "It is our leader, Koichi, that you must face now." With that, Aaron stepped aside for the dojo's leader to take the stage.

"I did not think a young girl such as yourself would make it this far, I must congratulate you." Koichi said to her. He took a pokeball in each hand. "For the final match, it will be a double battle with two pokemon each. My Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee shall test your capabilities." As he said this, he released his pokemon from each pokeball. Two brown, humanoid pokemon appeared. One looked like a boxer and had red boxing gloves for hands, while the other had particularly long legs.

"Ok then!" Rina nodded. "Clyde, you did great out there, but I'll be using two different pokemon for this match." Clyde nodded to her and allowed her to recall him. Rina returned Clyde's pokeball to her belt and took another one in each hand.

"I already know exactly which pokemon to use in this match!" Rina declared as she held up both pokeballs. "Sarge! Ebil! Go!" The two pokeballs opened up and released their respective pokemon out onto the floor. Sarge the Sandshrew and Ebil the Ekans appeared standing side-by-side and both looked shocked when they noticed the other standing next to them.

"-I am to battle alongside YOU?! I refuse!-" Ebil hissed and turned away defiantly.

"-Fine by me, snake, I especially don't need your help to win this battle.-" Sarge said to him and took several steps forward to distance himself.

"Rina what are you thinking sending those two out?!" Ashley yelled at her.

"Even I can tell they don't get along, and this is the first time I've seen those two." Red added solemnly. "Rina...I hope you know what you're doing."

"Relax! I know exactly what I'm doing!" Rina assured them.

"**HITMONCHAN, DEFEND HITMONLEE! HITMONLEE, MEDITATE!**" Koichi called out, his voice managing to surpass the previous four trainers. Hitmonchan moved out in front of Hitmonlee while Hitmonlee began meditating to increase his attack.

_"This guy is even louder than the other trainers!"_ Rina thought in dismay. "Ebil, attack Hitmonchan with Poison Fang! Sarge, aim for Hitmonlee with Swift!"

Ebil didn't move an inch, refusing to attack alongside Sarge. Sarge didn't hesitate for a moment, though. Making a swipe at the air with his claws, Sarge fired several star-shaped rays. Each ray homed in on Hitmonlee, but Hitmonchan jumped into their path and took the attack instead.

"Ebil! You were supposed to attack!" Rina scolded him.

"-I refuse to work with that arrogant shrew, hsss!-" Ebil spat back defiantly.

"-Who are you calling...-"

"Thats enough, both of you!" Rina said to them, cutting Sarge off. "If you don't work together then that Hitmonlee is going to kick both your butts, and I'm sure you don't want that." Ebil took a moment to consider this. "Now both of you get over there and try to attack that Hitmonlee! Sarge, you roll past and use Slash and Ebil you use Poison Fang!-"

"-Fine, hsss, but I'm still not working with him. He can attack alone.-" Ebil grumbled. He then slithered slowly across the gym to attack Hitmonlee while Sarge was already moving to attack.

"**HITMONCHAN! COUNTER THEM BOTH!**" Koichi called out. As Sarge tried to roll by, Hitmonchan moved in front of him and knocked him back. Sarge retalliated by slashing Hitmonchan with his claws, but in return Hitmonchan simultaneously punched Sarge in the gut and knocked him back. All the while, Hitmonlee was continuing to power up with Meditate.

Ebil tried to slither by Hitmonchan next and lunged toward Hitmonlee, fangs bared to attack. Ebil ended up biting into Hitmonchan's fist instead, delivering a poisonous bite. Hitmonchan slammed his fist into the floor, smashing Ebil's head and forcing him to let go. Ebil shook it off and backed away, finding himself standing next to Sarge again.

"-Attacking like this won't get us anywhere.-" Sarge said to Ebil.

"-If you are suggesting we co-operate, you can forget it, hss.-" Ebil shot back.

"-No, but if we both attack at the same time the one of us will get through for sure.-" Sarge replied. "-I would never dream of working with you, but I won't lose alongside you either.-"

"-Have it your way, hsss.-"

"Sarge, Ebil, same thing again!" Rina called out. "Slash and Poison Fang, and attack Hitmonlee!"

"**HITMONCHAN! COMET PUNCH!**" Sarge was again the first to move and tried to attack Hitmonchan instead of Hitmonlee, throwing him off guard. Sarge struck Hitmonchan with his claws, but Hitmonchan responded by throwing a flurry of rapid punches at Sarge. Sarge hopped back out of the way after the fourth punch.

While Hitmonchan was dealing with Sarge, Ebil snuck by him and lunged toward Hitmonlee. This time, Ebil managed to sink his fangs into Hitmonlee's thigh, distracting him briefly while trying to inflict a powerful poison on him. Hitmonlee's body managed to resist the poison, however.

"**HITMONLEE, BRICK BREAK THE SNAKE! HITMONCHAN, ICE PUNCH SANDSHREW!**"

"Ebil, use Wrap! Sarge, roll out of the way and use Slash!"

Sarge curled up and rolled back, evading Hitmonchan's ice coated fist. Sarge then quickly uncurled and jump up while Hitmonchan was still leaning over from the punch and slashed him across the face. Hitmonchan staggered back and then suddenly collapsed. Hitmonchan had endured far too much punishment while protecting Hitmonlee to continue fighting, forcing Koichi to recall him.

Hitmonlee delivered a swift chop to Ebil's head, holding back a bit due to the way Ebil was latched onto him. Ebil still took a hard hit and was forced to let go, dropping to the floor next to him. Ebil took a moment to shake it off and then jumped back up, wrapping its body around Hitmonlee and pinning his arms to him.

"Ebil, Poison Fang! Sarge, Slash! Attack Hitmonlee at the same time!"

"**HITMONLEE, USE ALL YOUR STRENGTH AND BREAK FREE!**"

Before Hitmonlee could free itself from Ebil's grasp, Ebil bit into Hitmonlee's shoulder in another effort to poison it. Hitmonlee winced from the bite, but again his body managed to resist the poison. Ebil's bite was then followed up by Sarge raking Hitmonlee across the face with his claws. Hitmonlee couldn't do anything but take the attack and try to endure it.

Hitmonlee finally started pushing out against Ebil with his arms after enduring both of their attacks. Hitmonlee was able to put so much strength into the effort that Ebil was forced to let go almost immediately. He released Hitmonlee from his grasp and dropped to the floor, where he immediately moved next to Sarge.

"**DEFEAT THEM BOTH IN ONE HIT EACH! DOUBLE KICK!**" Sarge immediately realized they were in trouble when he heard Koichi call out Hitmonlee's next attack. Hitmonlee quickly spun around, aiming his first kick at Ebil. Sarge curled up into a ball and threw himself into the first kick. Hitmonlee's leg stretched, ensuring the hit and kicking Sarge with such force that he was knocked completely out of battle zone and embedded in the side wall of the gym.

"-You idiot!-" Ebil hissed. He barely had time to react, though, as Hitmonlee spun back around to deliver a second kick. Sarge's actions threw Hitmonlee off enough for Ebil to twist his body out of the way. Ebil didn't wait for an order to strike back, though. Even while Hitmonlee was still following through with his kick, Ebil lunged and sunk his fangs into Hitmonlee's crotch.

Every male in the room reflexively winced at Ebil's strike. Though Hitmonlee didn't feel it nearly as much as a human would have in his situation, he still fainted almost immediately. It took Koichi a moment to realize this, as he was shocked by Ebil's sudden decision to attack.

"-What the hell did you do that for?!-" Ebil hissed at Sarge even though he was clearly unconscious. "-I did NOT ask for your help, hsss!-"

"I thought for sure Rina was going to lose that one." Ashley took her recently printed picture in hand and looked it over. It was the second picture she took, the first being when Sarge felled Hitmonchan. The new picture caught Ebil just as he was biting Hitmonlee. "Now THAT is one for the scrapbook!"

"I don't find that the least bit funny..." Red muttered after seeing the picture.

"-I don't get it, so Ebil bit Hitmonlee...whats the big deal?-" Pippi asked, looking to her mother for an explanation. She shrugged, not knowing what was going on either.

"It seems even I have lost. You have earned our badge." Koichi took a deep breath and sighed. "That is what I would like to say, at least, but in truth I can no longer hand out badges after our gym was beat out of the Kanto league by Sabrina's."

"Wait...so the reason you're no longer a gym is because Sabrina beat you guys?" Rina asked, blinking in disbelief.

"That is correct." Koichi replied, nodding solemnly. "There is room for only eight gyms in the league, so we lost our status as an official gym when she came along. Since I cannot offer you a badge, you may take one of our prized fighting pokemon instead..."

Koichi turned to face the rest of his gym's trainers. Two of them had pokeballs in hand and gave them to Koichi. Koichi then crossed the gym and held out the pokeballs to Rina. "The right pokeball contains the piston punching pokemon, Hitmonchan, and the left contains Hitmonlee, the kicking fiend. Choose whichever one you like best."

"Umm...well..." Rina hesitantly looked from one pokeball to the other. She wasn't expecting to get a new pokemon, but after considering her choices for a moment she took the left pokeball.

"A good choice." Koichi said to her once she made her decision. "You seem to have a more defensive fighting style, I believe Hitmonlee will suit you well. May I see your trainer's license?" Rina reached into her pocket and took out her card, then handed it to Koichi. Koichi took out a small device and scanned her card, then did the same to Hitmonlee's pokeball. The pokeball then glowed white and vanished, transporting Hitmonlee to storage.

"Thank you." Rina and Koichi bowed to each other respectfully. Koichi then turned to his students and clapped his hands together.

"Everyone, see to your pokemon and then resume training." He instructed them. The four students bowed to their master and headed into the gym's back room, where a pokemon healing machine would await them.

"-Did we...win?-" Sarge grunted quietly as he came to. He winced as he tried to stand up. "-I can't tell what part of me hurts more...-"

"-We won, no thanks to you.-" Ebil hissed. "-I had to take down that Hitmonlee by myself!-"

"-Heh...well one of us had to survive to deal the final blow.-" Sarge replied, grinning slightly. "-I didn't exactly have time to explain that though...-"

"-I was going to dodge that attack just fine on my own, hsss.-" Ebil said and turned away from him. "-This doesn't change a thing between us, either, hsss! I WILL get you back for continually getting in my way of biting trainers, hsss!-"

"-And I'll beat you every time.-" Sarge shot back. A white glow then surrounded his body as he began to evolve. Ebil took notice of this and glared angrily, but then began to glow as well.

"Whaaa?! I thought Sarge was still knocked out!" Rina said in disbelief as both her pokemon evolved. Ebil's body almost doubled in length and a two foot area below his neck began to widen into a hood. Sarge seemed to grow another foot taller as well, and spikes suddenly shot out of his back. The two pokemon finished their evolutions at the same time. Sarge was now a fully evolved Sandslash, and Ebil was an evolved Arbok.

"And thats another one for the scrapbook!" Ashley declared after taking a picture of the two fully evolved pokemon. "Including the ones that didn't turn out well, that makes eight pictures today! I'm on a roll!"

"Are you two ok?" Rina asked Sarge and Ebil as she approached them.

"-Nothing a trip to the pokecenter won't cure...-" Sarge replied weakly. Even after evolving he was still incredibly weak from being knocked out.

"-I do not need your concern, hsss.-" Ebil also replied.

"Well congratulations to both of you, I'll get you to the pokecenter as soon as I can!" Sarge acknowledge Rina with a nod, but Ebil pretended he didn't care. Rina took a pokeball in each hand and recalled the two.

"Way to go, Rina! You did great out there!" Ashley came up from behind her and ruffled her hair playfully. "And to think you used to doubt you were any good at battling."

"I think she shows more actual skill than you do, Ashley." Red said to them. Ashley quickly shot him a glare, though he gave it little attention. "Rina, you really did handle yourself pretty well out there. I'm glad Pippi found a good trainer to take care of her, and I'm sure Pikachu agrees."

"-Wholeheartedly!-" Pikachu added, giving Rina a thumbs up. "-Just don't let her use Volt Tackle too much.-"

"-Mom!-" Pippi pouted.

"You guys..." Rina blushed from all the praise she was receiving.

"I should probably get going now, but there's one last thing me and Pikachu want to do first." Red looked over at Ashley. "Ashley, Pikachu wants to challenge your Bulbasaur to a battle."

"-Huh?-" Bulbasaur blinked in disbelief and glanced over at Pikachu curiously. "-You coulda at least said something you know.-"

"Fine by me!" Ashley replied with a smirk. "Its about time I had a chance to battle one of your pokemon!"

"Alright, lets take this outside then."

* * *

The group left the gym and stopped almost immediately outside, where Ashley and Red set themselves up for a brief pokemon battle. The two of them were standing twenty feet apart on the side of the road, their pokemon standing at the ready in front of them.

"-Go mom! Kick his butt!-" Pippi cheered, waving her arms around.

_"I wonder why Red's Pikachu wanted to battle Bulbasaur anyway?"_ Rina thought. _"It'll be interesting to see who wins though since Ashley seems to have the advantage..."_

"Ok, you ready Red?" Ashley called out to him.

"Ready whenever you are, you can make the first move." Red called back.

"If you say so! Bulbasaur, hit her hard with Razor Leaf!" Bulbasaur nodded and fired several sharp leaves from the base of his bulb. The leaves shot through the air toward Red's Pikachu, but Pikachu almost effortlessly dodged the attack.

"-No way!-" Bulbasaur exclaimed in disbelief. "-Damn it, should have started with Stun Spore or Sleep Powder...-"

"Our turn now, ready Pikachu?" Pikachu nodded. "Ok, attack with Thunderbolt!"

"-Nothing personal, Bulbasaur, but your grumpy attitude bothers me a bit.-" Pikachu said to him before jumping into the air. She fired a huge bolt of electricity from her cheeks down on an angle toward Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur tried to jump out of the way but was too slow. He was caught by the bolt and a powerful electric current rain through his body. Bulbasaur cried out in pain and fell to the ground in a smoking heap.

"-Damn it...that hurt...-" Bulbasaur muttered weakly.

"Ah! No way!" Ashley cried out in disbelief. "Is his Pikachu really that powerful?!"

"Lets finish this with Quick Attack and call it a day." Red said to Pikachu. Pikachu dashed quickly across the pavement and then disappeared in a blur of movement as she neared Bulbasaur, striking him with a high speed attack. Bulbasaur cried out from the impact and then fell unconscious.

"No fair! Why didn't you tell me you were that strong?!" Ashley yelled to Red.

"You've seen me battle at Misty's gym." Red replied with a shrug. "Anyway, even if I did tell you, would you have changed your mind?"

"Err...guess not..." Ashley admitted, rubbing the back of her head in embarassment.

"-Wow! Did you see that?!-" Pippi cried out excitedly. "-Bulbasaur's tough but he didn't stand a chance against my mom!-"

_"That much power from a Pikachu can't be normal..."_ Rina thought to herself. _"I wonder..."_ Rina looked at Red's Pikachu, taking note of her unusually white cheeks. _"Is there a connection between her power and her odd colored cheeks?"_

"You guys are heading to Cinnabar next, right?" Red asked them.

"Yeah, I have to go there to get my next badge, why?" Ashley replied.

"I know someone who could get you on a pretty fast boat if you're willing to run an errand for him." Red said to her. "He asked me to do it after I beat Blaine, but I wasn't interested. I could call him up and have him meet you in Vermilion though."

"Thanks but...why are you being so nice all of a sudden?" Ashley asked, giving him a skeptic look.

"Like I said, you'll be running an errand for Bill." Red shrugged. "Its up to you, I'm just making the offer."

"Well running an errand would be better than going all the way to Cinnabar." Ashley looked over her shoulder to Rina. "Rina, what do you think?"

"I don't see any reason not to, so I'm all for it!" Rina replied enthusiastically. "Thanks, Red!"

"Err...your welcome..." Red turned his back to them and rubbed the back of his head. "Anyway, I'm heading off for real this time. I'll tell Bill to meet you guys in Vermilion. See you girls around."

"-Pippi, you behave yourself now!-" Pikachu called back and waved to the group. "-Bye everyone!-"

"Next time we see each other I won't lose so easily, you hear?" Ashley called out after him.

"Goodbye Red! Thanks for watching my match!"

"Well, guess we should head back to Vermilion then." Ashley said to Rina. Rina nodded in agreement. Ashley recalled Bulbasaur and then the two girls and Pippi set off again.

* * *

Author's Notes: Few notes this time since I kept track of my random thoughts while writing this chapter. So here they are in point form:

- The Blackbelts, another group of npc trainers, make their appearance here. I changed their teams, obviously, but I used the actual names of the trainers from the gym. So far, in the Kanto saga, we've also had Bugcatchers/Youngsters, a Hiker, male and female Campers, Bikers and Cueball, a Channeler, a young couple, and now Blackbelts. Most of them went nameless as they were just minor characters though. I think the npc trainers could do with the odd anime appearance, though. They have a different 'character of the day' almost every week anyway, so otherwise the character designs are just going to waste...

- Take a good look at Poliwrath and Poliwhirl. I think they could have made Poliwrath at least a little more different from its pre-evolved form honestly. The first generation pokemon weren't exactly the pinnacle of creativity, as I might have pointed out with Grimer/Muk in Koga's chapter. Thats not to say the first generation pokemon weren't good, their evolution paths just weren't very creative. I mean, compare the changes the fourth gen starters go through compared to the first gen ones...

- I made a note about the white cheeks Pippi's mother has. I think someone could piece together the evidence pretty well at this point...

- Next chapter will be Bill's first appearance in the story. I was originally going to have Ashley and Rina go to visit him, but I couldn't come up with a particularly good reason for them to...

Well, thats that. I'll be trying to squeeze the Sevii Islands sidequest into a single chapter next week. Could end up being another fairly long chapter as a result because of the way it'll be set up.


	27. Chapter 27: One, Two, Three & Vs Serpent

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

**One, Two, Three**

**&**

**Vs. Serpent!**

"'The Many Faces of Eevee'?"

"Doesn't ring a bell..."

"'Pokemon Storage and You'?"

"There's books on pokemon storage?"

"Well how about 'Secret of the Evolution Stones'?"

"I heard of the movie."

"Thats completely unrelated..." Bill sighed. "I can't believe you haven't heard of me, and you've even been using my storage system!"

"I never really gave much thought to who might have designed it, sorry." Ashley replied with a shrug.

"Thats the problem with trainers these days if you ask me. No sense of curiosity or discovery, they leave all the actual research to..."

"The professors, who in turn hand it off to the neighbourhood kids, right?" Ashley said, cutting him off.

Ashley and Rina met up with Bill in Vermilion City as intended, where he was waiting with a ship known as the Sea Gallop. It was one of the fastest ships available, capable of reaching highway speeds out on the ocean. The three of them, along with Pippi and Bulbasaur, waited in the lounge for the ship to arrive at its destination. Bulbasaur sat in the corner of the lounge by himself, fuming over his recent loss. Rina and Pippi were near the front, where a series of windows gave them a view of the ocean ahead.

"Hey now, Professor Oak is too old to be going out on his own." Bill said to Ashley. "He gave you three your first pokemon to help you along with it too."

"Thats true I guess..." Ashley replied with a shrug and then glanced out the lounge window. "Hey, is that One Island up ahead?" She asked when she saw an island with a volcano near the northern end in the distance. The ship was already slowing down to make its approach.

"Isn't it dangerous for people to live on that island?" Rina asked, looking back at Bill for an answer. "It looks kinda secluded, and if that volcano were to erupt..."

"Naw! They would have plenty of time to get off the island!" Bill replied, waving his hand dismissively. "My buddy Celio has his computer hooked up to monitoring devices anyway and Mount Ember has been pretty quiet. I tell you though, that computer of his can do just about anything!"

"Anything except connect to mainland Kanto apparently." Ashley said. Bill had already explained the situation to her before the boarded the Sea Gallop. Celio's computer needed modifications in order to access Bill's storage system.

"Well anyway, I'm sure you two will love it in the Sevii Islands. They make a great vacation spot." Bill said to them. "In fact, One Island is known for its natural hot springs."

"In that case you better not take long getting that computer online, I left my bathing suit in storage!"

"You just leave that to me and Celio!" Bill boasted proudly.

"What are the hot springs like anyway?" Rina asked Ashley.

"Well... umm... that is..." Ashley rubbed the back of her head as she tried to come up with a response.

"So...you've never been to one?" Rina asked her. Ashley shook her head. "Huh? How can you get so excited if you don't know what its like?"

"Well you see girls in hot springs on tv all the time, so there must be something to it, right?" Ashley replied.

"-What is a hot spring anyway?-" Pippi asked.

"Its a pool of really hot water basically, its supposed to be relaxing." Rina said to her.

"Boy...I sure wish I could talk to pokemon like that..." Bill said with a sigh.

"-Only humans would find boiling themselves alive to be relaxing.-" Bulbasaur muttered, having overheard the conversation.

* * *

The Sea Gallop soon arrived at One Island and docked inside the harbour. From there, the group headed a short distance north to the island's pokecenter. The pokecenter had a relatively small waiting area compared to most, instead there was a very large supercomputer in the eastern half of the pokecenter.

A man about Bill's age wearing a lab coat was working on the computer. He had a panel open on the front of the computer and his head and arms were burried inside it while he worked away with the wires and circuitry. The computer was, naturally, powered off while he was working with the components.

"Celio!" Bill called out to him. Celio raised his head and hit against the inside of the computer before he pulled out.

"Hey Bill...ow..." Celio replied, rubbing where he hit his head.

"Celio, this is Ashley and Rina." Bill said, introducing the girls. "They're friends of Red."

"Really?" Celio squinted at the two and adjusted his glasses. "I've never heard of either of them..."

"Red probably doesn't talk about people much." Rina said to him.

"So anyway...you needed help with something?" Ashley asked, getting straight to the point.

"Oh, right!" Celio reached into a bag nearby on the floor and retrieved a small rock from it. "I need one of you to deliver this to a friend of mine on Two Island."

"Wait...so you brought us all of the way from the main land...to deliver a rock?" Ashley inquired in an annoyed tone.

"Well there's that, but I figured you might appreciate a tour of the Sevii Islands too." Bill said to her.

"Fine, I'll deliver this rock..." Ashley muttered, taking the rock from Celio. "Rina, you coming?"

"I'll wait here I think." Rina replied. "It'll be a good chance for that Hitmonlee I got to stretch his legs too."

"I'm off then, and that computer better be connected when I get back!" Ashley started toward the door, but then stopped and turned back to Celio.

"Umm...where is it I'm bringing it again?"

* * *

With the full information for her errand in hand, as well as a handy tri pass, Ashley set off toward Two Island. Upon arriving on the island, Ashley sought out a newly opened game corner and stopped in front of it to confirm.

"Guess this is the place..." Ashley look up at the sign on the building and then looked at the piece of paper Celio gave her. She opened the door and went inside, with Bulbasaur following along behind her as usual, to see a slightly overweight man pacing about the lobby.

"Where is she? This isn't like her to be late..." The man mumbled to himself. He didn't even notice Ashley come in.

"Excuse me?" Ashley called out to get his attention.

"Huh?" The man looked up at her in confusion and shook his head. "I'm sorry, miss, but we're closed right now..."

"Actually I..." Ashley began, only to be cut off by him.

"Oh I do hope nothing has happened to my precious Lostelle..." The man mumbled, already forgetting Ashley and pacing around in circles again.

_"What an ominous name."_ Ashley thought to herself and then let out a sigh. _"Somehow, I can already see where this is going..."_

"Sir, if you would like then maybe I could go and find her?" Ashley said to him.

"Oh, would you really?!" The man dashed up to her and quickly shook her hand. "Thank you, thank you miss!"

"-Wait, why are we helping this guy?-" Bulbasaur asked. "-Lets just drop off that stupid space rock and get out of here already.-"

"Err...your welcome..." Ashley quickly retracted her hand. "So where might she be anyway?"

"She comes here from Three Island everyday to bring me my lunch." The man explained. "She is usually here by now, oh I do hope she hasn't gotten lost."

_"With a name like that it seems inevitable somehow."_ Ashley thought. "I'll go find her then."

Ashley turned to leave when suddenly the sound of a motorcycle filled the air. Everyone looked out the open door, including Bulbasaur who turned around in time to see the bike's tire just before it hit him and sent him sprawling to the floor.

"-HEY! Watch it pal, else I'll smash that bike in two!-" Bulbasaur growled.

"Hey, you can't bring that in here!" The game corner's owner yelled at the purple haired biker.

"Eh, like I give a Raticate's ass gramps." The biker replied. He glanced around the game corner and snorted. "Where the 'ell is everyone? They told me to meet them on Three Island..."

"This is Two Island, can't you even read the signs?" The man shot back.

"Eh, whatever then." The biker shrugged. "This place is a dump anyway..." The biker began to reverse out of the game corner, but not before taking a curious glance at Ashley. He then drove off, wondering why she seemed familiar to him.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Ashley said.

* * *

Meanwhile, on One Island near the base of Mount Ember...

"Ok, this spot looks good!" Rina announced, taking a pokeball from her belt. "Hitmonlee, come on out!" Rina held out the pokeball and released Hitmonlee. The pokemon appeared in an unamused-looking pose, with his arms folded over his chest. He slowly turned around to see Rina, curious about his new trainer.

"-A child? A female child? Surely this must be a joke?-" Hitmonlee said in disbelief. "-I refuse to believe someone like her could have beaten the dojo.-"

"Whether you believe it or not, thats exactly what happened." Rina informed him. "I can understand everything you say too!"

"-Even so, being able to understand me says nothing about your skill.-" Hitmonlee replied, unphased by the revelation. "-I will accept you as my trainer for now, however, seeing as my pokeball is apparently registered to you.-"

_"I don't like this guy's attitude..."_ Pippi thought, narrowing her eyes at Hitmonlee. Hitmonlee had yet to even notice Pippi standing next to Rina.

"Well, first things first! We need a new name for you!" Rina said to him. "Calling you Hitmonlee just won't do."

"-As you wish.-" Hitmonlee replied with a shrug.

"So from now on you will be called...umm...hmm..." Rina folded her arms over her chest and thought over what to name Hitmonlee. "Ah! I know! How about Hiro?"

"-If thats what you want to call me.-" Hitmonlee shrugged. "-Then from now on I will respond to the name Hiro.-"

"-He's awfully umm...-" Pippi paused for a moment to think of a word to use. "-Obedient?-" Hiro, noticing Pippi for the first time, glanced down at her and gave a 'hmph'.

"Ok then, Hiro, why don't you show us what you can do?" Rina suggested.

"-Gladly.-" Hiro replied. He turned around and then stomped a foot down hard, shaking the ground and causing a slight rumbling sound to be heard. Looking up, Rina and Pippi could see several large rocks tumbling down the side of Mount Ember, heading straight toward them.

"HIRO!" Rina and Pippi cried out in shock. Without missing a beat, Hiro jumped up into the air as the first rock came down and delivered a hard punch that shattered into small pebbles. The rocks rained down around Rina and Pippi, missing both of them completely. With a flurry of kicks, the remaining rocks were likewise shattered and their remains landed around Pippi and Rina.

"Hiro! That was..." Rina stopped when she saw a helicopter hovering near the top of the mountain. Though it was hard for her to tell, she thought she could see a purple Dragonair hanging out the side door.

"-Impressive, I know.-" Hiro replied with a shrug. "-I think it could use some work myself...-" Rina frowned at him then looked up at the top of Mount Ember.

"I think we better check this out..."

* * *

"I was afraid of this..." Ashley sighed. She had taken the Sea Gallop to Three Island. Standing just in front of the dock, she found herself facing a familiar biker group that was terrorizing the island's citizens. They were mostly riding around in circles and revving their bikes, though a few were circling around frigtened citizens. Women mostly, which Ashley hardly found surprising.

"-Wasn't this supposed to be just a quick delivery?-" Bulbasaur muttered.

"Well, guess I'll just have to be the one to teach them a lesson this time." Ashley took a pokeball from her belt.

"HEY! BIKERS!" Ashley called out to them. She was scarce heard over the sound of their engines.

"-I think gratuitous violence is in order.-" Bulbasaur walked toward the group of buildings where the bikers were while extending his vines. One of the bikers passed within 10 feet of Bulbasaur, at which point he extended his vines and punched the driver off his bike. The driver rolled across the ground, getting bounced around and scraped up pretty badly, while the bike itself continued on and crashed into a fence.

"Ow...what the hell...hit me?" The injured biker muttered. Noticing one of them had fallen, the rest of the bikers, three male and two female, gathered around him.

"Heh heh, looks like this little cutie is trying to ruin our fun!" One of the male bikers said.

"Hey, don't she look familiar?"

"She's that ditz we picked up back on the cycling road! She's the one trying to stop us?" The group began to laugh at her. Ashley held out the pokeball she grabbed previously and released Charizard. Charizard gave a roar to announce his prescence. The bikers fell silent and stared in disbelief at Charizard.

"HOLY SHIT! This broad's got a Charizard!" One of them shouted in disbelief.

"-Yeah, thats about the reaction I think I deserve.-" Charizard said to himself with a grin. "-Being afraid of me is always beneficial to one's health.-"

"H-hey boss! We've got trouble over here!" One of the bikers called out. A large, bald-headed man rode up to the group on his bike. The same biker pointed to Ashley when Cueball arrived on the scene.

"This is the one giving you trouble?" Cueball shook his head sadly. "Good help is so hard to find these days. Just send out all pokemon and overwhelm her with numbers."

Each of the bikers quickly sent out there pokemon, including the biker that Bulbasaur had injured. Each biker sent out one pokemon, which included two Koffing, two Grimer, a Machop, and a Cubone. Cueball himself sent out a Marowak and a Machoke.

"Charizard, fly above them now!" Ashley called out. "And Bulbasaur, get over here!" Bulbasaur scoffed but decided it was best he got out of the way, having a good idea as to what Ashley was planning. Charizard took off into the air, hovering over the group of pokemon.

"Everyone, get ready to attack once Charizard moves within range!" Cueball barked.

"Ok, Charizard, lets get them all at once with 'that' attack!"

"-'That' attack, huh?-" Charizard grinned to himself. He opened his mouth and began forming a ball of fire. The ball expanded until it was half the size of Charizard himself, at which point it rained down like a pillar of fire and spread out in all directions when it hit the ground. The entire group of pokemon gathered fainted in the flames, with the exception of Marowak and Machoke. Cueballs pokemon were still just barely standing when the flames died down.

"What the?!" Cueball cried out in disbelief. Charizard, exhausted from his attack, landed hard on his feet.

"Ok, now lets finish these last two! Bulbasaur, use..." Before Ashley could even get the attack out, Bulbasaur fired several sharp leaves from the base of his bulb. The sharp leaves raked across Marowak and Machoke's bodies, knocking both pokemon out instantly.

"-Could at least make this challenging.-" Bulbasaur muttered.

"Grr...I will not allow the Kanto Federation to be shown up by a single teenager!" Cueball growled.

"I'm afraid YOU don't get a say in the matter!" Ashley said to him. "You're all getting a one way ticket back to Kanto, where you'll spend the next twenty years stamping license plates. Bulbasaur, stun them!"

"-Tch, fine.-" Bulbasaur fired off a cloud of spores toward the group of bikers. The spores paralyzed each and every one of them as they landed, causing them all to drop to the ground.

"Damn it..." Cueball muttered.

"Oh, thank you miss!" A male citizen, who was being chased by the bikers previously, said to Ashley. "How can we ever repay you for stopping these fiends?"

"Well, for one, you could drag them all onto the Sea Gallop..." Ashley replied, gesturing toward the harbour behind her. "And if you happen to know where I might find a girl named Lostelle, that would help too."

"Lostelle? I think she went into Berry Forest..."

"Berry Forest, huh?"

* * *

With the information in hand, Ashley headed across the Bond Bridge and into Berry Forest. She left the Kanto Federation to be handled by the locals. After they were put on the Sea Gallop it would whisk them away to Vermilion City, where they would be picked up by the police. Ashley now found herself looking into a typical forest, aside from the berries growing everywhere.

"Well I guess it wouldn't be Berry Forest if there weren't." Ashley said to herself with a shrug. "Well anyway, I guess now we need to find Lostelle."

"-Lets get this over with already, I'm getting tired of following you around.-" Bulbasaur grumbled.

Before they could move any further, a rustling in the berry bushes alerted them to something's prescence. Ashley could see three bushes rustling, with the movement approaching her. Soon, three brown and yellow pokemon with long snouts walked into view. Each of them had a look of pure malice in their eyes.

_"Those are Drowzee..."_ Ashley thought, reaching for a pokeball. _"A psychic pokemon, they don't look particularly happy either. I bet Beedrill can handle them though."_

"Beedrill, I choose you!" Ashley held out Beedrill's pokeball and released him in front of the three wild Drowzee. Immediately upon Beedrill's appearance, each of them raised a fist back. One became enveloped in flames, another electricity, and the third ice. Each Drowzee was using a different elemental punch.

"Beedrill, avoid their attacks and strike back with Twineedle!"

The Fire Punch Drowzee took the first swipe at Beedrill, which he deftly avoided and then jabbed Drozee with one of his stingers to knock it back. The Thunderpunch Drowzee attacked next. Beedrill moved to the side and followed through with another jab with his stinger. The final Drowzee struck Beedrill square in the chest with its Ice Punch attack, but Beedrill responded by stabbing it with both stingers and knocking it out instantly.

"Ok, Bulbasaur! Finish them off now!" Ashley called out. Bulbasaur extended his vines, striking the Thunderpunch Drowzee and then the Fire Punch Drowzee. Both fell to the ground in a single hit before they were able to launch another attack.

"If Lostelle came in this forest, the wild pokemon could have attacked her as well." Ashley noted, looking at the fallen Drozee. "Beedrill, I want you to scout ahead and try to find Lostelle. She will probably be the only little girl that'd be in this forest alone. If she's in trouble, help her in any way you can." Beedrill nodded and flew off into the forest to find Lostelle.

"-Sending Beedrill off alone seems like a bad idea somehow.-" Bulbasaur said. Ashley and Bulbasaur took off in the same direction as Beedrill, hoping to catch up to him when he eventually finds Lostelle.

* * *

_"Objective: Find young female human Lostelle."_ Beedrill thought as he zoomed through the forest, hovering low to the ground. In the distance, he could hear a girl scream.

_"Sound identified as young female human scream. High potential to be target specified by the queen. Moving to investigate."_ Beedrill continued along through the forest, eventually arriving in the midsty of an Iappapa berry patch. A young girl in a white dress was lying back on the ground and slowly backing away from yellow pokemon standing roughly five feet. It had a long snout, like the Drowzee, and was carrying a pendulum.

_"Objective found, eliminating threat."_ Beedrill moved quickly, putting himself between Hypno and Lostelle.

"-Wha? What gives?-" The wild pokemon wondered aloud when Beedrill moved in front of him. "-Where did you come from?-"

_"Threat appears to be of the same species as previously fought. Will use tactics accordingly."_ Beedrill pointed his twin stingers at the wild pokemon and then took a stab at the wild pokemon with each of them, landing a harsh blow on the psychic pokemon and knocking him to the ground. Lostelle watched in awe as Beedrill fought off her attacker.

"-Oh yeah?! Lets see you try that again!-" The psychic pokemon said to Beedrill. It raised its pendulum toward him, using the device to focus its psychic power. A yellow glow surrounded Beedrill, sealing his Twineedle technique. Beedrill raised his stingers to attack again, but then paused.

_"Cannot recall how to perform primary means of attack. Will use similar option in its place."_ Beedrill pointed all three of his stingers at the pokemon and began firing a barrage of sharp pins from his body. The wild pokemon winced and held up its hands defensively, trying to protect itself.

"-It was just harmless fun, I didn't hurt her! I was just trying to scare her!-" The wild pokemon quickly jumped back onto his feet, almost falling over again from the damage inflicted on him. He then turned and tried to flee.

_"Threat attempting to flee. Appears weakened. Deliver finishing blow."_ A dark aura surrounded Beedrill and he suddenly shot forward, instantly catching up with the fleeing pokemon and tackling him with a surprise attack. The wild pokemon collapsed, knocked out by Beedrill's final attack.

_"Threat eliminated, objective secured. Will wait here and guard objective until queen arrives."_ Beedrill moved off to the side, turning so both Lostelle and the fainted pokemon were in its line of sight.

"You...you save Lostelle?" Lostelle said to Beedrill.

_"Observation: The human child Lostelle appears to refer to herself with her name in place of the appropriate pronoun."_ Beedrill noted to himself, looking at Lostelle curiously.

"Umm...th-thank you..." Lostelle mumbled quietly. "Lostelle wanted to pick berries for papa, but that pokemon was scaring me!"

"Beedrill?" Beedrill looked out into the forest when he heard Ashley calling out to him. He began flapping his wings more rapidly, creating a loud buzzing noise to get her attention. It seemed to work, as Ashley soon entered the berry patch.

"There you are!" Beedrill nodded to her. Ashley then looked over at Lostelle and smiled. "You must be Lostelle then. Your father is worried about you."

"Beedrill is your's?" Lostelle asked Ashley. Ashley nodded to her, and Lostelle smiled back. "Beedrill saved Lostelle! That pokemon was scaring Lostelle!" Ashley looked over at the fallen pokemon.

_"An evolved Hypno? Don't see those around often...hmm..."_ Ashley reached into her travel bag and took out an empty Great Ball. "Well he won't bother you anymore!" Ashley through the Great Ball at Hypno. The Great Ball pulled him inside and began to shake. Hypno was starting to recover from his injuries when Ashley through it, but in the end it made no difference. The ball locked tight, sealing Hypno inside.

"Beedrill, good work! You can take a break now as well." Beedrill nodded in response. Ashley took Beedrill's pokeball from her belt and recalled him. Lostelle was a bit sad to see her hero go away.

"Ok, Lostelle..." Ashley turned her attention back to the girl. "Lets get you to your father now."

"-And then we can deliver that rock and be done with this stupid errand.-" Bulbasaur grumbled.

* * *

It took Rina quite some time to climb to the top of Mount Ember. She recalled both Hitmonlee and Pippi before starting her climb up the side of the volcano. When she reached the top, she sat down behind a jagged rock for a moment to catch her breath.

"I need a pokemon that can fly..." Rina mumbled to herself. Though she had Berry, Berry wouldn't have been able to carry her. She slowly stood up and took Pippi's pokeball from her belt to release her.

"-It took you this long to climb up? I could have been here and back down again...-" Pippi said to Rina.

"I can't just let you face hunters alone." Rina replied to her. She leaned against the rock and then peeked around it to see what was going on. She could see two women, one with long red hair wearing a trench coat and black sunglasses, and the other wore a red dress that seemed very out of place on the mountain.

"I knew it! Its Serpent!" Rina whispered harshly. "And another one of those trenchcoat people." Observing further, Rina could see her father's purple Dragonair fighting against a fiery bird pokemon. The pokemon looked weak and moved slowly, as though it had been paralyzed. It flapped its wings to try to fly away, but Dragonair slammed the bird pokemon with its tail to bring it down.

"That pokemon...they're using Knight to capture the third Winged Mirage!"

"-What?! We have to stop them!-" Pippi ran out from behind the rock to confront the two and Rina, without thinking, rushed in behind her.

"You two stop right there!" Rina called out to them.

"That voice..." Serpent turned around to face Rina, a smirk crossing her lips. The other woman looked over her shoulder, unamused. "Well, well, well. Seems the scared little girl has grown a spine."

"Serpent, this is hardly time for games." The other woman said to her. "We didn't come prepared to deal with any resistance. Moltres won't be able to fight in its condition."

"Then collar Moltres and get out of here. I will deal with the girl. Dragonair, front and center!" Dragonair moved away from the weakened Moltres to put itself in front of Serpent. Serpent then took out a syringe and removed the cover from it while the other woman took out a collar.

"She...she wouldn't!" Rina said in disbelief. "Pippi, stop her! Use Thunder Wave!"

"Dragonair, block it." Serpent ordered. Pippi fired a pulse of electricity toward Serpent to try to paralyze her, but Dragonair raised its head to block it and became paralyzed instead. Serpent then calmly injected the serum into Dragonair, forcing him to evolve.

A white glow surrounded Dragonair, much unlike when Ying and Yang forced their pokemon to evolve. Dragonair's body began to change completely, shrinking down while becoming much bulkier. It grew short arms and legs, a pair of wings, and a long, thick tail. When the glowing ceased, a dark green/black skinned Dragonite stood in the Dragonair's place.

"As you can no doubt tell, the evolution formula has been perfected." Serpent said to Rina with a smug grin. "Think you can take on a fully evolved Dragonite?"

Meanwhile, while Dragonair had been evolving, Fire had thrown the collar at Moltres. Due to the extensive damage to it, as well as paralysis inflicted by Dragonair's Thunder Wave, Moltres was unable to avoid it. The collar closed tightly around Moltres' neck. The bird pokemon immediately ceased struggling and awaited orders from its new master.

"I'm just glad it didn't backfire..." Rina replied quietly. "No pokemon should have to suffer like that..."

"You're glad it didn't backfire? Ohohohoho! You should be more worried about your own safety than this pokemon's!" Serpent said to Rina.

"Thats not going to matter, because I intend to free that pokemon one way or another!" Rina shot back.

"-Dragonite or not, all I need is one Volt Tackle!-" Pippi added, sparks dancing across her cheeks as she psyched herself up for battle.

"Hmph. Cocky little brat." Serpent muttered. "Fire, take the helicopter and get Moltres out of here. I will catch up with you later."

"Very well, try not to get in over your head." Fire entered the helicopter and sat down in the pilot seat. The helicopter began to lift off, seemingly leaving Moltres behind.

"Pippi, use Thunderbolt and aim for the propeller!"

"Dragonite, defend the helicopter!"

Pippi fired a bolt of electricity toward the helicopter, but Dragonite intercepted the attack with surprising speed for its size. Evolving had removed the paralysis from it as well. Dragonite took the Thunderbolt attack himself and winced as the electricity passed through him, but he quickly shook it off and flapped his tiny wings to hover defensively in front of the helicopter.

_"Dad's Dragonair was tough, as a Dragonite it'll be even harder to take down."_ Rina thought to herself.

A steel ball connected to a chain fired from a canister on the bottom of the helicopter. The ball opened up, releasing a net made from steel cables. The net flew past Moltres, seemingly missing its target, then fell back to slide under it. The helicopter then began to lift up, trapping the weakened Moltres in the net and carrying it away as Fire fled the scene with her catch.

"Now, since that distraction is out of the way, lets get down to business, shall we?" Serpent smirked. "Dragonite, attack her Pikachu with Slam!"

"Pippi, dodge it with Quick Attack and then use Thunder Wave!" Pippi shot off to the side in a blur of movement just seconds before Dragonite's tail struck the ground where she was. She then turned around to try to blast Dragonite with Thunder Wave, only to get sideswiped by Dragonite's tail. Dragonite had managed to catch up with Pippi before she even had a chance to attack.

"Now, use Slam and send the girl on a trip down the volcano." Serpent commanded. Dragonite turned to face Rina and Rina tried to back away but found herself pressed against the rock she had been hiding behind earlier. Dragonite moved to attack but then suddenly stopped in its tracks. Sparks shot out of its collar and it staggered back, resisting Serpent's order.

_"It won't attack?"_ Rina thought. _"It must be because Knight recognizes me! Knight won't attack me because he's my father's pokemon, so maybe..." _Rina took another pokeball from her belt.

"Miss Esp, go!" Rina called out, releasing her mother's Espeon from her pokeball. Miss Esp appeared in front of Rina and looked up at the collared Dragonite before her. It didn't take her long to put two and two together. Pippi watched curiously from a distance, having noticed Knight's refusal to attack Rina.

"Dragonite, what are you doing?! Attack both of them now!" Serpent angrily ordered Dragonite. It shrugged off the shocks and began to swing its tail around, but stopped himself again and struggled to fight back against the collar's mind control.

"-Interesting...in his evolved form, he is strong enough to resist the collar when confronted by us.-" Miss Esp noted then glanced back at Rina. "-Rina, there is no need for us to inflict any harm on him. The hunter has engineered her own defeat by forcing him to evolve.-"

"Right." Rina nodded and then smiled as she looked toward Pippi. "Pippi, go ahead and do your thing!"

"-Got it!-" Pippi threw out her arms and electricity billowed from her body. "-Take this! Volt...-" Pippi dropped down and charged toward Dragonite. "-TAAAAACKLE!-" Pippi jumped up at the last second and slammed head first into Dragonite's collar, sending a powerful charge through it combined with a strong physical blow. The collar bent at the point of impact. When Pippi dropped to the ground, Knight was already ripping the collar off as if it were made of paper.

"-Luke is no longer here...but in his place...-" Knight turned around suddenly and fired a pulse of electricity at Serpent. She dropped to the ground in a stunned silence as paralysis spread through her body. "-You are under arrest for the wrongful treatment of pokemon.-"

"Knight! You're back!" Rina said.

"-I am.-" Knight replied quietly, still facing away. "-I could not protect your father, Rina, but I will not fail to protect you.-"

"How...how could this happen?" Serpent whimpered. "I had her right where I wanted her..."

"-She will need to be sent back to Kanto.-" Miss Esp said to Rina. "-Though I am not particularly familiar with the Sevii Islands, it doesn't seem likely there is a prison facility nearby.-"

"Right." Rina nodded in agreement. "I guess I should get a pokeball for you, Knight, but first...think you could take us to the pokecenter?"

"-Of course, I would be happy to.-" Knight replied with a nod, then looked over at Pippi. "-Pippi is it?-"

"-Thats me!-" Pippi replied cheerfully, giving a wave.

"-You have my thanks for looking after Rina. Her parents would be happy to know she found the Pikachu she had been wanting so much.-" Knight said to her.

"-Aw shucks...-" Pippi rubbed the back of her head in embarassment.

_"I wonder though, Knight held back because he recognized me..."_ Rina thought back to her encounter with Zapdos, where it refused to attack even while under the influence of a slave collar. _"So why did Zapdos...refuse to attack me and Ashley?"_

* * *

"Oh, Lostelle! I was so worried about you!"

"Daddy! Daddy, stop! You're hugging Lostelle too tight!"

_"I'd say he's a worry wart, but considering where she ended up..."_ Ashley thought as she looked on.

"Oh how can I ever thank you?" The man asked Ashley.

"You can take this meteorite off my hands, Celio asked me to bring it to you..." Ashley said to him as she took the rock out of her bag. _"And hurry up so I can get out of here already!"_ She added mentally.

"Oh! A rare meteorite too!" The man took the rock from Ashley. "I must give you something in return! Wait here!" The man retreated into the game corner's back room and then emerged a minute later with a different rock in hand.

"This is a Moon Stone." He said as he handed it over to her. "You can evolve certain pokemon with it, I am sure you will find it useful!"

"Thanks." Ashley replied. She didn't have any pokemon she could use it on, but she was sure it would work on Rina's Clyde. "Anyway, I really have to get back to One Island now if you don't mind..."

"Oh, of course! Say hi to Celio for me!"

"-Finally! This stupid errand is over with!-" Bulbasaur grumbled.

"Ashley! Ashley! You have to show me your Beedrill acting cool again!" Lostelle said to her as she turned to leave.

"Sure, I'll keep that in mind! See you later then!" Ashley replied. _"I am so looking forward to a dip in the hot springs..."_

* * *

Ashley and Rina arrived back at the One Island pokecenter at roughly the same time. To their dismay, though, Celio and Bill were still working on the computer when they got inside.

"After all that you two still aren't done?!" Ashley growled. The two men ignored her and continued typing away at the computer's large keyboard. They then paused to look at the screen and suddenly high fived each other.

"We're connected to Kanto!" The two of them shouted in unison. Suddenly a blue pokeball on Rina's belt glowed white and vanished.

"Huh? What was that?" Ashley asked Rina.

"I'll explain later..." Rina replied. "So you two are really connected to Kanto now?"

"We sure are!" Celio replied. "All thanks to Bill's help!"

"Now, now! You already had most of the work done when I got here!" Bill corrected him. "I barely did a thing!"

"So we can get items from our pc storage now!?" Ashley asked excitedly.

"Yep, everything should be working fine!" Celio replied. That was all the girls needed to hear. They rushed over to the pokecenter computer and each withdrew their bathing suits and dashed out of the building. Pippi was barely able to keep up with them. Bulbasaur didn't even bother, choosing to remain in the pokecenter instead.

"Where are they off to in such a hurry?" Celio wondered, blinking in disbelief.

"They're just excited to get to the hot springs." Bill said, chuckling to himself.

"-Crazy humans.-" Bulbasaur muttered.

* * *

Author's Notes: After seeing the list of wild pokemon for the Sevii Islands I really wanted to show more, but there just wasn't anywhere to squeeze them in with everything else I had going on. Though, in retrospect, maybe I could have had something before Rina's brief training session with Hitmonlee.

Beedrill is really a quiet pokemon, but the Berry Forest scene seemed like a good opportunity to see what goes through his head. As you can probably guess, he thinks of Ashley as his 'queen' after she managed to catch him and as such he follows her orders unquestioningly.

Another note, I don't know what the translation of Lostelle's Japanese name was supposed to be, but isn't 'Lostelle' kinda pushing it in the meaningful names department? Speaking of names, I named this chapter as if it were two. The first refers to Ashley's part of the chapter, the second refers, obviously, to Rina's.


	28. Chapter 28: The Fall of Team Rocket

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Twenty Eight**

**The Fall of Team Rocket**

While Ashley and Rina were relaxing on One Island, someone else was about to earn his final badge to challenge the Elite Four.

_"Looks like this place is finally open."_ Red thought to himself, taking notice of the sign in front of the gym. _"The final gym leader...I wonder who it is?"_

Red pushed open the doors of the gym and slowly walked inside. Unlike Ashley and Rina, Red didn't make a habit of having a pokemon with him at all times. As such, he was alone when he entered. The interior of the gym was darkened, not a single light lit the area. Red began to wonder if the gym leader was really back at all.

"If there's anyone here, my name is Red and I've come here to challenge the gym leader." Red announced to the seemingly empty gym.

"So even here, you have managed to find me..." A voice called out from within the darkness.

"That voice..." The lights in the gym came on, revealing the barren looking interior with its black walls and smooth, dirt battlefield that had been unscarred by any recent battles. At the far end of the gym was a middle-aged man in a black suit. Red recognized him immediately.

"Giovanni!" Red growled.

"Yes, thats right. I, Giovanni, leader of the criminal organization known as Team Rocket, am the Viridian City gym leader." Giovanni replied with a grin. "Are you surprised? I returned here to begin rebuilding my organization, but it seems you have managed to catch up with me once again."

"If you think I'm going to let you get away with that then you're wrong!" Red shouted back. "I'll put a stop to anyone who mistreats pokemon or uses them for evil goals!"

"I figured you would say as much." Giovanni snickered to himself. "Very well. You came here to challenge the gym leader, correct? Then I, Giovanni, accept your challenge. We will use six pokemon each."

"Now you expect me to believe you're going to battle by Kanto League rules? I don't buy it." Red said to him.

"Even if you don't believe me, you will still need to beat each of my pokemon before you can get near me as it is." Giovanni said calmly. "I may be the leader of Team Rocket, and I may care very little for pokemon other than a means to make money, but I am a man of my word. If you manage to beat me here and now, using pokemon gym rules and six pokemon each, then I will disband Team Rocket forever."

"If thats really how you want to do this, then fine. You should already know you can't beat me, and the gym rules are in the challenger's favor as it is." Red replied while grabbing a pokeball from his belt. "There's nowhere for you to run, and no way for you to beat me. Team Rocket ends today!"

"A bold declaration." Giovanni chuckled to himself. "There is more to battling than just strong pokemon, and unless you can learn that then I believe you will find this battle to have a surprising outcome." Giovanni drew a pokeball from his belt as well. "Rhydon, go!"

"Charizard, I choose you!"

Red and Giovanni each released their pokemon to start the battle. A rhino pokemon with a rocky hide appeared standing upright on Giovanni's side of the field, while the fire lizard Charizard appeared before Red. It wasn't unusual for Red to lead with Charizard, due to it being his first pokemon. It had grown into a fierce and powerful pokemon since joining Red.

"Rhydon, attack Charizard with Rock Blast!"

"Charizard, use Heat Wave!

Rhydon thrust one arm forward to fire a rock at Charizard. As he brought his other arm forward to fire a second rock it found itself suddenly engulfed in a fiery windstorm. The first rock bounced off Charizard's body, causing him to wince in pain, but Charizard kept flapping his wings and sending blasts of hot air and fire at Rhydon. The power of Charizard's attack briefly distracted Rhydon, causing it to stop its attack.

"Your pokemon are as powerful as ever, Red." Giovanni mused. "Very well. Rhydon, finish it in one attack with Horn Drill!"

Rhydon followed Giovanni's orders unquestioningly, pushing through the blasts of hot air to move toward Charizard. Rhydon's horn began to spin like a drill in preparation to attack. Red watched Rhydon's movements, waiting for the rock pokemon to move closer to Charizard before he made his move.

"Charizard, grab that drill now!" Red called out. Charizard stopped his attack, giving Rhydon the chance to lunge toward him. Rhydon's drill came close to Charizard's stomach before the fire pokemon grabbed it. The drill continued to spin while Charizard pressed down on it, eventually stopping the drill though injuring his hands a bit in the process.

"Now, Charizard, use Dragon Rage!" Charizard spat out a blue fireball right into Rhydon's face. The fireball exploded when it hit Rhydon, covering it in a blue fire and causing it to stagger back in pain.

"Rhydon, use Rock Blast again!"

"Charizard, attack quickly with Wing Attack!"

Rhydon quickly shook off the Dragon Rage and thrust out his arms, flinging a pair of rocks at Charizard one after the other. Rhydon managed to get in two good hits on Charizard, who was particularly weak against rock attacks, but that was all it could do before Charizard attacked again.

Charizard stepped forward, twisting sideways to strike at Rhydon with his wing. Although Rhydon was a tough pokemon and resistant to flying attacks, it had already taken immense damage from Charizard's Heat Wave and Dragon Rage attacks. Rhydon fell back as the wing struck it, hitting the ground hard and quickly falling unconscious. In only a few attacks, Giovanni's first pokemon was already down.

"And so you defeated my Rhydon...as if there was any doubt you would." Giovanni said to Red, raising a pokeball and recalling Rhydon. He then returned the pokeball to his belt and drew another one.

"If you already knew you'd lose, then how are you expecting to win?" Red asked Giovanni.

"You will see soon enough, Red." Giovanni replied. "Now, let us see if you can do the same against my Nidoqueen." Giovanni held out the pokeball he grabbed and released a large, light blue pokemon. It had spines covering its body and a pair of large ears. It almost resembled Rhydon in its basic body structure.

"Charizard, thats enough for now. Return!" Red held out Charizard's pokeball and recalled him. In any battle, Red always made the individual matches 'personal' for his pokemon. He would switch everytime his opponent sent out a new pokemon.

"Snorlax, I choose you!" Red called out as he took another pokeball in hand. He then released Snorlax out onto the field. It appeared standing and ready for battle, showing more interest in the match than Ashley's Snorlax ever did.

"Snorlax, a tough pokemon indeed. Lets see how well it does against Nidoqueen's Superpower." The ground began to shake as, at Giovanni's meer mention of the technique, Nidoqueen began to use Superpower. She first conjured all of her inner strength and then leapt into the air. She came down toward Snorlax, smashing into him with her arms outstretched and sending out a wave of energy at point-blank range. Despite such a powerful attack, though, it hardly seemed to do anything but knock Snorlax onto his ass.

"Snorlax, strike back with Hyper Beam!" Without getting up, Snorlax opened his mouth and fired an immense energy beam. Nidoqueen took the attack at nearly point-blank range and was pushed all the way across the gym before the beam lost its power. She fell unconscious and dropped almost immediately after, though. Snorlax's Hyper Beam was a very strong attack as it was and using Superpower had weakened Nidoqueen's defenses.

"Hmm...an especially powerful Snorlax." Giovanni said to himself and chuckled. He held out Nidoqueen's pokeball and recalled his pokemon.

"Just what is your aim here anyway?" Red asked. "I've just beaten two of your pokemon without even breaking a sweat!"

"You don't really expect me to just give away my plan, do you?" Giovanni replied with a grin. "You should know me better than that, Red." Giovanni took another pokeball from his belt and released his next pokemon, which looked a lot like his Nidoqueen only with a purple body instead of light blue.

"Nidoking shall be my next pokemon." Giovanni said simply.

"Snorlax, good job, return!" Red recalled Snorlax and returned its pokeball to his belt, then took another one in hand. "Espeon, I choose you!" Red held up the pokeball he grabbed and released the psychic pokemon Espeon out onto the field.

"Interesting. Its not often you go for a straight type advantage." Giovanni chuckled. "Nidoking, attack with Megahorn!"

"Espeon, get ready and dodge it with Quick Attack!"

Nidoking leveled its horn at Espeon and then charged across the gym. A yellowish-green aura surrounded Nidoking's horn, giving the appearance of an even larger horn. Espeon's muscles tensed and, at the last possible moment, it dashed out of the way with a Quick Attack. Nidoking made a thrusting motion with his horn, stabbing at the air where Espeon had been, before the aura faded.

"Now take it down with Psychic!"

"Nidoking, Megahorn again and don't miss this time!"

Espeon began to focus on Nidoking, a blue aura surrounded him as his horn became elongated again. The blue aura caused Nidoking to pause and suddenly double over in pain from the crushing psychic force. As Espeon's hold weakened near the end of the attack, Nidoking suddenly turned and charged him. He gave Espeon a hard jab with his horn, knocking him back several feet, then dropped to his knees gasping for breath.

_"Looks like Giovanni's Nidoking isn't any better than the rest of his pokemon."_ Red thought to himself, still trying to figure out what Giovanni was planning. "Espeon, finish it with Quick Attack!"

Espeon quickly hopped onto his feet, having taken Nidoking's attack surprisingly well. He then shot toward Nidoking in a blur of movement, striking before Nidoking even had time to blink. Nidoking winced as Espeon suddenly struck him in the gut and staggered back, eventually falling over as he fainted. Giovanni recalled Nidoking, as if he had been expecting him to fall so easily, and placed the pokeball back on his belt.

"Thats three pokemon now, my remaining pokemon outnumber your's two to one." Red said to Giovanni. "Unless you've caught the winged mirages, this battle is over."

"So confident in your abilities, are you? You truly think it takes a legendary pokemon to defeat you, Red?" Giovanni chuckled to himself and shook his head. "It seems your strength has made you overconfident..."

_"What does he have up his sleeve then?"_ Red wondered. _"Is he just trying to psyche me out? Or does he really have a pokemon he thinks can make up for all these losses somehow?" _Red looked at Espeon and thought over his remaining pokemon.

_"Giovanni primarily uses ground-type pokemon, and I still have Venusaur and Blastoise left anyway. Whatever he has up his sleeve, I'm not going to worry about it."_ Red took a pokeball from his belt. _"I'll use Venusaur next."_

Meanwhile, Giovanni had drawn a pokeball and was ready to release his next pokemon as well. He held the pokeball in his hand and pressed the button, releasing his Kangaskhan out onto the field. He then waited for Red to make the usual switch to another pokemon, grinning eagerly.

"Espeon, thats enough for now, return!" Red called out as he recalled his Espeon. He didn't give the move a second thought and immediately held up Venusaur's pokeball. "Venusaur, I choose you!" The pokeball opened in Red's hand, releasing Venusaur, the final evolved form of Bulbasaur, out onto the field.

"Venusaur, use Leech Seed!" Venusaur angled the large tree-like plant on its back and fired a seed from the top of it. The seed almost overshot its target but landed on Kangaskhan's tail. The seed immediately sprouted vines and latched on.

"Kangaskhan, Dizzy Punch!" Kangaskhan wound up for a punch and then charged across the gym. Venusaur turned its head to the side, the best it could do to try to avoid the attack, taking Kangaskhan's punch as a right hook to the side of its face. Venusaur easily shrugged off the attack though, looking almost unharmed by it.

_"With Leech Seed up, Venusaur can definitely survive long enough to use that attack now."_ Red thought to himself. "Venusaur, begin charging! Solarbeam!" Venusaur nodded and began gathering solar energy through the plant on its back.

"A reckless tactic, Red!" Giovanni said to him. "Your Solarbeam technique leaves you wide open! Kangaskhan, use Comet Punch and follow up with quickly with another Dizzy Punch!"

Kangaskhan unleashed a flurry of punches on Venusaur. Venusaur felt only the lightest of blows from each hit, four punches in total, but still winced as each hit it directly in the face. Kangaskhan then wound up for a punch as Venusaur's plant began to glow brightly, signalling it was almost fully charged, and delivered another Dizzy Punch to end off its attacks. Venusaur winced and took a step back, but quickly shook it off.

The light began to drain out of the plant on Venusaur's back as it opened its mouth and fired the Solarbeam. A bright, yellow beam of energy blasted Kangaskhan at point-blank range, throwing her across the gym. Kangaskhan started to get back up shortly after hitting the ground, but collapsed again and fell unconscious as Leech Seed drained the last of her energy.

"It seems you don't give much thought to the consequences of your actions." Giovanni said to Red as he recalled Kangaskhan. "Of course, I won't say exactly what you did wrong yet, but that last battle most certainly decided this match Red."

"What are you talking about? I just beat your fourth pokemon without any losses!" Red shot back.

"Your overconfidence is going to be your undoing, Red." Giovanni said to him. Even with only two pokemon remaining, Giovanni's confidence hadn't faltered in the slightest. He took a pokeball from his belt and released his next pokemon, sending out a large steel snake pokemon out onto the field.

"That pokemon...thats a Steelix." Red thought. "It must have evolved from his Onix. Blastoise can handle this one though."

"Venusaur, good job, return!" Red recalled Venusaur. He placed Venusaur's pokeball on his belt and took Blastoise's pokeball in hand. "Blastoise, I choose you!" He pressed the button, releasing Blastoise from its pokeball and sending it out onto the gym's battlefield.

"Blastoise, take Steelix down in one hit! Hydro Pump!"

"Steelix, evade with Dig!"

Steelix hit the ground with its head and began drilling into it. Blastoise fired two wide, high-pressure blasts of water from its dual cannons at Steelix but was too slow. The blasts caught the tail end of Steelix's body just before it disappeared into the ground.

"Like we're going to let you hit with that attack!" Red said. "Blastoise, use Protect!" Blastoise crossed its arms in front of itself defensively, forming a protective barrier around its body.

"A minor setback." Giovanni said calmly. "Steelix, rise over here and use Sandstorm!" The ground near the hole Steelix had dug began to crack and burst open as Steelix rose up. Sand swirled around Steelix's body and then spread out across the field, creating a sandstorm. Blastoise's shield dropped and the pokemon winced as it felt sand blasting its body.

"Like that will stop us..." Red muttered. "Blastoise, use Hydro Pump again!"

"Steelix, evade with Dig!" Blastoise made another attempt to attack Steelix, but with much the same results. Blastoise fired two strong blasts of water at Steelix, but Steelix drilled into the ground and Blastoise only managed to land a glancing blow. The blinding sandstorm didn't help matters any, although Blastoise still managed to get in the hit.

"This again? Blastoise, block it with Protect!" Blastoise crossed its arms defensively, forming a blue, transparent shield around itself.

"Do you really think I would use the same tactic twice?" Giovanni said with a grin. "Steelix, rise!" The ground near the middle of the gym cracked open and Steelix rose out of it with a roar. Steelix curled its body around the hole until it had emerged fully.

"Now, knock his Blastoise down with Earthquake!" Steelix slammed the ground with his body, sending a shockwave throughout the battlefield. The ground cracked and ruptured, with the shockwave reaching Blastoise just as its protection wore off. The ground under Blastoise's feet ruptured, knocking it onto its back.

_"He went through all that to knock Blastoise over?"_ Red thought in disbelief. _"At that range, Blastoise can finish his Steelix as soon as he gets up."_

"Now to finish this..." Giovanni quietly said to himself. "Steelix, Explosion!" Steelix moved toward Blastoise, its body glowing as energy began to gather in its body, building up to explosive proportions.

"No! Blastoise, quick! Get up and finish it off! Hydro Pump!" Blastoise withdrew into its shell and flipped itself over to get back on its feet. Blastoise stood up and faced Steelix, but it was too late. A blast of energy shot out in all directions from Steelix's body, scattering the sand that had been blowing through the gym. In the blink of an eye, Blastoise disappeared into the blast.

"BLASTOISE!" Red had to shield his eyes against the sand being blasted out of the battlefield. When the sand and dust died down, leaving a clear battlefield, both Steelix and Blastoise were unconscious. Giovanni recalled Steelix without a moment of hesitation. Red, upon seeing his Blastoise, fell to his knees.

"Blastoise..."

"Now don't tell me this is a new experience for you, Red." Giovanni said, chuckling to himself. Red clenched his fists and shot Giovanni a glare.

"Only you would force a pokemon to use a technique like Explosion!" Red yelled at him. He stood up and quickly recalled Blastoise, then took Pikachu's pokeball in hand.

"Explosion is a perfectly legitimate strategy, Red, used by many trainers throughout Kanto and other regions." Giovanni said to him. "Even pokemon are willing to win a battle at any cost, you of all people should recognize this."

"What? Why would you think that?!"

"You claim to understand how your pokemon feel, don't you?" Giovanni said flatly. "Have you ever wondered why pokemon listen to their trainers at all? Why they are willing to fight for their trainers?"

"Its because of the bond we share with them!" Red replied. Giovanni laughed at him.

"Do you honestly believe that, Red?" Giovanni asked him, grinning. "Pokemon are born weapons, natural killers. They bond with humans only out of their desire for battle. Their powers and capabilities are beyond anything we could do ourselves, which is why they are the perfect weapon."

"I don't have to stand here and listen to this!" Red shot back. "Pikachu, I choose you!" Red opened Pikachu's pokeball and released her. Pikachu appeared on the field with an excited cry, but frowned when she saw Giovanni.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter." Giovanni said to him. "Every move I have made so far...was for this." Giovanni took a pokeball in hand and released a pokemon out onto the field. At first, nothing seemed to appear. The red beam from the pokeball was angled toward the ground. Three holes soon opened up, though, and the brown heads of a trio of Digletts popped up. Giovanni's final pokemon was Dugtrio.

"This is your final pokemon? I don't..." Red stopped and gasped when the realization dawned on him. Giovanni knew he would use Pikachu last, and Red fought through the entire match without giving it a second thought. His Pikachu couldn't harm any of Giovanni's pokemon except Kangaskhan, but he had been following his usual battle plan so closely that it slipped his mind completely.

"You see, Red, unlike you I plan more than a step ahead." Giovanni said to him. "Each of my pokemon needed only to weaken your's so that my most powerful pokemon, Dugtrio, could finish them off one by one."

"Even if your Dugtrio is strong, there's no way its strong enough to do that!" Red said, knowing Snorlax at least could take Dugtrio's strongest attacks. Even after taking a Superpower from Giovanni's Nidoqueen.

"True, unfortunately, but you have played straight into my hands and given me the opportunity to change that." Giovanni said with a grin.

"Whats that supposed to mean?"

"To put it quite bluntly, you've fallen straight into my trap. Dugtrio?" Dugtrio disappeared into the ground, reappearing in the middle of the gym. The ground suddenly shook and slanted down toward Dugtrio. Pikachu tried to run to get out of the way, but the ground under her feet slide toward Dugtrio as she tried to run and kept her from moving anywhere.

"Arena Trap, perhaps you are familiar with it?" Giovanni said to a bewildered Red. "Your Pikachu is trapped with no choice but to fight Dugtrio, denied its most powerful means of attacking. Your Pikachu is something special, but it is still nothing against a ground-type pokemon."

"I still don't see how thats going to help you beat the rest of my pokemon."

"That would be where this technique comes in." Giovanni replied. "Dugtrio, Ancientpower!" Dugtrio focused, bringing out a latent ancient power from within itself. Rocks began to float up from the ground and were then flung at Pikachu. Pikachu cried out and was sent rolling across the ground from the attack, though the sliding soil under her kept her from moving any further away from Dugtrio.

_"Damn it, no time for talking then!"_ Red thought, realizing now what Giovanni had planned. Though the chances were slim, Ancientpower could cause an increase in Dugtrio's speed, toughness, and power. "Pikachu, attack from above with Slam!" Pikachu jumped out toward Dugtrio and came down on top of it, hitting the ground pokemon with her tail. Dugtrio's three heads winced as Pikachu's tail hit them from above, but they easily shook it off.

"Perhaps you're smarter than you seem, Red, but its too late for you to change the outcome." Giovanni said to him. "Dugtrio, use Ancientpower again!"

"Pikachu, quick! Double Team!" Pikachu split off into multiple images as Dugtrio called upon Ancientpower again. Rocks floated around Dugtrio and it flung the rocks at one of Pikachu's image, but the image vanished as Dugtrio struck a fake.

"My Pikachu isn't so helpless, Giovanni! You're going to regret banking on this strategy!" Red said to him. "Pikachu, now! Slam!"

"Dugtrio, Dig!" Pikachu's duplicate images vanished as she moved to attack, jumping down toward Dugtrio to attack with her tail. Dugtrio quickly withdrew its body underground, disappearing under the gym before Pikachu could land the attack. Dugtrio popped back up almost as quickly, knocking Pikachu back from the hole where she landed.

"It will take more than Double Team to save you now, Red." Giovanni said to him. "Even with Double Team, there is still a chance for Dugtrio to hit the right target. And Dugtrio can evade your follow-up attack with Dig."

"There's really no way for Pikachu to beat it then..." Red thought in dismay. "And if he uses Ancientpower and manages to get that power-up, its game over." Red looked over at Pikachu and pondered his next move.

_"Wait a second...in order for his strategy to succeed, he needs Pikachu to stay in the battle."_ He thought. _"She doesn't look like she could take another hit from Dig...would he risk it?"_

"Dugtrio, Ancientpower!"

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack and dodge under it!"

Dugtrio focused its power again, causing rocks to float around it. When Dugtrio flung the rocks at Pikachu she quickly dashed down the sloped ground in a blur of movement. She managed to move under the rocks, narrowly avoiding the attack, and then struck Dugtrio with a light hit. Dugtrio shook it off easily.

"Pikachu, now! Double Team!" While still next to Dugtrio, Pikachu split off into multiple images and surrounded it.

"As I already said, Red, Double Team won't help you." Giovanni said to him.

"We'll see about that!" Red shot back. "Pikachu, Slam attack now!"

"Dugtrio, withdraw with Dig!" Pikachu twirled around, trying to slam her tail into Dugtrio but the swift mole pokemon pulled its head under before Pikachu could hit it. The attack also caused the duplicate images to disappear.

"Are you sure you want to do that, Giovanni?" Red asked him with a grin.

"What are you talking about?" Giovanni asked in response, raising an eyebrow. Red pointed to Pikachu, and when Giovanni looked he noticed Pikachu was panting and seemed rather tired. He gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath.

"Dugtrio, don't attack!" Giovanni called out. Dugtrio emerged from the ground in front of Pikachu.

"Heh. Seems there's a flaw in your plan, Giovanni." Red said to him. "You need Pikachu to survive until you manage to get the Ancientpower boost, but in all your planning you forgot that, even though my Pikachu is strong, her defenses are weak."

_"Wait...does that mean its a good thing I can't take hits well?"_ Pikachu wondered.

"The next hit you get in on Pikachu will knock her out, meaning a different pokemon will face Dugtrio." Red continued explaining. "Snorlax could deal with your Dugtrio just fine if you can't get the boost. He'll take a hit from whatever attack you use, use Rest to heal, and then knock Dugtrio out with a Snore attack."

"I see...seems you're starting to think things through." Giovanni replied. A bead of sweat dripped down the side of his face. "But if that last attack is Ancientpower then I still have a chance! Dugtrio, Ancientpower!" Dugtrio began to focus, drawing out its latent powers for another attack.

"And thats checkmate, Giovanni!" Red called out. "Pikachu, now! Slam attack!" Pikachu twirled around, striking Dugtrio hard with her tail. Dugtrio was caught while it was still powering up for the attack, stunning it briefly and causing Dugtrio to lose focus.

_"He...he set me up!"_ Giovanni thought, a shocked expression on his face. _"Impossible! I, Giovanni, was tricked by Red?!" _Red had Pikachu move in close, knowing Giovanni wouldn't attack Pikachu with Dig in its weakened state. Within close proximity, Pikachu would be able to stop Dugtrio from using Ancientpower.

"One more time, Slam!" Dugtrio tried to draw out power for its attack again, but Pikachu again attacked before Dugtrio could. With one more strike from her tail, each Diglett that made up the trio leaned over and fell unconscious. With Dugtrio unconscious, Arena Trap wore off and Pikachu ran across the gym to stand at Red's side.

"Banking on a single pokemon to win the match for you is never a good idea." Red said to Giovanni.

"So it would seem..." Giovanni muttered. "Seems you have somehow managed to outwit me afterall. Perhaps it is time I retired from Team Rocket afterall."

"Do you really think I'm just going to let you walk away?" Red said to him.

"Are you?" Giovanni asked flatly. "I have no pokemon left, while you have all of your's. I am completely at your mercy, it seems. So what will you do?"

_"What WILL I do?"_ Red wondered. _"The right thing to do would be to turn him over to the authorities but..." _Red decided to think over his next move. He finally had Giovanni right where he wanted him, and he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

* * *

Meanwhile, back on One Island...

"I can see why people love hot springs so much, I feel ready to take on the world now!" Ashley said, full of enthusiasm after a relaxing soak in One Island's hot springs. The three of them, Ashley, Rina, and Pippi, were just leaving the cave the springs were in.

"How about you settle for a gym leader instead?" Rina suggested, giggling quietly at Ashley.

"Right! I'll beat the last two gym leaders no problem!" Ashley declared. "And then, I'll keep going and beat the Elite Four too!"

"Ok, maybe you need a dip in the cold springs to cool off now..." Rina said to her. "So how do you feel, Pippi?"

"-Great!-" Pippi replied. "-But I can't help but feel like we missed out on something while we were in there...-"

Rina smiled and nodded to her. "I wouldn't worry about it, we get plenty of excitement as it is."

* * *

Author's Notes: Though the story focuses on Ashley and Rina at this point, I felt the need to show this battle. Still debating what to do with Giovanni at this point. In the games, he just disappears. But why would anyone, especially Red, just let him off the hook so easily? Maybe Red can come up with some sort of karmic punishment for him. Also, to say Red's strong is an understatement. His pokemon grew rather quickly.

From a writer's perspective, I have to say I hate Dugtrio. Its one of those bizarre first gen pokemon, like Voltorb and Muk, but at least those two you can show easily enough. First off its technically not even three Diglett's fused, according to the pokedex, rather they just share a hive mind of sorts. Second, what the HECK do they look like below the ground? They obviously have claws down there somewhere but what do they look like? What would happen if you released a Dugtrio somewhere it couldn't dig into so easily?

You're pretty much limited to showing Dugtrio on natural, diggable terrain unless you want to take creative liberties with its appearance. I've considered doing that before, but decided I'd rather stick to its given appearance. If at some point I ever have a character get a Dugtrio, you can bet it won't be seen very often and only when the terrain would permit its usual head-only appearance.

Short chapter overall, but I felt it was necessary to show this. Would have had it up sooner but I spent most of last week procrastinating up until the weekend, as usual, and then had to deal with a family dinner yesterday.


	29. Chapter 29: Burnt Out

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Twenty Nine**

**Burnt Out**

"Anytime you two want to visit the islands you can use that Tri-Pass and board the Sea Gallop in Vermilion." Bill said to Ashley and Rina. They had arrived at Cinnabar Island and Bill was seeing them off before the Sea Gallop left again. As usual, Pippi and Bulbasaur were out of their pokeballs.

"I'll have to thank Cyril the next time I'm there then, now I can visit the hot springs anytime I want!" Ashley replied, showing off her Tri-Pass.

"Giving that to her might not have been such a great idea." Rina muttered and sighed.

"Well if either of you ever need anything, just let me or Cyril know! We'd be glad to help you out!" The Sea Gallop's whistle blew, letting Bill know it was ready to leave. "Looks like its time for me to go, I'll be seeing you two around!" Everyone waved, and Bill boarded the Sea Gallop to head to Vermilion.

"Well now that we're in Cinnabar, what do we do next?" Rina asked.

"What else? Head to the gym!" Ashley replied, turning around and heading off toward the south end of the island.

"Ashley! Wait!" Rina called out after her. Ashley stopped in her tracks and looked back at her. Rina pointed north of them, where a building clearly labelled 'gym' stood in the distance.

"J-just testing you, thats all!" Ashley said, smiling sheepishly. She quickly walked past Rina, heading back to the gym.

"She's way too excited about this." Rina said to Bulbasaur and Pippi before following after Ashley.

"-I couldn't agree more. There's nothing exciting about yet another gym battle I won't be participating in.-" Bulbasaur grumbled.

The group followed behind Ashley until she was near the door, at which point Rina remembered Ashley's preferred method of opening the gym doors.

"Ashley, STOP!" Rina ran to try to stop her, but was too late. Ashley pushed on the doors to throw them open...but they wouldn't budge.

"What the..." Ashley pushed against the doors, trying to open them, but they still wouldn't budge. "What gives?! The gym shouldn't be closed now!"

"Oh...guess that solves that then..." Rina stated, blinking and staring blankly at the door.

"-Gee, I'm so disappointed to.-" Bulbasaur muttered, rolling his eyes.

"-Oh, grow up already.-" Pippi said to him. Bulbasaur quickly extended a vine and hit her in the back of her head. "-Ow! Rina, Bulbasaur hit me!-"

"Both of you behave yourselves!" Rina scolded them.

"That does it! We're just going to barge in there!" Ashley took a pokeball from her belt, but Rina quickly grabbed her hand.

"Ashley! You can't just go breaking into the gym!" Rina said to her.

"Why not?! Its supposed to be open!" Ashley shot back.

"Thats no reason to break in! They could be closed for a perfectly valid reason!" The two girls struggled, with Rina using both hands to keep Ashley from releasing her pokemon.

"Just what do you two think you're doing?" Ashley and Rina stopped struggling with each other and looked up to see an older man in a brown coat standing nearby. His eyes were concealed by a wide brim hat and his face by a beard. "Don't you know about Blaine's test?"

"Blaine's...test?" Ashley blinked in disbelief and Rina let go of her hand.

"What kind of test is it?" Rina asked him.

"You can just go into his gym like that." The old man said to him. "Blaine takes his role as a gym leader very seriously. If you want to challenge him, you first have to prove your worth by finding the key to his gym."

"Key? Where are we supposed to find that then?" Ashley asked him.

"These days he hides it in the burnt down mansion." The man replied. "Its in the north-west end of the island."

"Burnt down mansion? Well in that case, I'll find that key right away!" Ashley said enthusiastically. "Thanks, mister."

"Don't go thinking it'll be that easy." The man cautioned her. "There's a reason he chose the mansion, afterall..."

_"A burnt down mansion..."_ Rina thought to herself. _"Could there be fire-type pokemon living there now?"_

* * *

Ashley and Rina hurried over to the burnt down mansion, but were surprised to find it mostly intact. They opened the front doors of the mansion and stepped inside. They found themselves in a large foyer with what used to be a red carpet leading across a long hallway. Several pillars lined the room, and there was a flight of stairs leading up to the next level.

"You know, when that guy said it was burnt down, I expected to be sifting through debris for a key." Ashley said once they stepped inside.

"Me too...but this place looks like it could practically be refurnished and would be as good as new." Rina said in agreement.

"-Does it actually matter what condition the place is in?-" Bulbasaur asked nervously. "-Lets just find the key and get out of here already. There's something about this place that I really don't like.-"

"Well, if this is what we have to deal with, then we should probably split up to find that key." Ashley suggested.

"No way!" Rina quickly replied. "There's no telling what might happen in here, we better stick together."

"You have a point I guess..." Ashley said, imagining a wall collapsing on herself with only Bulbasaur to help her and him ignoring her cries for help. She shot Bulbasaur a dirty look from the corner of her eyes.

"What would be the easiest way for us to find that key then?" Rina wondered aloud.

"-Its too bad none of us have a special key-finding ability.-" Pippi noted in dismay.

"-Yeah, cause it'd be perfectly normal for a pokemon to have an attack called 'Find Key'.-" Bulbasaur rolled his eyes.

Unknown to the girls, a man and his pokemon were observing the two from a hole in the ceiling. The pokemon opened its mouth and breathed out a cloud of smoke down onto the group.

"What the?!" Ashley cried out in surprise as the smoke obscured her vision.

"I can't see a thing!" Rina said. The smoke shrouded them, clouding their vision. They both coughed as they breathed it in. Neither of them heard the sound of someone jumping down from the ceiling and landing near them. They quickly opened the mansion's door, letting the smoke get sucked out into the open air.

"Where did that come from all of a sudden?" Ashley wondered aloud.

"Ashley! Your bag!" Ashley blinked and looked down at her side, where her travel bag was usually hanging. Somehow, until she had looked, she didn't notice it was gone.

"What?!" Ashley looked around on the floor where they were standing, to see if she dropped it when the smoke descended on them. "Where did it..." Looking up again, Ashley caught sight of a man running toward the stairs at the opposite end of the room. He had Ashley's bag in his hands.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE!" Ashley yelled and took off running after him. By then, he had already gone up the stairs.

"Ashley! Wait up!" Rina called out and took off running after her.

"-We're certainly off to a good start.-" Bulbasaur muttered, rolling his eyes.

"-Come on! We have to follow them!-" Pippi said to him then chased off after Rina and Ashley.

"-Guess there's no helping it.-" Bulbasaur shrugged. "-Still don't like this place.-" Bulbasaur sighed and took off after them as well.

Ashley was the first to reach the top of the flight of stairs and stopped to look around. The stairs lead into a small room with another flight of stairs next to an opening leading out into a corridor, a pokemon statue, and an opening to an equipment room half blocked off by rubble. The thief she had been chasing was nowhere in sight

"Great...where did he go from here now?" Ashley muttered bitterly. Rina, Pippi, and Bulbasaur soon caught up with her at the top of the stairs.

_"Is that supposed to be a pokemon?"_ Rina wondered, looking at the statue. It looked somewhat like a hairless cat with a long tail.

"-Anyone else notice it seems unusually warm in here?-" Bulbasaur asked, shuddering. "-I don't like this at all.-"

"There's probably fire pokemon making their home here now." Rina said to Bulbasaur, turning her attention away from the statue. "Anyway, where do we go from here?" She then asked Ashley.

"We'll check upstairs first." Ashley said to her. "But I'll go first, just incase it isn't safe."

"-Here's hoping.-" Bulbasaur said quietly.

"-That was just mean.-" Pippi said to him.

Ashley went up the flight of stairs that stood before them, making it up without any problems but finding herself at a dead end. The room she found looked like it had been completely open at one point, but now it was enclosed entirely in rubble from burnt down walls, furniture, and equipment.

"There's nothing up here at all..." Ashley said to Rina when she got to the top of the stairs with Pippi and Bulbasaur. "Back down then..."

"Wait! Whats that?" Rina ran over to the table and picked up the book. "It looks like someone's journal..."

"What?! Rina, we need to get my stuff back!" Ashley said to her indignantly.

"There could be something interesting in this though!" Rina shot back, holding up the journal. "Maybe even why the mansion burnt down like this!"

"I'd hardly call this burnt down..." Ashley replied. "If you want to read it so badly then just take it with you, I want to get my stuff back already!" Rina nodded, slipping the journal into her backpack and then going back down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, they found themselves immersed in another cloud of smoke.

"Not again!" Ashley cried out in dismay. "Bulbasaur, quick! Use your vines and clear this smoke somehow!"

"-What?! How the heck am I supposed to do that?!-" Bulbasaur demanded with a growl.

"EEEEK!" Rina screamed from within the darkness.

"-Rina!-" Pippi started running around frantically, trying to find Rina but ending up running around in circles instead.

"-Oh hey I just learned GUST!-" Bulbasaur extended two vines and began twirling them around above him like a fan, trying to stir up the smoke with little effect though it soon dispersed on its own. A loud bang could be heard nearby, but the girls and pokemon were too preoccupied to notice.

"Rina! Are you ok?" Ashley asked her once the smoke was clear.

"I'm fine but..." Rina looked over her shoulder. Her backpack was gone, and this time the thief was nowhere in sight. The thief had already grabbed her backpack and rounded the corner by the time everyone could see again.

"-Ok, now this is personal!-" Pippi declared, slamming her fists together while sparks shot out from her cheeks.

"I can't believe we let him get us again!" Ashley growled in frustration. "He didn't even leave any footprints for us to follow! Just who is this guy?"

"-Someone good at stealing things apparently.-" Bulbasaur muttered, glancing around the room. "-Trainer too, thats definitely a pokemon's Smokescreen attack.-"

"So whoever it is, they're a trainer and they're using their pokemon to help them steal things." Rina noted bitterly. "Just another criminal for us to bring to justice!"

"You didn't care this much when my bag was stolen." Ashley muttered quietly. "Anyway, lets try in there." Ashley pointed to the door south of them, the one partially blocked off by burnt rubble. They moved closer, but were quickly greeted by three pokemon. Two Weezing floated out in front of them, accompanied by a fiery humanoid pokemon with a duck bill.

"There's wild pokemon here?" Ashley said in disbelief.

"Oh, hey! Maybe one of you saw a thief running around here?" Ashley asked the pokemon.

"-You's trainers are on our turf!-" The duck billed pokemon said. "-We dun like you, so we gonna burn you's good now!-" The two Weezing nodded in agreement with the fire pokemon.

"I wonder what pokemon that is..." Ashley took out her pokedex and scanned the lone fire pokemon.

"Umm, Ashley, I don't think you should be worrying about that right now..." Rina said to her. Ashley ignored her plea, but Pippi quickly moved in front of the two trainers.

"Magmar, the Spitfire Pokemon." The pokedex read. "Its body always burns with an orange glow that enables it to hide perfectly amidst flames." Ashley looked up from the pokedex to look at Magmar and raised an eyebrow.

"Doesn't look like its glowing to me...really, who writes these things?" Ashley sighed and put her pokedex away. The group of pokemon began to advance.

"ASHLEY!" Rina yelled at her.

"Fine, fine..." Ashley sighed. "Ok, Bulbasaur, attack with Razor Leaf!" Ashley called out.

"-I'm going to regret doing this I KNOW I am!-" Bulbasaur ran out in front of Ashley and fired a barrage of sharp leaves at the opposing pokemon. The trio barely flinched as the leaves cut across their bodies. All three pokemon responded by blasting Bulbasaur with a cone of fire, leaving Bulbasaur completely scorched.

"-Totally...called...it...-" Bulbasaur wheezed out before collapsing.

"Pippi, use Thunderbolt now!" Rina called out. Pippi fired a bolt of electricity from her cheeks, hitting the Magmar and even shocking the two Weezing hovering near it. Magmar staggered and nearly collapsed from the bolt, but both of the Weezing easily shook it off. Rina quickly grabbed another pokeball to send out reinforcements for Pippi while Ashley recalled Bulbasaur.

"Knight, lets go!" Rina held out the Great Ball she had put Knight in and released him in front of Pippi. The two Weezing and Magmar attacked with Flamethrower again, spewing out a blast of flames toward Pippi just as Knight appeared to take the attack instead. The three pokemon focused their fire attacks on Knight, but when it was over he only had a minor scorch mark to show for it.

"-Fire attacks mean nothing to me.-" Knight said to them. He grinned to himself and cracked his knuckles as the opposing pokemon stood back in fear. "-So, Rina, which ones should I take down first?-"

_"So thats Rina's Dragonite?"_ Ashley thought to herself. She had taken another pokemon's ball in her hand but decided not to release it. _"Well, looks like she has everything taken care of then in that case..."_

"Knight, attack Magmar with Dragon Claw!" Dragonite raised one hand back, allowing for a set of orange, glowing claws to extend from his hand. He slashed Magmar across its body with his draconic strength, sending Magmar flying back until he hit the floor and slid into the far wall of the other room and was knocked out instantly. The two Weezing fled to check on the Magmar.

"-Well that was almost too-URK!-" Suddenly a pair of orange claws raked across Knight's body, causing him to stagger back. Looking up in bewilderment, Knight saw another Dragonite, looking exactly like him, standing at the entrance.

"Another Dragonite? Where did that come from?" Ashley wondered aloud, blinking in disbelief. The enemy Dragonite rushed toward Knight, tackling him past Rina and Ashley. The two quickly jumped back to their feet after hitting the stairs and turned to face each other.

"Knight!" Rina called out in concern. Both pokemon looked at her as if expecting a command. "I can't tell which is which!" She cried out in dismay. She lost track of which one was Knight while they were tumbling across the ground. Both Dragonite even had dark green skin, making it impossible to tell them apart.

"-I could help if I knew which one to shock!-" Pippi said.

"Hypno, go!" Ashley called out, finally releasing her pokemon. The rather buff looking psychic pokemon appeared facing the two brawling Dragonite and looked around with a rather confused expression on his face.

"-What the? Where am I?-" Hypno looked behind him at Ashley and Rina with an even more confused expression. "-Who the hell are you people?!-"

"Ashley, I don't think he's going to be any help..." Rina said to her. "He seems kinda confused...where did you catch him anyway?"

"Oh, I found him unconscious after a battle with my Beedrill and decided to catch him." Ashley replied. "Maybe that wasn't such a good idea afterall..."

"-Th...th...that was HER Beedrill?!-" Hypno exclaimed in shock, slowly stepping away from Ashley in fear. "-I still remember those eyes...those cold, soulless eyes...-"

"-I don't care how exact of a duplicate of me you might be, I am Knight! I won't lose to you!-" Tired of waiting, the two Dragonites went on the attack. Both of them raised one hand back, extending claws forged from draconic power and then attacking. Their claws collided and they pushed back against each other, finding themselves easily matched.

"-I am the real Knight! I will never lose to any imposter!-" The other Dragonite said as he raised his fist back. The first Dragonite followed suit, focusing energy into their hands and then unleashing a powerful Focus Punch attack upon each other. Again, their attacks matched up, sending out a powerful shockwave as their fists collided and pushed against each other.

"Look! We don't have time for this!" Ashley growled at Hypno in frustration. "There be Dragonites!" Ashley pointed at the two Dragonites locked in combat. "You go Hypnosis both of them!"

"-R-right!-" Hypno stuttered in response and turned back to the two Dragonite's. _"If I don't listen she might sick that Beedrill on me again! Here goes nothing..." _Hypno started waving his watch from side to side, using it as a focus point for hypnotic energy waves. Hypno focused his attack on one of the Dragonite, causing it to grow drowsy and lose strength.

"-Damn it...I woulda...had him...-" The Dragonite mumbled, slipping into a deep sleep. He fell toward his opponent but was quickly pushed down as the other Dragonite connected with its Focus Punch attack. The affected Dragonite was knocked to the floor by the punch and slept through it.

"Good, now the other one!" Hypno focused its Hypnosis attack on the other Dragonite now. The Dragonite turned toward Hypno, its body starting to ripple as if it were a liquid. Its body began to change until an exact duplicate of Ashley's Hypno was standing opposite of it and started to wave around the pendulum that formed. The doppleganger Hypno was using Hypnosis now as well.

"-HOLY SON OF A SNORLAX!-" Hypno shouted, staggering back in surprise and dropping his pendulum. "-What IS this thing?!-"

"Ok, that one is definitely NOT Knight!" Rina said and then gave an exasperated sigh. "We put the wrong one to sleep..."

"Well its not like we could tell, we kinda lost track when that...thing suddenly attacked!" Ashley said to her.

"-Whatever that pokemon is, its seriously creeping me out!-" Pippi said, growling at the fake Hypno. Ashley took out her pokedex to scan the other Hypno, hoping it would have the answer.

"Ditto, the Transform Pokemon." The pokedex read. "Capable of copying an opponent's genetic code to instantly transform itself into a duplicate of the enemy."

"Well this time we know which one is the imposter." Ashley declared with a smirk. "Ok! Lets both attack it at the same time and take it out!"

"-What?! You want me to attack that...thing?!-" Hypno asked in disbelief. The other Hypno was still trying to put him to sleep with Hypnosis, but with no effect. It was clearly starting to become frustrated as a result.

"Right, lets do it!" Rina said enthusiastically as she nodded in agreement. "Pippi, attack the Ditto with Volt Tackle!"

"-I was waiting for those words!-" Pippi grinned as she began charging electricity around her body.

"Hypno, get ready to follow it up with Headbutt!" Hypno blinked in disbelief and nodded slowly. He was still trying to grasp the situation and the transformed Ditto wasn't helping him any.

"-Volt...TACKLE!-" Pippi cried out, a surge of power flowing through her as she shot toward the transformed Ditto. The Ditto didn't look until it was too late. Pippi plowed into him, creating a shockwave that sent a pulse of electricity through the Ditto's body. The transformed Ditto staggered back from the impact while Pippi dropped to the floor. One of Ditto's flailing arms struck the nearby pokemon statue, seemingly knocking its head off.

"-Ow...that thing is actually pretty tough...-" Pippi mumbled as she picked herself up off the floor.

"Hypno, now!" Ashley called out.

"-R...right!-" Hypno stood up and then lowered his head. Hypno charged toward its doppleganger, raising his head at the last second to strike his opponent in the jaw. Ditto staggered back again, hitting the wall near the top of the stairs. It then lost its balance and tumbled down the stairs, getting knocked unconscious when it hit the floor and reverting back into a pink blob.

"Well, guess that takes care of that! Good job, Hypno!" Ashley said, congratulating him. She took a quick glance back into the other room, where the Magmar and two Weezing were. The Magmar was conscious again and all three were huddled together, cowering.

"-You're congratulating me now?!-" Hypno said, turning to Ashley with a confused expression. "-You're insane! You're all insane! This whole world is insane! I just want to hide in that pokeball thing and never come out again!-"

"Whats he saying?" Ashley asked Rina.

"He...he wants to go back into his pokeball..." Rina replied hesitantly. Ashley nodded and promptly recalled Hypno.

"-Wait, what WAS he saying?-" Pippi asked. "-I didn't understand that at all.-"

"Rina, aren't you going to recall Knight?" Ashley asked her.

"No, I'm going to keep him out to fight off that thief's pokemon when we find him." Rina replied. She looked over at the sleeping Dragonite and happened to catch a glimpse of the statue in the process. "Hey! Look at that!" Rina pointed to the statue. The head was seemingly snapped off, but was hanging on in the back. A red button sat at the top of the statue's neck.

"It looks like there was a button hidden in the statue..." Rina said to Ashley. "Should we press it?"

"Who wouldn't?" Ashley replied, grinning from ear to ear. She eagerly pressed the button and heard a loud bang nearby. "What was that?!"

Rina quickly ducked around the corner near the flight of stairs leading up, the only direction they hadn't gone yet, and saw an opening in the wall to the left of her. There was another loud bang as the door suddenly shut. "Ashley, press that button again and hold it down!" Rina called back to Ashley. Ashley did so, and the door opened again.

"If I was a thief, a secret room is definitely where I'd hide." Rina said, smiling to herself. She looked back toward the stairs, about to call for Pippi, but noticed Knight was starting to wake up.

"-Damn it...had that guy right where I wanted him...-" Knight mumbled groggily. He slowly scanned the room, looking for the other Dragonite. "-Guess I missed it...-"

"Knight, over here! Pippi, you stay there and protect Ashley!" Rina called to them. Knight slowly got up and walked over to where Rina was standing. "That thief is in that room there I know he is!" Rina said, pointing to the open door. "We're going to go in there and grab him. Knight, you go in first and I will follow behind."

"-Got it, this time I won't get caught off guard.-" Knight slammed his fists together and walked over to the opening with Rina following behind him.

"Guess I'm stuck holding this button..." Ashley said with a sigh and looked down at Pippi. "Trade places?" She asked her. Pippi shook her head.

In the room, meanwhile, Rina and Knight found a man in a white shirt, brown jeans, and wearing a baseball cap backwards. He had two fire lizard pokemon, a Charmander and Charmeleon, standing next to him while he hurriedly emptied Ashley and Rina's bags into a large burlap sack.

"D-d-damn it! Busted!" The thief quickly hid behind a table. "If I knew they had a powerful pokemon like that I woulda swiped their pokeballs too!" He whimpered. "Charmander! Charmeleon! Attack!"

"-Its nothing personal...-" The Charmander raised one hand and extended its claws as a metallic coating formed on them.

"-Our trainer has to make a living somehow...-" The Charmeleon added as he likewise raised a claw-tipped hand and prepared to use Metal Claw. The two fire pokemon charged toward Knight to attack. Once the two were in arm's length of Knight he reached out, grabbing their heads and slamming them together. Both pokemon slumped to the ground in a heap, knocked out instantly.

"-Too easy.-" Knight said, rubbing his hands together.

"Ack! Please don't hurt me!" The thief ducked under the table, cowering against the floor.

"This...is the guy who stole our stuff?" Rina said, blinking in disbelief. "He's...pathetic..."

"-So what do we do about him then?-" Knight asked Rina.

"I don't know...I kinda feel sorry for him now..." Rina replied and slowly started to walk toward him.

"-Feel sorry? For a thief?-" Knight folded his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes. "-You're like your father, way too forgiving.-"

"I'm willing to let you go, but on one condition." Rina said to the thief.

"R-really?!" The thief peeked out cautiously. "What? What is it? I'll do anything just don't turn me in!"

"You have to train your pokemon and become a proper trainer." Rina said to him. "If you're willing to do that then I'll let you take two of my great balls to start."

"DEAL!" The thief jumped out from under the table and shook Rina's hand. "I promise I'll lead an honest life from now on!"

_"Wow, that was easy..."_ Rina thought to herself. She reached into the burlap sack and took out two great balls, which could have been either her's, Ashley's, or someone else's for all she knew. "You'll have to get them reset but they're empty anyway so that shouldn't be a problem." She said as she handed them over to him.

"Thank you! I promise I'll try my best as a real trainer!" The thief said gleefully as he took the two great balls in hand. He took two pokeballs in hand and recalled his Charmander and Charmeleon.

"I won't ever forget this act of kindness!" The thief said to Rina and then bolted out of the room.

"See, Knight, sometimes all people need is a little forgiveness!" Rina said, smiling brightly.

"-Somehow, I don't believe he's going to change his ways so easily.-" Knight replied with a snort.

"Anyway, now I can finally read that journal!" Rina opened the sack and sorted through it. There were all sorts of items in the sack along with those belonging to her and Ashley. She found the book easily enough, though the back had fallen off it from the rough handling. She also noticed a key burried in the bag and grabbed it as well.

"This key..." Rina held up the key and looked at it. It looked like a typical key, only the top of it had the Cinnabar Gym's badge on it. "This must be the key Blaine hid here. So all this other stuff must be things the guy found around the mansion..."

Knight raised an eye at her. "-Journal? Key? What did you guys come here for anyway?-" He asked her.

"Ashley needed to find the key so she could challenge Blaine." Rina replied, holding up the key for Knight to see. "That thief must have found the key here somewhere. There's a bunch of evolution stones and TM's in there too, even ones Ashley didn't have."

"-You're not really going to take that stuff are you?-"

"Well, most of it is our's anyway, and the rest he probably just found here so I don't see what the problem would be..."

"-You really don't think its all...-"

Ashley suddenly burst into the room, brushing past Knight and cutting him off. "Rina! What did you let that guy go for!?" Ashley asked Rina, looking a bit upset. Pippi casually walked in behind her.

"-I'm curious about that too...what about his pokemon?-" Pippi asked.

"I felt kinda sorry for him..." Rina replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "So I told him he could go if he promised to go straight as a trainer."

"-I say once a criminal, always a criminal.-" Knight muttered to himself.

"What about our stuff?" Ashley asked.

"Its all in that sack there..." Rina replied, pointing at the sack on the floor. "We'll have to sort through it though. There's some other stuff there too, including this key." Rina held up the key for Ashley to see. Ashley quickly approached her and took the key out of her hand.

"This...this has to be the gym key!" Ashley said, grinning widely. "Hey! What else is in here then, I wonder?" Ashley picked up the sack and sorted through it. "Oh wow! A water stone! I could evolve Poliwhirl with that!"

"I think he has every kind of stone in there..." Rina reached into the bag and pulled out a green stone with a lightning bolt on it, then held it out toward Pippi. "This Thunder Stone would evolve you into a Raichu if you want, Pippi."

Pippi looked at the stone curiously for a moment and shook her head. "-Nuh uh! Not evolving!-" Pippi replied. "-I don't want to evolve before my mother does.-"

"We'll just hold onto it then." Rina placed the stone back in the bag. "Moon Stone too...I wonder if Clyde would want to evolve?"

"We can worry about all that later." Ashley said while grabbing her empty travel bag from the table. "I'm going to sort through the bag and find my stuff."

"I'll do that in a minute..." Rina sat down on the floor and placed the journal in her lap, opening it to the first readable page.

"-I really think you should turn over anything there that doesn't belong to you to the proper authorities.-" Knight said to them. His plea seemed to fall on deaf ears. Knight let out a sigh. "-Kids these days...-"

"Says here this place was some kind of lab and that they found a legendary pokemon called Mew." Rina said as she read over the journal. She flipped through a couple more pages, stopping at a nearly unblemished entry. "It says here that they tried to clone Mew and made a new pokemon called Mewtwo..."

Ashley stopped and looked over at Rina in disbelief. "Rina, there's no way that can be true. Mew's existance isn't even confirmed for one thing, so how could they try to clone it?"

"I guess you're right..." Rina sighed and closed the journal. "I think I'd like to keep this with me though, could be something interesting in it." Rina put the book aside and then grabbed her backpack to sort through the sack and find her things.

* * *

After sorting through the sack left behind by the thief, Ashley and Rina left the mansion and headed over to the pokemon center. They everything into their bags, leaving the empty sack behind, and sent any items they didn't need off to storage once they got there. When they were done storing items, and their pokemon were healed, they left the center and stopped just outside. Both girls took a pokeball in each hand and released their pokemon.

"Bulbasaur! Poliwhirl! Come on out!"

"Pippi! Clyde! You too!"

The four pokeballs opened up, releasing their respective pokemon.

"-I seem to be getting my butt kicked a lot lately...-" Bulbasaur muttered to himself and looked around. "-Whats the deal anyway? Why are those two out?-" He asked when he saw Clyde and Poliwhirl with them. Ashley and Rina put the empty pokeballs back on their belts and then each took an evolution stone from their bags.

"We managed to get ahold of these..." Rina explained, holding a rock in the shape of a crescent moon. "They will evolve you guys to your final forms, if you want to evolve that is."

"-You can count me in.-" Clyde replied with a nod. "-Evolution means getting stronger, so I am certainly not going to refuse.-"

"-Poliwhirl wants to be stronger too!-" Poliwhirl added, nodding enthusiastically.

"Ok then, here you go!" Ashley said as she held out a blue stone to Poliwhirl. Rina followed suit, holding out the Moon Stone out to Clyde. Poliwhirl and Clyde absorbed energy from the stone and a white glow surrounded their bodies as they began to evolve.

"-I could evolve anytime I want to, you know.-" Bulbasaur said smugly. "-I just choose not to.-"

"-Yep, you just choose to get your butt kicked repeatedly instead.-" Pippi added, nodding.

Clyde didn't appear to go through any major changes as he evolved, short of growing. He became twice as tall, his tail and wings grew larger, and his ears longer and more pointed. Poliwhirl, likewise, only appeared to grow about a foot but became a lot more buff looking. Both pokemon then ceased glowing, revealing a fully evolved Clefable and Poliwrath.

"-Poliwhirl strong! Hat now!-" Poliwrath announced when his evolution was complete.

"-I have to say, I feel quite a bit stronger in this form.-" Clyde said, taking a few punches at the air to get a feel for his new form.

"Now, this isn't quite a hat..." Ashley reached into her travel bag and took out a red and yellow, flame pattern headband. "But I found this in that thief's sack, and I think it'd suit you better." Ashley tied the headband around Poliwrath's head. Poliwrath looked up at it curiously and then nodded.

"-New hat! Poliwhirl's hat feels kinda funny.-" Poliwrath said.

"You're actually a Poliwrath now." Rina said, correcting him. "So what about you, Clyde? How do you feel?" Clyde unleashed another barrage of punches upon the air before responding.

"-As cliche as it sounds, I can apparently use the power of love to attack.-" Clyde replied, smiling lightly. "-It seems like I've gained a powerful new technique in this form.-"

"-Bleh...when I finally evolve, I better get one heck of a kickass technique.-" Bulbasaur muttered.

"Ok! Now we're definitely ready to face Blaine!" Ashley announced, taking the gym's key in hand. "Lets go!"

Ashley and Rina recalled their newly evolved pokemon and headed off to the gym. Bulbasaur and Pippi followed behind. When they reached the gym, Rina stayed back and whispered to Bulbasaur while Ashley unlocked the door. Once the door was unlocked she grinned to herself and stood back.

"Now to do this the right way! I'm..." Ashley moved to push the door open, but a pair of vines wrapped around her arms and pulled her back. "H-hey! Let go!"

"Not a chance." Rina said to her.

"I see you noisy kids are back again." The stranger from before stepped out from around the side of the gym. "I see you found the key too. However, the gym leader is not inside."

"What do you mean he's not inside?!" Ashley growled, clenching her fists. "We went through a lot of trouble to find that key and now the gym leader isn't even here?!"

"You must now find the gym leader if you want to get inside." The stranger said to them.

"Find the gym leader now? This is getting ridiculous..." Ashley grumbled.

"-For once, I agree with her.-" Bulbasaur said, releasing his grip on Ashley's arms and retracting his vines. "-First we have to find a key in a burnt down mansion, and now we have to find the gym leader himself?-"

"Where do we have to look for him then?" Rina asked him.

"I can't tell you that." The man replied.

"I see...hmm..." Rina thought for a moment and a smirk spread across her lips. "Well of course you couldn't tell us...that'd give it away, wouldn't it?"

"Huh?" Ashley blinked in disbelief. "Rina? Do you know where he is?"

"I have a pretty good idea." Rina replied, nodding. "Ashley, doesn't it seem odd to you that this guy knows so much about Blaine and seems to always be outside the gym?"

"Huh..." Ashley thought about it for a moment. "Now that you mention it, that is odd." Ashley looked over at the stranger. "It could just be a coincidence...but it also seems likely that he could actually be Blaine in disguise."

"So you're smarter than you look..." The man grinned and took his hat in one hand and his coat in the other, simultaneously throwing them off. His hair came off with his hat, revealing it to be a wig and himself to be bald. He then retrieved a pair of sunglasses from the pocket of his jeans and put them on.

"I am indeed the gym leader, Blaine." The man said to them. "You have passed my tests and have earned the right to face me in battle."

"Well at least that was easier than the key test..." Ashley said, sighing in relief. "Ok! Then lets battle already!"

"I see you're still as eager as you were before." Blaine said to her, grinning widely. "Good! Then lets go inside and begin our fiery showdown!"

"Looks like they're both fired up." Rina said, giggling quietly.

"-Yep!-" Pippi smiled and nodded in agreement. "-Looks like we're in for one hot battle!-"

"-I swear if this battle becomes one bad fire pun after another I'm going to unleash my burning rage and...-" Bulbasaur stopped himself and hung his head sadly. "-Nevermind...-"

* * *

Author's Notes: Second week in a row I'm late. No doubt I could blame lots of things but, really, procrastination pretty much sums it up. There's no excuse for only having had 4-5 pages done by Friday. Not even Christmas excuses that I don't think. By the way, Poliwrath's new 'hat' is a Focus Band. You don't see pokemon with items often in this fic but I have plans to change that when I'm writing the Sinnoh saga and beyond.

Fun fact: The original Mew journals (and possibly the updated ones too) mentioned finding Mew in South America. At this point in time, there's a small problem with this. The pokemon world is clearly not Earth. While its likely it was originally meant to take place in Japan, particularly with each region being based on a region in Japan, the regions are all split up and their distance/directions to different regions means there's no way they're sticking with that.

We've also had too many regions now to say they're all some kind of lost world either. This means that South America doesn't likely exist in the pokemon world or, if it does, its likely just a part of the world that happens to be called South America and has no actual relation to real world South America. There's really no point to this fact, its just something I thought about recently. The more I look back the more I can see how Pokemon's unexpected popularity changed how they planned to handle the series.

On another note, related to the glowing Magmar thing, the pokdex seems to have a tendency to either exaggerate or have information that couldn't possibly be true. The people who come up with those entries clearly have no scientific knowledge of any sort and just throw logic out the window, though I suppose they're not exactly paid for either anyway. They're probably just told to come up with something interesting that'd go well with that pokemon.

Using Magmar as an example, again, its body heat is supposedly 2100 farenheit according to one entry. If its body was that hot, then you couldn't realistically find Magmar in any sort of building. Wooden buildings would catch fire and other materials would likely start to melt or burn as well. Then we have Slugma, a pokemon who apparently has magma serving the same function as blood (ie. transporting oxygen) The first you could probably excuse by saying the surface of Magmar's body is much cooler and thus the heat is kept mostly inside. The Slugma thing though? Whoever wrote that fails biology forever.

To be fair, not many people likely pay attention to pokedex entries anyway. If you did, you'd just end up confused in terms of where a pokemon's power lies in relation to each other. In-game statistics are much better for that.

I think thats enough random thoughts/rants for now...


	30. Chapter 30: Did You Bring Burn Heal?

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Thirty**

**Did You Bring Burn Heal?**

Cinnabar's gym had the open ground field common to many gyms, allowing pokemon more freedom in attacking. In Blaine's case it also meant no worrying about his fire pokemon damaging the floor. The gym also felt rather warm, heated by four large torches marking each corner of the gym to add a bit of a fire motif. The torches were also providing all the light to the gym.

"I never thought I'd envy Ashley for only wearing a skirt..." Rina said to herself. "Its like an oven in here and these clothes definitely aren't helping."

Rina, Pippi, and Bulbasaur were sitting on a bench off to the side as usual. The bench actually had a cooling pad built into it, keeping the leather padding from getting too hot, but it did little to keep Rina cool. She also had Ashley's camera with her, making good on her promise to take pictures for Ashley during gym matches.

"-Hmm...-" Pippi tilted her head to the side and looked over toward the door. "-Rina, can I go outside? Since we're near the water this would be a good time for me to practice Surf!-" Pippi said to Rina.

"Well I guess that'd be ok..." Rina said to her, blinking. "Bulbasaur, would you mind going with her just to keep an eye on her?"

"-Not at all.-" Bulbasaur hopped down from the bench and started toward the door. "-Watching sucks, and I can't stand the heat in here.-"

"Ok then, good luck Pippi!"

"-I don't need luck, this time I'll get it for sure!-" Pippi replied enthusiastically, quickly jumping down from the bench and chasing after Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur used his vines to open the door and the two pokemon went outside, closing it behind them.

"We will be using four pokemon each." Blaine said to Ashley, already holding a pokeball in his hand. He had also taken the liberty of grabbing a white lab coat after entering the gym. "I believe thats the only rule I need to go over."

"I'm ready to battle when you are!" Ashley replied with a nod.

"Very well then. I choose, for my first pokemon, Magmar!" Blaine called out, releasing a menacing looking Magmar from the pokeball he was holding.

"Hypno, you're up first! Go!" Ashley called out as she also released her first pokemon and a rather confused looking Hypno appeared on the battlefield.

"-Oh no...she's making me fight again!-" Hypno whimpered in dismay.

_"Ashley's using Hypno?"_ Rina thought, blinking in disbelief. _"I hope she knows what she's doing..."_

"Hypno, start off by using Hypnosis!" Ashley called out. Hypno nodded quickly as if afraid he'd be punished if he didn't follow orders. He began waving his pendulum around and using it as a focus to send out hypnotic energy waves toward Magmar.

"Anyone could see that technique coming from a mile away." Blaine said bitterly. "Magmar, block it with Smokescreen!" Magmar opened its beak-like mouth and spewed out a black smoke before Hypno's attack could take effect. The smoke blocked Magmar's view of Hypno and vice versa, negating the Hypnosis attack completely.

"He can block Hypnosis with Smokescreen?" Ashley thought. "Ok then! Hypno, use Disable to keep it from using Smokescreen again!" Hypno closed his eyes and focused, trying to target Magmar through the thick smoke by concentrating on where he last saw it. Within the smoke, a yellow glow surrounded Magmar's body as Hypno's attack found its target. Magmar's Smokescreen attack was disabled, and the smoke was already starting to disperse through the gym.

"Magmar, set up now with Sunny Day!" Magmar focused a fiery energy within its body, creating an orange glow around it that became visible as the smoke cleared. A ray of light shot up from Magmar's body and created an artificial sun near the roof of the gym. The already hot gym started to feel even warmer for the two pokemon on the battlefield.

"Now, Magmar, attack with Flamethrower!" Magmar took several long, quick steps toward Hypno and then opened its mouth and spewed out a cone of intensely hot flames. The Sunny Day effect caused the flames to feel even hotter to Hypno, strengthening the Flamethrower attack. Hypno cried out in shock at the heat and fell back onto his butt.

"Your strategies are far too simplistic, girl." Blaine said to Ashley. "You provided me with the perfect opportunity to set up for this."

_"You mean I played straight into his hands?!"_ Ashley thought, gritting her teeth. "Hypno, put that Magmar to sleep now! Hypnosis!" While still sitting down, Hypno raised his pendulum and hurriedly began waving it around. Hypnotic waves struck Magmar and drew its attention to the pendulum. Magmar began to feel more and more drowsy, falling asleep within seconds and collapsing to the floor.

"We'll make up for lost ground now!" Ashley declared boldly. "Hypno, use Nightmare!" Hypno swung his pendulum around, focusing a mystical energy around Magmar and using it to influence its dreams. Magmar grimaced in pain while it slept, having a terrible dream that was draining its life force.

"Ok, now follow up with Dream Eater!" Ashley called out. Blaine watched them attack his sleeping Magmar with a bored expression.

"-Nightmare THEN Dream Eater?!-" Hypno called back questioningly. "-You really ARE crazy!-" Hypno really didn't want to follow through with the order, knowing what was coming, but was more afraid of Ashley and Beedrill. Purple streams of energy began to flow out of Magmar's head, gathering in front of Hypno. When it was finished, Hypno opened his mouth and gobbled down the energy in several quick bites.

"-Bleh...-" Hypno grimaced after the first bite. "-So...bitter...-"

_"He really doesn't seem to like that..."_ Rina thought, observing Hypno's expression. _"I should tell Ashley after the match is over. I don't think Nightmare and Dream Eater is a good combination."_

"Ok, once more! Dream Eater!" Ashley called out again, much to Hypno's dismay. Hypno focused his psychic powers, trying to draw out Magmar's dream but with no effect.

"Magmar, now! Attack with Fire Blast!" Blaine called out. His Magmar suddenly jumped up and spat out a small fireball. The fireball quickly expanded, seemingly growing arms and legs as well as it moved toward Hypno. The Fire Blast attack hit Hypno and almost matched up perfectly with his own arms and legs. Hypno was pushed back several feet until the attack finally exploded, knocking Hypno over onto the ground in front of Ashley.

"What?! I didn't even notice it wake up!" Ashley cried out in disbelief. Magmar's Fire Blast attack was still being powered up by the effect of Sunny Day when it hit, leaving Hypno very weak and tired after the attack. Magmar was looking fairly tired as well, but still in better condition than Hypno. The Sunny Day effect had finally ended as well.

"You should have been paying closer attention, then." Blaine said to her. "The first sign of Magmar waking up was the effect of Nightmare ending. When I saw Magmar was no longer in pain I knew he had woken up, even though he had yet to open his eyes."

"I didn't even think of that!" Ashley thought, mentally slapping herself for her oversight. "Hypno, quick! Put it to sleep again with Hypnosis!"

"Magmar, finish this now with Ember!" Hypno sat up and slowly raised his pendulum, but was too late to stop Magmar. The fire pokemon spat out a small fireball, hitting Hypno in the face just as he was getting ready to attack. The fireball hitting him knocked Hypno out, dropping him back to the ground.

"I guess I still need more practice with Hypno..." Ashley said quietly to herself, recalling her pokemon. Rina looked at Ashley's camera for a moment, wondering whether or not she should have taken a picture. She decided Ashley probably didn't want a picture of her own pokemon losing, though.

"Ok, lets try this one then!" Ashley called out as she took another pokeball from her belt. "Primeape, go!" The pokeball opened up and released the fighting pokemon Primeape out onto the field. Primeape let out a screech and then adopted a fighting stance with his fists raised in front of his face.

_"First Hypno, now Primeape?"_ Rina thought, tilting her head to the side with a perplexed look on her face. _"Ashley has two water pokemon with her, doesn't she? Why isn't she using them yet?"_

"Ok, Blaine is probably going to try to either set up Sunny Day or bide his time with Smokescreen until he can..." Ashley thought. "Luckily, Primeape can prevent him from doing either!" A slight smirk spread across Ashley's lips. "Primeape, start off with Taunt!"

"-COLD! ITS COLD COLD COLD IN HERE!-" Primeape screeched. "-YOU CALL THIS A FIRE GYM?! I WOULDA THOUGHT IT WAS ICE!-"

"-Oh, its on now...-" Magmar growled, breathing out a short burst of flames.

"A good start, but can you follow it up?" Blaine said to Ashley. "Magmar, attack now with Fire Blast." Magmar was more than happy to attack Primeape with its strongest technique. Magmar shot out a small fireball from its mouth, which quickly expended and took on the familiar stick figure shape of a Fire Blast attack. Primeape hopped to the side as the attack reached him, taking only a glancing blow and staggering back a few steps.

"Good one, Primeape!" Ashley said, congratulating her pokemon. "Now, attack Magmar with Seismic Toss!" Primeape quickly ran across the gym and skidded past Magmar, grabbing him by his tail. Primeape then spun around several times, gaining momentum until finally tossing Magmar across the gym in Ashley's direction. Magmar quickly hopped back on his feet but swayed from side to side from the effort it took in his weakened state.

"A risky maneuver, or did you forget about my pokemon's special ability, Flame Body?"

"Special ability?" Ashley looked at Primeape, noticing a burn left on his lower left arm from Magmar's tail. "Thats not good...that burn will steadily weaken Primeape." Ashley thought when she saw it. _"Not only that, but he won't be able to put as much power into his attacks..."_

"Now, Magmar, attack with Fire Punch!" Magmar summoned the last of its strength and charged toward Primeape. Flames engulfed Magmar's right hand as he curled it into a fist, delivering a fiery uppercut once he was in range. Primeape staggered back from the punch but quickly shook it off.

"No point being careful now..." Ashley thought. "Primeape, finish it with another Seismic Toss!" Primeape quickly moved behind Magmar, grabbing him by the tail. Primeape then began spinning around in place, gaining momentum and then finally throwing Magmar across the gym again. Magmar hit the ground hard and stayed down, forcing Blaine to finally recall it.

"It seems my Magmar gave you quite a bit of trouble." Blaine said to Ashley. "You will need to think more carefully if you hope to beat me."

"I still have a few tricks up my sleeve." Ashley said smugly.

_"I think this could have come out better..."_ Rina thought as she looked at the picture she just took. She was aiming to get a picture just before Primeape threw Magmar, but just barely missed it and instead got the picture just after Primeape let go. _"Ashley doesn't seem like the best photographer at times but she's better than me anyway..." _Rina placed the picture on the bench next to her.

"Ninetales, it is your turn now!" Blaine called out as he held out another pokeball. The pokeball opened in his hands, releasing a fox-like pokemon with golden fur and nine long, fluffy tails.

"Primeape, thats good enough for now! Return!" Ashley held out Primeape's pokeball and recalled him, deciding it best to use a different pokemon due to Primeape's weakened state. She placed Primeape's pokeball back on her belt and took another one in her hand.

"Poliwrath, lets go!" She called out as she released Poliwrath. Poliwrath appeared with a cheerful look in his eyes and carefully adjusted the fire pattern headband he was wearing.

_"She's finally using one of her water pokemon now, and its Poliwrath too!"_ Rina thought, smiling. _"This should be a good match!"_

"Poliwrath, lets start off with Hypnosis!" Ashley called out. Poliwrath nodded and the pattern on his chest began to spin. The spinning drew in Ninetale's attention while directing hypnotic energy waves at the fire pokemon to put it to sleep.

"Ninetales, block it with Safeguard!" Ninetales' eyes flashed and her body shimmered as an invisible barrier against status effects formed around her. Ninetales' Safeguard effect blocked Poliwrath's Hypnosis completely. "That strategy won't work any better against Ninetales than it did against Magmar."

"This guy's pokemon really are defended well against sleep attacks..." Ashley thought, wincing.

"Now, Ninetales, weaken Poliwrath with a Will-o-Wisp attack!" Ninetales' eyes glowed red and a purple flame surrounded her body. The flame then disappeared and a fiery purple orb shot out toward Poliwrath, moving from side to side and dragging a tail behind it.

"Poliwrath, shoot it down with Water Gun and then use Rain Dance!" Poliwrath fired a quick blast of water from the center of his chest, hitting the incoming Will-o-Wisp. The two attacks negated each other in a burst of steam. Poliwrath then began to dance around, causing clouds to form over the gym's battlefield. As Poliwrath stopped dancing, a downpour began.

_"Seems she thought that move out a bit more."_ Blaine thought while stroking his chin. _"A quick Water Gun to douse the Will-o-Wisp, giving her time to set up Rain Dance. A water attack from her Poliwrath now would be quite devastating, but I still have some tricks up my sleeve."_

"Ninetales, confuse Poliwrath with Confuse Ray." Ninetales' eyes gave off their trademark red glow again as she attacked, creating a ball of light and sending it floating toward Poliwrath. The light circled around Poliwrath several times before disappearing, leaving Poliwrath confused in his attempts to follow its movements.

"Shake it off and use Waterfall, now!" Ashley called out. Poliwrath struggled for a moment to focus on Ninetales, but then took off charging toward her. A veil of water surrounded Poliwrath's body as he moved in to attack, charging across the field like a watery comet and smashing shoulder first into Ninetales. Ninetales was sent sprawling back from the attack, but managed to quickly flip up and land on her feet. She stumbled briefly as she stood up, still reeling from the impact.

"One more attack like that should finish Ninetales off." Ashley thought with a smirk. "Poliwrath, attack with Waterfall!"

"Ninetales, evade it with Quick Attack!" Ninetales quickly shot off in a blur of movement, moving off to the side to evade a possible attack from Poliwrath. The effort ended up being unecessary, though, as Poliwrath suddenly decided to punch himself in the face instead of attacking. Poliwrath still seemed to be in a daze after hitting himself.

"Well, better safe than sorry at any rate." Blaine thought after realizing the Quick Attack was unnecessary. "Ninetales, Fire Blast now!" Ninetales attacked Poliwrath from the side, spitting out a ball of fire. The fireball expanded but didn't grow as large as usual due to the rain. It took on the shape of a stick figure and slammed into Poliwrath, then exploded shortly after. Poliwrath hardly seemed to take notice of it, though.

_"Between Quick Attack and Confuse Ray his Ninetales might actually stand a chance of beating Poliwrath."_ Ashley thought. _"Luckily Poliwrath has a technique that can deal with that!"_

"Poliwrath, lock on with Mind Reader!" Poliwrath regained his focus, shaking off the confusion. He concentrated briefly, gaining insight into Ninetales' next move so he could ensure his next attack would hit flawlessly.

_"With Mind Reader in effect there is no way for Ninetales to dodge now."_ Blaine thought, then smirked to himself. _"It seems you have won this match, but my Ninetales won't go down without a fight."_

"Ninetales, move in with Quick Attack!" Blaine ordered. Ninetales shot toward Poliwrath, striking him in the chest with a move too fast to follow. Poliwrath stumbled a bit and took a step back, but quickly regained his balance. The weak Quick Attack had even less of an impact than the Fire Blast attack he had previously endured.

"Now use Overheat!" Blaine called out, hoping to maximize the technique's power by using it at point-blank range. Ninetales' body began to glow as she gathered energy. She then released it in a fiery burst around her. The blast of flames engulfed Poliwrath but the attack was weakened by the continuing downpour. Combined with Poliwrath's resistance to fire techniques, it hurt him only slightly more than Ninetales' Fire Blast and he easily shook it off.

"Ok, lets finish this, Poliwrath!" Ashley called out. "Waterfall!" A torrent of water surrounded Poliwrath's body and he then charged into Ninetales, hitting her shoulder first. Ninetales was knocked back by the attack and fell onto her side. She raised her head as she tried to get back up, but fell back down as she lost consciousness. As Ninetales lost consciousness, the rain overhead came to a stop and the clouds disappeared.

"-I won! I won!-" Poliwrath cried out excitedly, pumping a fist into the air.

"I think I took a picture too soon this time..." Rina said to herself in dismay as she looked over the picture she just took of Poliwrath. The picture showed Poliwrath just before he hit Ninetales. Rina sighed and put the picture off to the side.

"Rain Dance is an obvious strategy for a water type, though few try to use it in my gym." Blaine said to Ashley as he recalled Ninetales, then adjusted his glasses with his index finger. "Perhaps they assume it would be unnecessary, or perhaps it is because only four species of pokemon native to Kanto learn it naturally."

"So...wait...are you calling me stupid for using an obvious strategy or praising me for using a strategy not many trainers use against you?" Ashley asked him, looking a bit confused.

"I didn't wasn't saying either, really." Blaine replied with a shrug. He took another pokeball out of his coat. "However, it will certainly make things interesting for my next pokemon. Rapidash!" Blaine's next pokemon emerged from its pokeball, a white horse with a mane and tail of fire and a horn on its head like a unicorn.

_"A Rapidash? Is Blaine planning to take advantage of its speed?"_ Ashley wondered. _"Well, he'll probably dodge Hypnosis somehow, so lets go with Rain Dance to start."_

"Poliwrath, lets start this one with Rain Dance!" Ashley called out. Poliwrath nodded and began shuffling around while waving his arms in a sort of dance. Clouds began to form over the gym again, causing it to rain over the battlefield.

"Rapidash, counter with Sunny Day!" Rapidash's body glowed and then a ray of light shot up into the clouds, causing them to disperse. An artificial sun formed, giving the appearance of the sun breaking through the clouds. The Sunny Day effect caused it to feel warmer and the battlefield, wet from the previous downpours, quickly dried up.

_"So thats his strategy, another pokemon with Sunny Day!"_ Ashley thought, but she couldn't help but wonder what good it would actually do. _"Well, whatever."_ She thought. _"After it attacks it'll be left open for Poliwrath to put to sleep and we can take it from there."_

"You may or may not already know this, but some fire pokemon can gain a similar benefit from Sunny Day that grass pokemon can." Blaine said to Ashley. "Allow us to demonstrate. Rapidash, Solarbeam!" Rapidash raised his head, quickly gathering light energy through his horn from the artificial sun.

"SOLARBEAM?!" Ashley cried out in shock. She wasn't expecting a fire pokemon to be able to use such an attack, but use it Rapidash did. She lowered her horn to point it at Poliwrath and then fired a beam of solar energy at the water pokemon. Poliwrath cried out as the beam struck him, emitting a flash of light on contact and throwing Poliwrath several feet across the gym.

"Poliwrath!" Ashley called out worriedly to her pokemon. To her relief, Poliwrath slowly got back on his feet. He took a hard hit, but still had strength to fight back. Ashley breathed a sigh of relief, she was in trouble for sure if Poliwrath went down to Rapidash without even landing a hit.

"Poliwrath, Hypnosis now!" Poliwrath nodded, looking a bit more determined than usual. The pattern on his chest began to swirl around, sending out hypnotic waves toward Rapidash. Rapidash felt drawn to the swirling pattern and began to feel drowsy, soon collapsing to the ground as he fell asleep.

"Ok, time for us to make our comeback!" Ashley declared. "Poliwrath, set up Rain Dance!" Poliwrath began to shuffle around, causing clouds to form again. The artificial sun began to dim and then went out completely as the clouds blocked it from view and a downpour began.

"Now! Attack Rapidash with Waterfall!" Water began to flow around Poliwrath's body, then he charged toward the sleeping Rapidash. He slammed into Rapidash with his shoulder, knocking Rapidash over onto its back. Rapidash grunted in his sleep and slowly started to open its eyes.

"Lets finish this quickly with Waterfall again!"

"Rapidash, counter with Take Down!"

A watery veil formed around Poliwrath while Rapidash was quickly getting back up on its feet. The two pokemon charged toward each other, with Rapidash throwing its body at Poliwrath in a full out tackle. Two pokemon collided, creating a small splash from the water flowing around Poliwrath. The impact knocked both pokemon to the ground, seemingly fainting both of them.

"That one actually came out pretty good!" Rina said, smiling brightly as she looked at the picture she just took. She timed it perfectly, catching Poliwrath and Rapidash at the point of collision. The picture showed Poliwrath's shoulder coming into contact with Rapidash's head, just in front of the horn.

"Too bad that had to end in a draw though..." Rina placed the picture with the others and looked back to the battlefield. Blaine had recalled Rapidash but, to Rina and Ashley's surprise, Poliwrath was slowly starting to stand up.

"-I...win...again...-" Poliwrath said weakly, clutching the shoulder he hit Rapidash with.

"What...what just happened?" Ashley said, blinking in disbelief. "How could Poliwrath have possibly withstood that?"

"It seems you don't even know what that headband your Poliwrath is wearing does." Blaine said to Ashley.

"It does something?" Ashley asked. "I thought it was just an ordinary headband..."

"So did I..." Rina said quietly, looking on in confusion.

"That headband he's wearing is called a 'Focus Band'." Blaine explained to them. "When the pokemon wearing it would be knocked out, there is a chance the band will allow it to just barely survive. I am surprised you would be using it without knowing what it does."

"I only gave it to him because he likes wearing things on his head..." Ashley said to Blaine, still looking rather bewildered by the discovery.

"I...see..." Blaine replied. "Seems you were rather lucky then, but it will make little difference in the end." Blaine reached into his coat and took out another pokeball.

_"It won't?"_ Ashley thought. _"I should be able to get at least one attack in, unless he has something up his sleeve..."_

"Arcanine!" Blaine called out as he released his pokemon from its pokeball. A red and black striped canine pokemon, standing at over six feet tall, appeared on the field. It was a powerful and majestic looking fire pokemon.

"Arcanine, attack with Extremespeed!" Arcanine began to run toward Poliwrath and then suddenly shot toward him, moving so quickly that for a moment Arcanine still appeared to be in the same spot. He came to a stop just behind Poliwrath, having seemingly missed its target. Poliwrath then suddenly dropped unconscious.

Ashley gasped in shock at Arcanine's technique. "What a fast attack! I didn't even see it hit!" Ashley exclaimed in disbelief.

_"Poor Poliwrath...that must have hurt..."_ Rina thought, wincing. Ashley raised Poliwrath's pokeball and recalled him. She then quickly took another pokeball in hand, containing the only pokemon she hadn't used yet in the match.

"Vaporeon, this is it! Give it your best!" Ashley called out, releasing the water pokemon Vaporeon out onto the field.

"-I always give it my best.-" Vaporeon said as he materialized, appearing quite relaxed with his tail resting beside him.

_"Well, Ashley still has Vaporeon left at least. Primeape too, even though he's burned."_ Rina thought. She then looked over at the door of the gym, remembering Bulbasaur and Pippi leaving earlier. _"Pippi and Bulbasaur are still gone...I wonder if Pippi's had any luck with Surf?"_

* * *

"-Ok! This time for sure!-" A wet Pippi, standing in water that was up to her waist, announced. The water then rose up around her, submerging her completely and then moving off further out to sea. Pippi found herself gasping for breath when the wave left her behind.

"-So much for lucky number seven.-" Bulbasaur said, snickering. He was watching Pippi from near the gym. The gym was next to the water, so they didn't have to go very far for Pippi to practice. It was Pippi's seventh attempt at using Surf, and her seventh failure as well.

"-I don't get it, I come close everytime but...-" Pippi sighed. "-I just can't get it right...-"

"-Maybe you're overthinking it?-" Bulbasaur said, shrugging.

"-Hmm...-" Pippi thought back to when she was being taught how to use the technique by the surfing Pikachu. She then remembered he was always riding a surfboard when he used the technique. "-Maybe what I need...is a surfboard!-"

"-Where the hell do you expect to get a surfboard, especially in the middle of battle?-" Bulbasaur asked her.

"-Hmm...good point...-" Pippi thought about it again and quickly came up with a solution. "-Maybe I could use my tail!-" Pippi slid her tail under her feet and then held it as stiff as she could. She planted both feet on her tail and then prepared to use Surf again.

"-This can only end badly.-" Bulbasaur said, grinning to himself. "-And humorously.-"

"-Here we go!-" Pippi focused on the water, causing it to rise up in a wave around her. Using her tail as a surf board seemed to make no difference, though, as she was still left submerged in the water before it moved off. Pippi gasped for air when the water left her.

"-Feh. That wasn't as funny as I thought it'd be.-" Bulbasaur muttered to himself.

"-I don't get it, why isn't it working?!-" Pippi cried out in frustration.

"-You know, I'm no expert, but maybe you should either try moving out further so you're floating in the water or start on solid ground?-" Bulbasaur suggested.

"-I don't see why but its worth a try I guess...-" Pippi moved out further in the water until she hit a sudden drop and went down. She swam back to the surface, gasping for breath.

"-I see attempt number nine is off to a good start.-" Bulbasaur said, snickering.

"-Ok...lets see if this works now...-" Pippi took a deep breath and tried to summon up a wave underneath her. This time it worked exactly as intended. The water bulged up, raising Pippi up and taking her with it as it began to move it away.

"-I did it! I DID IT!-" Pippi cried out excitedly, splashing about while she floated on top of it. She turned toward Bulbasaur, who was getting further away from her as the wave moved out. "-See that, Bulbasaur?! I can use Surf!-"

"-WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING YOU IDIOT!-" Bulbasaur yelled back. Pippi turned around just in time to see the wave she was riding strike a series of rocks sticking out of the water, put there to serve as wave breakers. They served their purpose, breaking the wave she was riding and throwing her off it. She cried out sharply as she was flung through the air and hit one of the rocks head first, knocking her out.

"-Go figure. She learns Surf and the first thing she does is knock herself out.-" Bulbasaur muttered, rolling his eyes. He walked over to the edge of the water and sighed.

"-Looks like I'm stuck going for a swim. Salt water really isn't good for me though...-"

* * *

"Vaporeon, attack Arcanine with Water Gun!" Ashley called out, using Vaporeon's only water technique. Vaporeon spat out a quick burst of water at Arcanine. Even with the boost from the rain, however, Arcanine easily withstood the weak attack.

"Arcanine, begin powering up with Howl!" Blaine called out. Arcanine let out an intimidating Howl, summoning his strength from within.

_"Howl, that technique boosts Arcanine's physical attack power."_ Ashley thought. _"Blaine must be planning to combine it with Extremespeed, but Vaporeon can stop that easily enough at least..."_

"Vaporeon, use Haze!"

"Arcanine, Extremespeed!"

Vaporeon released a fine mist from his body, creating a haze that would remove the effects of a technique like Howl. The haze began to spread out, ensuring Arcanine couldn't avoid losing his power boost, but he did manage to delay it by attacking. Arcanine shot toward Vaporeon, moving quickly enough to leave behind a mirror image. Vaporeon recoiled from the impact, though only after Arcanine had come to a stop behind him. The haze in the gym lasted only a short time, long enough to remove Arcanine's power boost.

"Now, Arcanine, use Howl again!" Arcanine let out another Howl, summoning his strength again to increase his power back to what it was before Vaporeon used Haze.

_"So much for that idea..."_ Ashley thought in dismay. _"Everytime I use Haze, he's just going to attack with Extremespeed before losing the boost. I need some way to make sure Arcanine is not getting off easy either."_ Ashley smirked to herself. _"I think I know just how to do that too!"_

"Vaporeon, use Haze again!"

"Arcanine, attack with Extremespeed!"

Vaporeon released another Haze from his body to remove Arcanine's power boost again, but not before Arcanine was able to get off another attack. Arcanine quickly turned around and dashed toward Vaporeon. Arcanine struck the water pokemon and came to a stop just a few feet away, at which point the hit finally registered and Vaporeon staggered back from it. The haze around the two pokemon dissipated shortly after, removing the effect of Arcanine's Howl.

"Now, Vaporeon! Use Toxic!" Vaporeon quickly turned to face Arcanine and spat out a vile, purple substance at it. The toxic substance landed on Arcanine's back and almost immediately sank into his skin, inflicting him with a deadly toxin that would only increase in strength. The rain that had been pouring down throughout their battle finally came to a stop, leaving Vaporeon's best offensive technique even weaker.

"Seems you've managed to see through my technique well enough." Blaine said to Ashley. "But will you still be able to stop it?"

"I've still got some tricks up my sleeve!" Ashley replied and took Vaporeon's pokeball in hand. "Vaporeon, thats good enough for now! Return!" Ashley recalled Vaporeon and quickly switched pokeballs.

"Primeape, your turn again! Go!" Ashley held up Primeape's pokeball, the only pokemon beside Vaporeon that could still battle. The pokeball opened up, releasing the burned Primeape out onto the battlefield.

_"She sent her weakened Primeape back into the fray. She likely intends to use its Taunt attack to provoke Arcanine."_ Blaine thought. _"Using Howl now would be pointless, so I will go on the offense when she attacks."_

"Primeape, use Taunt to keep Arcanine from powering up!" Ashley called out.

"-Another fire pokemon?! YOU NOT SO HOT EITHER!-" Primeape screeched at Arcanine.

"-I'm insulted that thats the best you can come up with.-" Arcanine shot back, glaring at Primeape.

"Arcanine, attack Primeape with Fire Blast!" Arcanine spat out a fireball at Primeape that began to quickly expand and grew out to resemble a stick figure. Primeape tried to move to the side to avoid it, but he stumbled as he felt the pain from the burn. As a result, one of the 'limbs' caught Primeape in the side. The fireball then exploded and knocked him to the ground. Primeape wasn't done yet, though, and started to slowly get back on his feet.

"Now finish this with Extremespeed." Arcanine shot forward and disappeared, leaving behind a transparent image of himself that faded away in less than a second. Arcanine reappeared behind Primeape, coming to a complete stop. Primeape cried out and was suddenly knocked back, hitting Arcanine's hind legs as the force of the Extremespeed attack finally took effect. Primeape was knocked out instantly, but Arcanine also winced in pain as the poison in its body grew stronger.

_"I was hoping Primeape could at least get in one attack..."_ Ashley thought as she recalled him. _"Well, he bought me a bit of time anyway. Its up to Vaporeon to finish this now." _Ashley returned Primeape's pokeball to her belt and took Vaporeon's in hand.

"Vaporeon, go!" Ashley called out as she released Vaporeon back out onto the field. Despite being a bit battered from his previous match with Arcanine, Vaporeon looked as relaxed as ever when he appeared.

"-Good, I was disappointed that I was recalled so early.-" Vaporeon said, tensing slightly as he prepared to fight.

_"This should prove interesting..."_ Blaine thought with a smirk. _"Though she may not realize it, she's manuevered the battle into a position where it could go any way. Should her Vaporeon even get in one attack, Arcanine will fall to poison shortly after. However, will Ashley's Vaporeon be able to survive another Extremespeed from Arcanine?"_

"Vaporeon, attack with Water Gun!"

"Arcanine, Extremespeed!"

Arcanine attacked first with his Extremespeed technique, moving before Vaporeon had a chance to act. Arcanine disappeared as he moved forward in a burst of speed, reappearing in front of Vaporeon after slamming into him. The impact knocked Vaporeon straight back, flipping him over onto his back in the process.

Vaporeon quickly rolled over, getting back up on his feet but stumbling slightly. He endured Arcanine's attack, but only barely. He then opened his mouth and fired a blast of water into Arcanine's face. Arcanine took several steps back, shaking his head to throw off the water. The attack was weak, but Arcanine dropped shortly after anyway. The poison drained the last of his strength.

"Well played, seems this battle goes to you." Blaine said to Ashley as he recalled his pokemon.

"I know that was the final knockout for the match but..." Rina looked down at the camera in her hands. She didn't bother trying to take a picture as Arcanine collapsing from poison after a weak Water Gun attack seemed anti-climatic to her.

"Great job, Vaporeon!" Ashley said to him.

"-Wasn't very exciting, and it was still close, but I guess a win is a win.-" Vaporeon replied with a shrug. Ashley held out Vaporeon's pokeball and recalled him. At that point, Blaine had crossed the battlefield to meet her and Rina had gotten up from the bench as well.

"It seems I have burnt out. Here is the Volcano Badge, proof of your victory over me." Blaine said, handing over the badge and a TM disc to Ashley. "Though you have managed to win, I feel you don't consider your techniques carefully enough. Most of your strategies were rather obvious, although I suppose I can't expect every trainer I battle to be a tactical genius..."

"I'll remember that next time then..." Ashley replied as she pocketed the two items.

"There's not many 'times' left for you to put your skills to the test." Blaine said to Ashley. "You have but one gym left to face. Few trainers are even capable of making it this far through the league, but if nothing else it seems your pokemon grow quite quickly.

"Who is the last gym leader anyway?" Ashley asked him curiously.

"I can't say I know..." Blaine replied, adjusting his glasses slightly as he thought it over. "I know the man who used to run the gym, but he disappeared. I highly doubt he's running the gym currently, if anyone is. However, I can tell you that he mostly uses ground-type pokemon."

"Well thats helpful at least..."

"Ashley, lets go already! Bulbasaur and Pippi are still waiting outside!" Rina said eagerly.

"Right." Ashley nodded to Rina. "Oh! Did you take those pictures?"

"I have a few but I don't think they're that good..." Rina replied, shyly handing Ashley the pictures she took during the match. Ashley quickly looked them over.

"They don't look too bad, actually." Ashley said to her. "Though you probably could have taken more." Ashley put the pictures in her bag. She would later sort them out and put them in a folder. She then faced Blaine to address him again.

"Blaine, thanks for the battle."

"It is what I do." Blain replied. "And now I must go wait outside again for my next potential challenger. It seems you two have other matters to attend as it is."

"Right." Ashley replied with a nod, then turned to leave the gym. "Ok Rina, lets go then!" Rina nodded and followed behind Ashley, exiting the gym. Despite having to go back outside, Blaine stayed behind to heal his pokemon and put on his disguise.

* * *

"-Ow...my head...-" Pippi muttered weakly as she came to. She slowly raised her head and looked around. "-Huh...?-" Pippi blinked in disbelief at her surroundings. She was back on the shore of Cinnabar Island, but there was no one else in sight. No humans or pokemon, Bulbasaur included. She quickly got up, ignoring the throbbing pain in her head, and took another look around.

"-Hello? Is anybody here?-" Pippi called out. Getting no answer she ran over to the gym and scratched on the door. "-Pippi! Ashley! Bulbasaur! Can anyone hear me?-" She kept scratching for several minutes before her arms grew tired and she slumped down next to the door.

"-I feel so alone...where is everyone?-" Pippi wondered aloud. "-I remember Bulbasaur shouting to watch where I was going, and then hitting the rocks...so how did I even get back here?-" Pippi looked around again and then suddenly felt a cold chill pass through her body.

"-Feels like there's an ice pokemon nearby...brrr...-" Pippi charged electricity through her body to keep herself warm, but it didn't seem to help any.

"-Whats going on here...did I miss something?-" Pippi looked out toward the rocks in the water. There was a whole line of them. She noticed something shimmering in the air over the water and squinted to try to get a better look at it. The longer she looked at it, the more it seemed to come into view.

"-What...IS that thing?!-" The shimmering object started to look more like the image on a tv screen when the cable goes out. It had a rather blocky, almost two-dimensional appearance. The upper half of it looked like a rectangle and the bottom half more like a square. Pippi got up and rubbed her eyes.

"-I must have really hit my head hard...-" She shook her head and looked back at the strange object. It was still there.

"-This...this is just a figment of my imagination...right?-" Pippi mumbled nervously to herself. The mysterious object suddenly let out a high-pitched, robotic-sounding cry and fired a burst of water at Pippi. She was caught off guard and knocked back by the attack, but despite that she found it barely hurt at all.

"-Are you some kind of pokemon?-" Pippi asked, though she was sure it was at this point. She didn't get an answer, but wasn't sure it heard her either. She quickly moved into a fighting stance, holding her arms out. "-Well if you ARE a pokemon, you're not very strong! I can take you on!-"

The pokemon Pippi was addressing didn't seem to take too kindly to her words. It fired two blasts of water, one emerging from each part of its body. Pippi did a backflip to evade the shot from the lower half of its body and then rolled to the side to evade the other.

"-You'll have to do better than that!-" Pippi boasted proudly. The mysterious pokemon then began glowing, charging energy for another attack.

"-Whats it doing now?-" Pippi wondered, tilting her head to the side. While she could tell it was gathering energy, she couldn't tell what kind of attack it was using. The pokemon's appearance made it hard for her to even tell what kind of pokemon she was facing, though she was assuming a water type due to it knowing Water Gun.

Pippi didn't have to wait much longer to see the enemy pokemon's attack. The pokemon twisted its body into a horizontal position, making it apparent that it was nearly flat. A fiery aura in the shape of a bird surrounded the pokemon and it took off toward Pippi. Pippi was ready for it and quickly jumped to the side, but the pokemon began to make a wide circle to come back once it had missed.

"-Oh yeah?! Two can play that way!-" Pippi charged electricity around her body and then took off running, gaining speed for her attack. The enemy pokemon came in low to the ground to attack Pippi as well. The two pokemon seemed to collide at first, but Pippi passed through the other pokemon as if it wasn't even there. The pokemon seemingly disintegrated shortly after and was gone when Pippi stopped and turned around.

"-Now I'm getting really confused...-" Pippi blinked in disbelief and looked around her, trying to find the other pokemon. She had come to a stop in the middle of a deserted street. While looking for the pokemon she noticed a shadow being cast over her from behind. The shadow continued to grow and grow and had a bumpy, cone-like shape to it.

"-AHA!-" Pippi shouted, expecting to find her opponent when she turned around. Instead, what she saw appeared to be a towering pile of eyeballs and tentacles. Pippi's jaw dropped as she stared in shock and horror at the abomination. It towered at least twelve feet into the air and looked like something out of a nightmare. Pippi was left frozen and speechless by the sight until the creature suddenly lashed out at her with two of its tentacles.

"-NOOOOO!!!-" Pippi screamed, charging electricity for an attack when suddenly everything faded to black.

* * *

"-NOOOOO!-" Pippi continued to scream and throw out as much electricity as she could, her eyes closed as she dare not even look at the creature. She eventually stopped and opened her eyes when it seemed nothing had happened and found herself in the middle of the water with the creature nowhere in sight.

"-N-now what?!-" Pippi wondered fearfully. She soon realized, though, that everything seemed normal again. Cinnabar Island, up ahead of her, was bustling with activity as people and pokemon went about their daily business around the town. She still couldn't see Bulbasaur, not until she looked down and realized she was standing on top of him while he was floating upside down in the water.

"-Bulbasaur? Then what...-" Pippi paused for a moment and considered what had happened. "-Was I...dreaming then? But I wasn't asleep! Is that still technically dreaming?-" Pippi pondered this for a moment until she realized she was still standing on Bulbasaur and he hadn't moved or said a thing. She looked down into the water to see Bulbasaur's face, his mouth floating just above the water, and quickly realized he was unconscious.

It didn't take Pippi long to put two and two together. After her last attempt at Surf, she messed up and hit the rocks. She was knocked out, causing her to have a dream involving the mysterious and nightmarish pokemon she faced. When the creature in her dreams attacked her with its tentacles, it was really Bulbasaur grabbing her with his vines and, as a result, she ended up shocking him and managed to knock him out.

"-Oops...guess this is my fault...-" Pippi rubbed the back of her head in embarassment. "-Well, then its up to me to get us back to shore then!-" Pippi looked behind Bulbasaur, where the rocks were, and contemplated the best way for her to move back to shore.

"Pippi! Bulbasaur!" Pippi heard Rina calling her and looked back to the shore. Ashley and Rina were standing just outside the gym now, with Ashley's match apparently over with.

"Pippi! What are you guys doing out there?" Rina shouted to her.

"-Umm...-" Pippi thought about how to explain it, but decided it would be best she got to the shore first. She reached one paw into the water and began to paddle, using Bulbasaur's unconscious form like a raft. "-I'll explain when I get there!-" She shouted back and then whispered to herself. "-This will be a long one...-"

* * *

Meanwhile...

"-Damn it, thats the last time I help her...-" Bulbasaur muttered angrily when he came to. "-Where the hell is everyone anyway?-" He then wondered, looking around the seemingly deserted Cinnabar Island. "-This place gives me the creeps for some reason...-"

Bulbasaur looked out toward the water, looking for Pippi, but instead he saw a strange blocky, static-like pokemon floating in the air. The strange pokemon launched two blasts of water, one from its lower body and the other from his upper body, and managed to hit Bulbasaur with both of them. Bulbasaur shook the water off his face and growled at the pokemon.

"-Bring it on, pal. You do NOT want to mess with me right now!-" Bulbasaur growled. He extended his vines and prepared to fight the mystery pokemon.

* * *

Author's Notes: You know, I heard a rumor once that Arcanine was originally planned to be a legendary pokemon in the first generation. It seems plausible anyway. Has one of the highest non-legendary base stat totals, beat out only by Slaking and the 600-BST pokemon like Dragonite and Metagross. Arcanine is also referred to as the "Legendary Pokemon".

Anyway, another gym battle over with, and I managed to squeeze in a cameo by a certain non-pokemon. I almost forgot about this entirely, and likewise almost forgot entirely about Pippi mastering Surf. I had plans for her to use the technique but she hasn't been shown working on getting it right. The tentacle-eyeball-creature that showed up was meant to play on the idea of said mystery pokemon basically being some sort of cosmic horror in the pokemon world. I wouldn't include that pokemon in the actual plot though, just a convenient and bizarre dream sequence.

Also, Ashley did not bring Burn Heal. Rina did though.

Whatever deities might exist in the pokemon world will let Bulbasaur have a break in the next chapter.


	31. Chapter 31: Not So Sweet Home

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Thirty One**

**Not So Sweet Home**

After sorting things out with Bulbasaur and Pippi and getting their pokemon healed, Ashley and Rina took off for Pallet Town. Cinnabar Island was south of Pallet Town's shores, making it a quick flight back to Ashley's hometown. Ashley flew on Pidgeot and Rina was on Knight, with Bulbasaur and Pippi both in their pokeballs for once to make the flight easier. Pidgeot and Knight flew close enough together for Ashley and Rina to talk while Pallet Town still loomed in the distance.

"Pallet Town looks so small from here, weren't there a lot of trainers from Pallet Town?" Rina asked Ashley.

"Yep, all adults or kids under ten left now pretty much." Ashley said to her. "All trying to get the title of the Elite Four Champion. I'm kinda surprised no one's gotten there yet."

"Now that you mention it, you'd think someone who was already a trainer would have gotten it by now." Rina replied, resting her finger against the side of her chin as she thought it over. "Though, on the other hand, most of the trainers we ran into weren't all that tough. They probably wouldn't make it." Rina looked over at Ashley and smiled. "Hey! Maybe you'll be the first to beat them and become the next Champion?"

Ashley shook her head. "I don't think I'd want to."

"You don't want to?!" Rina cried out, so shocked by Ashley's response she nearly fell off Knight.

"-Hey, careful up there!-" Knight said to Rina.

"Sorry..." Rina quietly apologized. She looked over at Ashley curiously. "But Ashley, why wouldn't you want to become the next Champion? You're challenging the Elite Four, aren't you?"

"I am, but I'm not challenging them because I want to become the Champion, I'm just doing it because I can really." Ashley replied with a shrug. "If I actually became the Champion then I'd to deal with trainers challenging the Elite Four. The Champion is pretty much the 'leader' of the Elite Four too, and thats more responsibility than I'd want to deal with..."

"Hmm...it'd be a waste though if you got all the way there and no one had taken the title yet but you turn it down..." Rina said to her.

"-I agree entirely.-" Pidgeot squawked in agreement. "-It'd be the greatest honour a pokemon could have.-" Pidgeot's beak formed into a sort of a grin. "-And it'd be something to rub that Sandshrew's nose in!-"

"Actually, Sarge evolved." Rina said to Pidgeot. Pidgeot suddenly faltered in its flight, dropping down a few feet briefly and causing Ashley to shriek in fear.

"PIDGEOT! Be careful!" Ashley scolded him and then let out a sigh. "Anyway, I'm just not interested in being the Champion, Rina. Besides, wouldn't it be even better to beat whoever becomes the Champion instead?"

"True, but do you think you could beat Red if he got there first?" Rina asked her. "Remember what his Pikachu did to your Bulbasaur?"

"Yeah, he'd be pretty tough if the rest of his pokemon are like that." Ashley nodded to her. "If thats the case, though, then I just won't worry about it." Ashley shrugged then looked down as Pidgeot and Knight finally reached Pallet Town and various buildings and houses passed underneath them. She pointed to one of the houses. It was late in the day and starting to get dark, just about every house below them were lit up.

"Pidgeot, land near that house there." Ashley instructed her pokemon. Pidgeot nodded and dove down toward the house Ashley pointed to, landing on the road directly in front of it. Knight followed suit, dropping down slowly next to where Pidgeot landed.

"Well, this is it!" Ashley announced as she jumped off Pidgeot's back. "My home. Haven't been here in weeks now!" Rina followed suit, jumping down from Knight's back. She looked up at the rather ordinary looking two-storey home. It was a white house with a red roof.

"I'm kinda hesitant to go inside though..." Ashley then said to Rina, smiling nervously. "My mom is kinda...typical mom, you know?"

"Typical mom?" Rina asked curiously.

"You know, barrage of questions about what I've been up to, whether or not I've been eating properly or wearing clean underwear everyday..." Ashley let out a sigh. "Its kinda embarassing..."

"Well you have been gone for a while." Rina said to her. "She's probably been pretty worried about you."

"I guess you're right, might as well get this over with..." Ashley sighed again and then turned back to Pidgeot while taking a pokeball in hand. "Pidgeot, thanks for the lift."

"-A short flight like that is nothing.-" Pidgeot replied, waving one of his wings dismissively.

"You can take a well deserved rest now." Ashley raised Pidgeot's pokeball and recalled him, then placed the pokeball back on her belt.

"Knight, you too." Rina said to Knight as she took his pokeball in hand. "Thanks for flying me to Pallet Town."

"-Don't mention it, Rina.-" Knight made a motion similar to a salute. "-Ever need anything, just ask.-" Rina nodded and recalled Knight, then returned his pokeball to his belt.

"Ok, lets do this..." Ashley approached the front door of her house. She turned the knob, opened the door, and stepped inside.

"Its like she's expecting an impending doom..." Rina thought as she watched her.

"MOM! I'm home!" Ashley called out once she stepped inside. The front door lead straight into Ashley's kitchen/dining room, but her mother was nowhere in sight. Several empty, caramel-colored bottles were strewn about and on the table in the dining area. Ashley walked over to the table when she noticed them, looking on in disbelief. "My mom...drinks?"

"I don't know why but...I get the feeling that something's wrong here..." Rina thought to herself.

Slow footsteps could soon be heard coming down the stairs and Ashley's mom came down looking as though she had just gotten out of bed, even though she was fully dressed. Even though it was late at night, most people wouldn't be asleep yet anyway.

"Could you keep it down, dear, mommy has a headache..." Ashley's mother mumbled groggily. It took her a moment to notice Rina standing next to her. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Rina..." Ashley replied, gesturing toward her. "Rina, this is my mom, Catherine..." She then said to Rina, gesturing toward her mother.

"Its nice to meet you." Rina said, bowing politely.

"Mom, would it be ok for Rina to spend the night here?" Ashley asked her.

"Fine...just keep the noise down..." Catherine mumbled. "I'm going back to bed..." She slowly turned and headed back up the stairs, mumbling to herself.

"Ashley, is your mom always..."

"Rina, you like to cook, so why don't you make dinner and I'll feed our pokemon?" Ashley said to Rina, quickly changing the subject.

"Umm...thats fine by me but..." Before Rina could say another word, Ashley unhooked her pokeball belt and took it from her.

"Great! I'm looking forward to it!" Ashley said before running out the front door and slamming it shut behind her.

_"I've never seen Ashley like this before..."_ Rina thought, blinking in disbelief. _"I can't say for sure...but...I'm guessing her mother wasn't a heavy drinker before Ashley left..."_ Rina sighed. _"I want to help her but...what can I do?"_

Rina thought for a moment while looking around the kitchen, then smiled and clapped her hands together. "I know! I'll just have to make the best meal I can to cheer her up!"

* * *

Standing just outside her house, Ashley set to feeding her and Rina's pokemon. She took a bag of pokemon food out of her travel bag and made twelve piles, emptying the bag in the process, and then released her and Rina's pokemon. She said nothing as she released each of them.

Ashley still had the four pokemon she used to face Blaine, Poliwrath, Hypno, Primeape, and Vaporeon. Bulbasaur was with her as always, as well as Pidgeot. Rina's six pokemon were Pippi, as usual, as well as Knight, Miss Esp, Felicia, Geri, and Berg. When Ashley finished releasing each of them, she sat off to the side and remained silent. Except for Geri, none of the pokemon touched their food yet. The rest were curious about Ashley's attitude, for the most part.

"-So...are we supposed to eat this stuff?-" Hypno asked the other pokemon.

"-What? Expecting it to be poisoned or something?-" Bulbasaur replied sarcastically. Keeping his gaze on Ashley, Bulbasaur extended his two vines and grabbed a single pellet then tossed it into his mouth. "-Wonder whats bugging her? I always figured she was too stupid to get depressed.-"

"-Why you mean to Ashley?-" Poliwrath asked Bulbasaur.

"-Feh.-" Bulbasaur shrugged. "-You wouldn't understand.-" Bulbasaur turned away and started chowing down. Hypno did likewise after deciding the food must be safe to eat.

"-Where's Rina?-" Pippi asked, twitching her ear. "-And where are we anyway? This doesn't look like we're on Cinnabar anymore...-" Pippi glanced around the town curiously.

"-Hey...you don't think something happened to Rina?-" Knight asked Miss Esp.

"-No...I can feel she's nearby.-" Miss Esp replied, shaking her head. "-I don't believe Ashley's mood has anything to do with Rina, if that is what you were asking. She may know what is upsetting her, however...-" Knight nodded in agreement with her.

"-Right, we'll ask her after we eat then. That flight left me empty.-" Knight scooped up a handful of pokemon food and scarfed it down.

"-Always thinking with your stomach...-" Miss Esp sighed and shook her head. "-Well, I suppose there is no point letting it go to waste anyway.-" Miss Esp turned to her pile of food and began eating, taking one pellet at a time.

"-So Rina is definitely ok then, right?-" Pippi asked Miss Esp. The psychic pokemon nodded and Pippi let out a sigh of relief. "-I was worried for a second there.-" With the knowledge that Rina was ok, Pippi began to eat as well. The remaining pokemon followed suit one by one.

_"This must be my fault somehow..."_ Ashley thought. _"Mom never drank alcohol before, but since I've been gone she has. I don't think she even realized I was home even though she saw me..."_ Ashley let out a sigh and quietly watched the pokemon as they ate.

_"For once, I think I'd have preferred her usual barrage of questions. Beats coming home to my mom having a hangover any day. Though, coulda been worse..." _Ashley sighed again. _"She could have been drunk..."_

"-You know, come to think of it, wasn't Pallet Town our next stop?.-" Bulbasaur said to himself, leaving his food alone to take a look around.

"-Mmm! Delicious!-" Geri said approvingly after finishing the last of her food. She then looked around at the pokemon gathered with a confused expression. "-Where's Rina? Why isn't Rina feeding us?-"

"Ah, I see the creepy vine thing has finished its meal." Bulbasaur thought, a soured expression on his face. "I've had enough to eat, then. Time for me to get out of here." Bulbasaur extended his two vines over toward Ashley, grabbing her pokedex from her and snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Bulbasaur? What are you doing with that?" Ashley asked him. Had he grabbed it any other time, Ashley would have instinctively grabbed it back. She barely took interest, though, having been preoccupied with thoughts about her mother.

"-Whats it matter to you? Not like you understand a damn thing I'm saying!-" Bulbasaur shot back. The rest of the pokemon watched curiously, Bulbasaur's outburst distracting them from eating. Bulbasaur turned and started to walk away, taking Ashley's pokedex with him but then stopping for a moment to look back at the group.

"-I'm off to see an old friend.-" Bulbasaur said to the group, then started off again.

"Where's he off to all of a sudden?" Ashley wondered aloud. She stood up to go after him, but then stopped when she realized what direction he was headed in. "Right...Professor Oak..." Ashley rubbed the back of her head and sat back down.

"-Bulbasaur sounds like he needs company! I'm going with him!-" Geri took off after Bulbasaur, but Pidgeot moved to block her path.

"-That might not be such a good idea...why don't you try to find Rina instead?-" Pidgeot said to her.

"-Oh yeah! Rina's not here!-" Geri took a quick look around and then ran over to Ashley. "-Where's Rina?-" Ashley, of course, didn't know what to say to her. She didn't know what Geri was saying to begin with.

"-Here.-" Knight got up and opened the front door of Ashley's house. "-Rina's in there.-"

"-Yay! I'm coming, Rina!-" Tangela cried out happily and then ran off into the house.

"Hey! Keep the noise down, you guys!" Ashley called out after her.

"-I'm going in too then!-" Pippi said, abandoning what little was left of her food and running off into the house.

"-I will be going in to keep an eye on her too, then.-" Miss Esp said as she stood up. She nodded to Knight and then calmly walked into the house. Felicia soon got up as well and followed behind her.

"-If I am to remain out of my pokeball then someone needs to be taking responsibility for maintaining my appearance.-" Felicia said, her bushy tail raised as she walked into the house.

"-Well, guess that leaves you and me...-" Knight said to Berg. "-This door doesn't look like it was made with us in mind...-"

"-No, but on the other hand, most pokemon going through a door are in a pokeball, so its hardly something they needed to take into consideration.-" Berg replied calmly and then looked over at Knight. "-I believe this is the first we've met. Rina calls me Berg, I was rescued from the hunters by her and Ashley.-"

"-I'm Knight. Her father was once my trainer, but now I'm looking out for Rina in his place.-" Knight replied, nodding respectfully to Berg. "-Like you, I was also rescued from the hunters. No offense though, but I don't think Rina's father would approve of her keeping so many stolen pokemon...-"

"-Perhaps...but don't you think that, in a way, she's perfect for looking after pokemon that were once enslaved by the Grand Hunters?-" Berg said to Knight. "-She is a kind hearted girl that genuinely cares for her pokemon. I am sure you can agree with that much.-"

"-Well, yeah, but still...-" Knight muttered, trailing off.

"-ARGH! BLAH! BLAH! BLAH!-" Ashley's Primeape suddenly jumped up and screeched. "-This boring! Me want fight NOW!-"

"-If its a fight you want, then follow me.-" Pidgeot said to Primeape before any of the other remaining pokemon could respond.

"-HA! I'll beat you silly BIRD BRAIN!-" Primeape said as he slammed his fists together.

_"Heh, like you have a chance."_ Pidgeot thought, grinning to himself as he flapped his wings and took off flying low to the ground. _"I'll fight this guy near Route 1, I know a few old friends who will be jealous when they see me like this." _Pidgeot flew off toward Route 1, with Primeape eagerly following behind him.

"Well, I guess we have a little bit of time anyway..." Ashley said to herself, watching Pidgeot and Primeape as they took off. "They'll probably be back soon enough anyway."

"-Cleared out in a hurry.-" Vaporeon said casually. He let out a yawn and stretched out on the ground.

"-I'm thirsty.-" Poliwrath said as he stood up. "-I go find water.-" Poliwrath then headed off as well, in search of a water source to drink from. Vaporeon glanced curiously at where Poliwrath's pile of food was and then looked over at Berg and Knight.

"-Did either of you notice how he even ate by any chance?-" Vaporeon asked them. They both shook their heads. "-Damn...I didn't even see a mouth on that guy. This is going to bug me for the rest of the night now.-"

* * *

_"Damn it, Ashley better at least have something worthwhile on this pokedex."_ Bulbasaur thought as he approached Professor Oak's lab. While Bulbasaur was fully aware of what pokemon Ashley had, and that Rina's pokemon were also registered, Oak had Red and Gary working on pokedexes as well. There was no doubt in Bulbasaur's mind that they were both doing a better job than Ashley was.

Bulbasaur set down the pokedex and reached up with his vines to open the lab's front doors. The doors wouldn't budge though. "-Damn it! Don't tell me its closed already!-" Bulbasaur growled. "-Well Oak is probably still there anyway.-" Bulbasaur wrapped the tip of his vines together and started pounding on the door, trying to get the attention of anyone that might be inside.

Eventually, the door opened and Professor Oak peeked out. He opened the door further, looking rather confused when he didn't see anyone. Bulbasaur had to tap him with his vine to get him to look down. "Bulbasaur? Is that you? What are you doing here?" Professor Oak asked him. Bulbasaur picked up Ashley's pokedex with his vines and then handed it to Oak.

"Isn't this Ashley's pokedex? Did something happen to her?" Professor Oak asked Bulbasaur in a concerned tone. Bulbasaur shook his head. "I see..." Oak said, nodding slightly. "I suppose if she just arrived in town she must be busy at home. You might as well come in, then, Bulbasaur..."

"-Don't mind if I do.-" Bulbasaur walked into the lab and Professor Oak closed the door behind him. Professor Oak walked through the lab to the other end of the building, with Bulbasaur following behind him, until he arrived at a small office-like area and sat down in front of a computer.

"Now, lets see what we have here..." Oak scrolled through the pages in Ashley's pokedex, nodding to himself as he read them over. "33 pokemon caught. I suppose thats not too bad, but Gary has already caught most of these pokemon."

"-Figures...-" Bulbasaur muttered.

"However..." Professor Oak continued. "Ashley seems to have more evolved pokemon caught than Gary. Gary caught any new pokemon he encountered but only raised six. He doesn't have any of the evolved pokemon that rarely appear in the wild, such as Poliwrath and Dragonite."

"-Well at least her pokedex was good for something, then.-" Bulbasaur said, rolling his eyes.

"I'll add the information she's managed to obtain to my database anyway." Oak placed Ashley's pokedex into a device next to his computer. With the push of a few buttons, the device downloaded all the info from Ashley's pokedex and onto Professor Oak's computer.

"You know, Gary has even gone so far as to become to new champion." Oak said to Bulbasaur.

"-What?! That jerk!?-" Bulbasaur said in disbelief. Oak chuckled.

"It surprised me too. I thought for sure that, if anyone, it would have been Red. Gary still doesn't seem to understand what is truly important in raising pokemon." Professor Oak shook his head sadly. "Anyway, I am planning to meet him at Indigo Plateau tomorrow. I was too busy to watch his battle against the Elite Four today."

_"How did a guy like Gary beat Red to the punch?"_ Bulbasaur wondered. _"Well I bet he won't last long anyway."_

"Of course, I'll visit with Ashley tomorrow before I go." Oak said. "Afterall, its not like you could pass on a message for me."

"-Technically I could, but since she's not here I can't really explain that to you.-" Bulbasaur replied with a shrug. "-Heck, I don't even know what she's up to right now...-"

* * *

Meanwhile, in Ashley's house, Rina was still busy getting dinner ready. The four pokemon that went inside, Pippi, Miss Esp, Felicia, and Geri, were all helping her as well. Miss Esp, Pippi, and Felicia waited by Rina for their next task.

"Ok, so that takes care of the potatoes, the carrots, the sweet and sour tofu balls...wish I had more to work with..." Rina let out a sigh. She had all of the mentioned food items cooked already, courtesy of Felicia. "Could cook the rice I guess, that shouldn't take too long..."

"-Rina, might I ask why you are making so much food?-" Miss Esp asked her, looking over the three large pots set out on the floor. A hot plate underneath each pot kept them from burning the floor. "-This seems to be a lot of food for just two humans, and might I remind you that human food isn't necessarily safe for pokemon consumption...-"

"-It isn't? But Rina gives us her food all the time and I don't think its bothered anyone...-" Pippi commented.

"I'm hoping Ashley's mother will join us actually..." Rina said to Miss Esp.

"-Ah...the alcoholic...-"

"Miss Esp!"

"-Its true.-" Miss Esp replied with a shrug. "-Whatever the circumstances might be, Ashley's mother has turned to alcohol for a solution.-"

"-What IS alcohol anyway?-" Pippi asked Miss Esp.

"-Its a toxic substance that can alter the behaviour of humans and most pokemon.-" Miss Esp explained. "-I suppose you could compare it to a pokemon's technique inflicting confusion on you, only the effects can last longer. Humans can become especially troublesome to deal with after intake.-"

"-You know a lot about this stuff...-" Pippi said to her, blinking.

"-Yes, well, Rina's parents dealt with the odd human under the effects of alcohol. Or 'drunk' as they call it.-" Miss Esp replied with a shrug.

"-If it affects pokemon too, we definitely can't let her have any.-" Pippi giggled while pointing toward Geri. Rina had Geri setting the table, which she was able to do rather quickly due to her body being composed of vines that she could extend and grab things with. Geri was being as energetic as usual, so Rina was forced to continually find things for her to do. The Tangela was also taking great pride in helping out.

"Anyway..." Rina interrupted with a sigh. "We'll make that rice I guess, and maybe mix in some corn or something with it."

"-After that, can I finally get my fur brushed?!-" Felicia asked indignantly. "-The humidity in here is just murder!-"

"Once all the food is ready I'll brush your fur, I promise!" Rina said to Felicia. "I just wish I had something 'big' to go with these meals, it just feels like I'm making a bunch of sidedishes..."

"-Hmm...how about a cake?-" Miss Esp suggested. "-It wouldn't add to the meal, but it could be for dessert at least.-"

"Thats a great idea!" Rina replied enthusiastically, but her enthusiasm was short lived. "But...I'd feel bad making a cake and not being able to give you guys any..."

"-If you would like, I happen to know a recipe for a pokemon cake too. Assuming Ashley's mother has the ingredients for either around.-" Miss Esp replied.

"Ok. Pippi and Felicia will make the rice then, and Geri will help me with the cake since she could handle all the ingredients."

Geri had just finished setting the table when she heard Rina mention. She rushed over and stood attentively. "-I'm ready to help! Just tell me what you need!-"

"Miss Esp, you'd know better than I would..." Rina said to her.

"-Very well.-" Miss Esp nodded. "-Here is what we need then...-"

* * *

After staying outside for about half an hour, Ashley set about rounding up all the pokemon except for Bulbasaur. She recalled Berg, Knight, and Vaporeon first. Poliwrath had returned by then as well, so she recalled him and then set off to find Primeape and Pidgeot.

Ashley found those two pretty easily. They had stopped near Route 1 to have a match, which Primeape had apparently won since Pidgeot was out cold when she arrived. Ashley couldn't figure out how Primeape had managed to beat Pidgeot, though she could assume it had something to do with the uprooted tree lying nearby. She recalled the two pokemon, and then headed back to her house.

"Ok, after dinner I'll definitely confront mom about her drinking..." Ashley said to herself before opening the front door and going inside. As soon as she stepped into the house, the smell of various foods assaulted her senses. She then saw several large bowls on the table, one with mashed potatoes, one with carrots, one filled with rice and corn, and a pot of tofu balls in sweet and sour sauce.

"Well its about time you came in!" Rina said to her. "I thought you'd stay out there all night!"

"Rina...did you...make all this?" Ashley asked her, staring in disbelief.

"Well I had help of course..." Rina gestured toward Geri, Felicia, Miss Esp, and Pippi. "I definitely wouldn't have been able to make this much if it wasn't for them!"

"You didn't have to make so much you know..."

"I thought maybe you'd feel better after a good meal." Rina said to her. "I couldn't find anything for the main course though, it ended up just being a bunch of sidedishes. Unless you can consider tofu balls the main course..."

_"Actually its only my mom that ever ate tofu..."_ Ashley thought. She didn't want to say that to Rina after all the trouble she went through, though.

"I made something for the pokemon too so I'm going to take them outside again. Could you...umm..." Rina hesitated for a moment. "Could you invite your mother down for dinner?"

"What?" Ashley blinked in disbelief. "You sure you want my mom to eat with us right now?" Rina nodded affirmatively, and Ashley sighed and rubbed the back of her head. "I'll...I'll try then...I'm not making any promises though..."

"Don't worry if you can't convince her to come down then." Rina said, then turned to her pokemon. "Ok, come on guys!" Rina marched outside with the four pokemon following behind her, and carrying a covered pot in her hands. Ashley couldn't help but wonder what was in it. Ashley handed off the pokemon she had with her to Rina on her way out.

_"Well, I did decide I was going to confront her..."_ Ashley thought, steeling her resolve to face her mother. She went upstairs and found the door to her mother's bedroom was open, and her mother was sprawled out on the bed. Ashley quietly approached her and gently tapped her on the arm to get her attention.

"Mom, you awake?" Ashley asked her.

"I am now..." She muttered groggily in response. Ashley winced. "What do you want...?"

"Well Rina made some food and...we were hoping you'd have some." Ashley said to her. Cathering muttered quietly to herself and slowly sat up, draping her legs over the side of the bed.

"Might as well...you two keep making so much damn noise down there I'm not getting any sleep anyway..." She muttered, causing Ashley to wince again. Her mother slowly stood up and put on a pair of slippers. Ashley then followed behind her mother as the two of them went back downstairs.

_"Well that went well...sorta." _Ashley thought. Her mother came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs and looked out into the kitchen in disbelief.

"Thats a lot of food..." She mumbled to herself. The two of them walked into the kitchen and sat down opposite each other at the crowded table. They started piling food onto their plates, taking a little bit of everything. Soon after, Rina came back inside. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Catherine sitting at the table.

"Oh! I'm glad you decided to join us." Rina said to her. She took her seat on the right side of the table and offered a smile to the other two girls. Ashley nodded to her and smiled back. Catherine forced a weak smile as well. Rina started loading up her plate, taking a little bit of everything like Ashley and her mother had.

Ashley was the first to try Rina's food, trying a forkful of potatoes and her mother trying the tofu soon after. Her mother suddenly seemed wide awake while Ashley winced at the taste in her mouth. They both quickly swallowed and chased it down with a gulp of water while Rina looked on in bewilderment.

"Is something wrong with it?" Rina asked them.

"Rina, did you even cook these potatoes?" Ashley asked her.

"If she didn't cook the potatoes then she definitely made up for it by overcooking the tofu!" Her mother added.

"What?!" Rina cried out in disbelief. "But I've never over or undercooked anything before now!"

"Have you ever used a fire pokemon to help you with your cooking before now?" Ashley asked her.

"Well...umm...no...but what difference would that make?"

"You would have to time it manually for starters." Ashley's mother said. "Secondly, you'd have to know how hot your pokemon's flames are and adjust the cooking time accordingly. And half the time at double the temperature doesn't work either."

"Oops..." Rina mumbled, sinking down in her chair.

"You know, we can just reheat the potatoes and wait for the tofu to cool off." Ashley said to Rina, then looked over at her mother. "Seems like the tofu's made you feel better, though, mom..."

"Not in the slightest..." Her mother replied, rubbing her temples. "Worse, now I remember what its like to have kids in the house."

"S-sorry..." Rina mumbled apologetically.

"Its alright..." Ashley's mother said with a sigh. "If we reheat the potatoes like Ashley suggested and wait for the tofu to cool off it'll be fine."

"Yeah, but...that cake I made probably isn't even edible..." Rina sighed. "Next time I should just use the oven..."

"Its fine, but you can both clean up the mess." Catherine said sternly.

_"Thats more like the mom I know..."_ Ashley thought with a sigh. _"Guess that overcooked tofu woke her up, but I still need to find out why she was drinking so much in the first place..."_

"Mom, can I ask you something?"

"You just did, but yes..."

"Why did you start drinking?" The room fell dead silent as Ashley asked the question. Ashley and Rina looked on expectantly while Catherine mulled over the question.

"Without you around, this house just became so...quiet...and lonely..." Her mother said quietly. "First your father left me, and then you. After that, one of the neighbours invited me over for a drink one day and since then..."

_"So it is my fault..."_ Ashley thought, sinking back in her chair. _"Mom started drinking because she was lonely..."_

"Well!" Rina clapped her hands together. "Now that thats settled, lets fix this food!"

"Right..." Ashley nodded and forced herself to smile. Though what her mother said had upset her, she was trying not to show it.

The girls went about reheating the potatoes, putting them on the oven for a few minutes and giving the tofu time to cool off. The carrots, while not perfect, were edible and the rice was made in the microwave while Rina used Felicia's fire to try to bake the cakes.

After eating, Ashley and Rina were forced to clean up while Ashley's mother went back to bed. They quietly went about washing and drying the dishes, until Rina decided to break the silence.

"What your mother said is bothering you, isn't it?" Rina asked her. Ashley sighed and set aside a plate she was drying off.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Kinda..." Rina said to her, setting down a pot she was about to wash. "You know, you could always get her a pokemon.

"A pokemon?" Ashley replied, blinking.

"Yeah!" Rina nodded enthusiastically. "She's lonely, right? So why not catch her a pokemon to keep her company?"

"You know, that might be a good idea." Ashley smiled and nodded to her in agreement. "Thanks, Rina."

"I think I'll go back to Pewter City tomorrow while you're doing that, though." Rina said to her, picking up the pot again and cleaning it out with a wet cloth. "This is probably something you should deal with yourself, and I'm sure there's other things you want to do while you're home."

"Now that you mention it, I should probably check in with Oak while I'm here. I have to get Bulbasaur back from him anyway it seems, since he didn't come back."

"I think Bulbasaur actually likes the professor." Rina said to her. "In a way, Oak's probably a father figure to him." Rina reached down into the bottom of the pot, trying to scrub out a particularly stubborn sauce stain.

"You're probably right." Ashley replied, nodding. She took a fork from the disk rack next to the sink and quickly dried it off. "What will you do in Pewter though? I mean, it feels kinda odd for us to just split up now..."

"We're not splitting up!" Rina said indignantly, nearly dropping the pot. "We're just going separate ways for a while. I still plan to watch you challenge the Elite Four!"

"Right, but it still seems a bit off somehow." Ashley said to her. "By the way, what was your mother like Rina?"

"My mother..." Rina thought for a moment and then smiled sheepishly. "She was the kind of mother that wouldn't let you get away with anything. There's a reason she worked as a detective."

"Doesn't it...you know...bother you any that your parents aren't around anymore?" Ashley asked her.

"It does..." Rina replied. "But, I don't let it get to me. Wherever they are, they can rest in peace now that I got Knight and Miss Esp back." Rina then looked over at Ashley curiously. "What about you? Where did your father go anyway?"

"We don't know..." Ashley replied, shaking her head sadly. "He just disappeared one day a few years ago. We don't even know whether or not he's still alive..."

"Oh..." Rina blinked slightly. "Think you'll ever find out for sure?"

"I know I will, someday, but until then..." Ashley smiled at her. "I won't let it get to me."

Ashley and Rina finished washing and drying the dishes, and then cleaned up the rest of the kitchen. Rina then went outside to recall all their pokemon while Ashley went to her room and arranged a sleeping bag. Despite most of the food she cooked not turning out as planned, the pokemon all enjoyed their cake. Rina then went back inside, and the two girls took a well deserved rest.

* * *

Author's Notes: I think I changed my mind about where I wanted to go with this chapter more times than I can count while I was writing it. Didn't QUITE make good on the universe-not-hating-Bulbasaur like I originally planned. Well, nothing bad happened, but I had something planned thats pushed to next chapter instead.

This chapter wasn't going to jump around so much originally either, and there were at least one or two other scenarios going on I could have shown over the course of it...


	32. Chapter 32: Revival of the Fittest

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Thirty Two**

**Revival of the Fittest**

Late night, Cinnabar Island, in a laboratory near the southern end of the island, a group of scientists gather around a large cylindrical machine. There is a sliding glass door on the middle of the machine, which one of the scientists opens and places a piece of fossilized amber in.

"Are we sure we want to do this?" One of the scientists asked nervously. "We don't even know what we might be bringing back to life..."

"They've already revived pokemon from fossils in Hoenn, you know." Another scientist said sternly. "We need to prove our machine works now and this is the only suitable fossil the Pewter City museum was willing to give away. Its this or nothing."

The fossilized amber was placed in the middle of the chamber and the glass door closed over it. The scientist who was handling the amber then pressed a few buttons on a control panel next to it. A bright light filled the inside of the chamber, concealing the fossil from view.

"I still think we should have researched this more thoroughly first." The nervous scientist said to his colleagues. It was too late to change their minds now. None of them would be able to open the chamber until after the revitalization process was finished. They couldn't see the creature beginning to form inside, nor could it see them.

The group of scientists stood around anxiously while the machine did its job. After several minutes, the light began to slowly fade revealing, at first, the creature's gray, leathery wings. Eventually its relatively small body, disproportionally large head and jaw, and long tail were revealed. The creature remained almost completely motionless, save for its shallow breaths.

One of the scientists had a book in hand to identify prehistoric pokemon and began flipping through the pages. He eventually came upon a page with a perfect picture of the pokemon resting in the revitalization chamber. "According to this, this pokemon would be an Aerodactyl..." The scientist said to his colleagues.

"Well congratulations, gentlemen, we have just revived a prehistoric Aerodactyl." Another scientist calmly congratulated the group. For the most part, the group remained quiet. Though the revival seemed to be a success, there was still much more work to be done. The men enjoyed their victory in silence while they waited for the pokemon to open its eyes. They didn't have long to wait either as it was soon slowly opening its eyes while trying to stand up.

"It may be in our best interest to capture Aerodactyl in a pokeball while we can." The scientist holding the book said. "According to this, Aerodactyl is a carnivorous pokemon that was known to prey on early human civilizations."

"You're probably right, we'll capture it and call it a night." One of the scientists approached the machine while the Aerodactyl inside it stood up and watched the scientist.

The scientist pushed two buttons on the control panel and inside the machine a hole opened above Aerodactyl. A pokeball dropped down from the hole, opening as it fell. The ball hit Aerodactyl on the head and pulled it inside. The pokeball fell to the bottom of the chamber and, to everyone's surprise, began rolling about as Aerodactyl tried to break free.

"Whats going on here?! Why isn't it recalling Aerodactyl?!" One of the scientists demanded in a mixed expression of shock and confusion. The scientist near the control panel began tapping away to find the problem while Aerodactyl effortlessly broke free of the pokeball and shattered it.

"There's been a computer error!" The scientist announced frantically. "Aerodactyl wasn't properly registered!"

"WHAT!?" The group cried out in disbelief. Aerodactyl, now angry from their attempt to catch it, cast a fierce glare at the scientists.

"-You dare try to catch me?!-" Aerodactyl screeched. "-Filthy creatures! I will gnaw on your bones!-" Aerodactyl opened its mouth and an orange glow began to form in the back of its throat.

"EVERYONE GET DOWN!" One of the scientists screamed and everyone quickly dropped to the floor. Aerodactyl fired a powerful energy beam, shattering the glass chamber. The beam soared over the scientists' heads and struck the far wall of the room. The wall was blasted apart in a shower of dust and debris, leaving a large gaping hole. Almost immediately, an alarm began to sound.

"-GAH! Now you attack me with noise?!-" Aerodactyl screeched, covering his ears with his clawed hands. As soon as Aerodactyl had the strength to attack again he opened his mouth and fired another Hyper Beam. The beam fired across the room and struck the wall on the opposite side of the corridor from the room. There was another shower of dust and debris as that wall was destroyed, leaving a large gaping hole that lead outside.

"-FREEDOM!-" Aerodactyl took a moment to muster up its strength again and took off flying toward the hole with astouding speed. Security guards were just arriving in the corridor outside the room, a pair of Growlithes with them, when Aerodactyl shot past them like a bullet and out into the night.

Once Aerodactyl was outside he began to rise up high into the air until he was over a hundred feet off the ground, then stopped and hovered in the air to take a good look at his surroundings. Aerodactyl was perplexed by the unusual scenery.

"-What is all this?-" Aerodactyl wondered when he saw the buildings scattered about the island. He could also see many humans walking about. Several scientists and guards rushed out of the lab Aerodactyl had broken out of, accompanied by Growlithes, Magnemites, and Voltorbs.

"-Grr...I'm starving, but these creatures are too strong. I must find easier prey!-" Aerodactyl took off again, flying over the island and heading north.

"Damn it! Its getting away!" One of the scientists muttered angrily. "We need to track it down and capture it before it hurts someone!"

"I don't think we stand a chance at catching it, its too fast." One of the other scientists said. "All we can do is hope it keeps going north and hope the Viridian City gym leader can stop it..."

"But what if it stops in Pallet Town?"

"Then, unless the Elite Four or the gym leader can get there first, there isn't much hope for them..."

* * *

Early morning, the next day. Ashley, Rina, and Pippi are standing just outside route one as Ashley sees Rina off.

"So I'll come by your place to get you after I get my final badge." Ashley said to Rina.

"Ok." Rina nodded in agreement. "Think you're ready for the next gym?"

"Of course I am!" Ashley replied, waving her hand dismissively. "It'll be a breeze, and Bulbasaur should finally be happy since its supposed to be a ground-type gym. Plus I'll have Poliwrath, Pidgeot, and Vaporeon too. It'll be a piece of cake!"

"Well good luck anyway." Rina said to her. "We'll see you later, bye Ashley!"

"Bye Rina, bye Pippi!"

"-See ya!-" Pippi replied, then she and Rina started off on their way.

"Ok, now to go meet up with Professor Oak." Ashley turned and headed back into town, off on her way to Professor Oak's lab. Even though the lab was on the opposite side of town from the route one exit, it still only took her roughly twenty minutes to get there. Pallet Town wasn't very big. Aside from a few scattered convenience stores, there wasn't even anywhere to shop. Ashley arrived outside the lab then opened the front door and stepped inside.

As she stepped inside, though, she found the lab seemed to be quiet and empty. _"Thats odd..." Ashley thought. "Isn't the lab supposed to be open today?"_

"Hello? Is anybody here?" Ashley called out to the empty lab.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming." Professor Oak called back before emerging from one of the lab's side rooms. Bulbasaur, still with him, was following along behind Oak. The professor had a pokeball in his hand as well. "I was expecting you might drop by today, Ashley. How are things at home?"

"Not that great..." Ashley replied with a sigh. "I'd rather not say why though. Anyway, where is everybody?"

"-Yeah, nice to see you again too.-" Bulbasaur muttered sarcastically. "-Not even going to say 'hello' are you?-"

"I told everyone to take the day off." Professor Oak explained. "Gary has actually managed to beat the Elite Four. I will be paying him a visit myself later, but right now I would like to..."

"Wait, wait, wait...back up..." Ashley said, interrupting him. "Gary beat the Elite Four?!" Professor Oak chuckled.

"Yes, it surprised me as well. I didn't think he had what it takes to be a great pokemon trainer. He sure proved me wrong though. He's got quite a pokedex as well, speaking of which..." Professor Oak cleared his throat. "I was hoping to speak with you about your's."

"My pokedex?" Ashley asked, blinking in disbelief. She remembered Bulbasaur took it when he ran off to the lab the night before, and also realized she hadn't put much work into it. _"He can't be too happy about it..."_ She thought.

"Yes, quite the curious entries you have there." Oak said to her. "While you don't have nearly as many pokemon captured as Gary, you do have many rare and fully evolved pokemon. You've even managed to capture two pokemon that don't even appear in the Kanto pokedex."

"I did?" Ashley blinked. "Which two aren't in the Kanto pokedex?"

"Here, let me show you." Professor Oak lead Ashley into his office, where he had left her pokedex connected to his computer. He sat down in his chair and brought up Crobat's pokedex page.

"This would be the first one." Professor Oak explained. "Crobat, the evolved form of Golbat."

"Crobat isn't a Kanto pokemon?" Ashley asked.

"While Crobat does evolve from Golbat, a pokemon very common in just about any part of the world, its evolution into Crobat was first documented in the Johto region." Professor Oak explained. "Its the same scenario with this particular pokemon..." Professor Oak scrolled through the pokedex pages, opening Espeon's page.

"Espeon? But thats one of Eevee's evolved forms..." Ashley said.

"Correct, but once again it was first documented in Johto." Oak said to her. "I'm simply amazed by the pokemon here, though. You have all but one of Eevee's known evolved forms, Dragonite, Clefable, Hitmonlee...in fact, you've managed to catch the few pokemon Red has caught and registered in his pokedex. The only pokemon you're missing would be Venusaur..."

_"I'd say something, but there's not even a pokemon within earshot to hear me."_ Bulbasaur thought.

"How many pokemon does Red have then?" Ashley asked Oak.

"He has five fully evolved pokemon and a Pikachu." Professor Oak shook his head slightly and let out a sigh. "That boy refuses to catch more than six pokemon so he isn't neglecting any of them. While its certainly an admirable line of thinking it certainly doesn't help my research any..."

"I guess I haven't been much help either, have I?" Ashley asked, rubbing the back of her head.

"Its certainly better than nothing." Professor Oak replied, chuckling to himself. "Between the three of you I've actually managed to get quite a bit of data."

"-Pffffft. You're being way too nice to her.-" Bulbasaur grumbled.

"I'm sure you'll manage to catch even more rare pokemon in the future. I look forward to seeing what else you record in the pokedex." Professor Oak removed Ashley's pokedex from the device and handed it back to her. "You'll be needing this back, of course."

"Thanks, professor." Ashley replied, smiling as she was handed back her pokedex. _"Phew...that went over better than expected..."_ She thought.

"Now, I must be going. If I wait any longer Gary is likely to have lost to someone by the time I get there." Oak chuckled to himself and then reached down to pat Bulbasaur on the head. "You behave yourself now, Bulbasaur. Maybe next time you'll at least be an Ivysaur."

"-I could...bah...nevermind.-" Bulbasaur muttered.

"I could see you off then, I was planning to go and catch a pokemon on route one for my mother." Ashley said to him. "Actually, now that I think about it, I'd need your help to put it in her name, think you could...?" Ashley trailed off and looked hopefully at Professor Oak.

"Well of course, Ashley, I'd be glad to help." Professor Oak replied. "All I need is a pokeball to register to your mother's id."

"Thanks professor, I owe you one..." Ashley reached into her travel bag and pulled out a great ball, then handed it to Professor Oak.

"Keep working on your pokedex and we'll call it even." Oak replied, then he set to work on re-registering Ashley's Great Ball.

"-In that case, I'll definitely make sure she keeps her end of the bargain this time.-" Bulbasaur said to himself.

All the while Professor Oak, Ashley, and Bulbasaur were making their preparations in the lab, an ancient and powerful pokemon was speeding toward the town of Kanto...

* * *

Meanwhile, Rina and Pippi had already arrived in Viridian City after crossing the short route.

"It feels like its been ages since the last time I was here!" Rina said as her and Pippi stood just outside the city.

"-How far are we from your home then?-" Pippi asked, twitching her ears.

"Oh, we still have to go through Viridian Forest yet." Rina said to her. "I live in Pewter City, remember?"

"-You do?-" Pippi blinked in confusion. "-But you live close to Viridian Forest! Isn't Viridian City near Viridian Forest?-"

"They're both right next to Viridian Forest, really."

"-Oh...-" Pippi blinked again. "-So...how much further is it?-"

"We've still got a long way to go." Rina replied. She stifled a giggle as Pippi let out an exhausted sigh. "We can stop here in Viridian City for a while. Actually, I want to go check out the gym anyway. I want to see who the gym leader is."

"-Ok!-" Pippi nodded enthustiastically. The two of them then set off across town, heading to the Viridian City gym. It was a fairly long walk, with the gym being at the opposite corner from the city's southern entrance. When they arrived, Rina opened the front doors and stepped into the darkened gym.

"Hello? Is anybody here?" Rina called out. She couldn't see well into the gym as the only source of light was the door, which Rina accidentally let close when she heard a faint ringing across the gym.

"That sounds like a phone, but no one's answering?" Rina thought, blinking in disbelief. She tried to peer through the darkness, but quickly gave up on that. "Pippi? Could you give me some light?"

"-Ok.-" Pippi charged electricity around her body, producing a faint glow several feet around her. It was still hard for them to see into the gym, though.

"Ok...follow me then so I can see." Pippi nodded and followed behind Rina as she walked slowly across the gym, going toward the ringing sound. They stepped carefully across the gym's worn, open ground battlefield to avoid tripping over anything. Eventually, they arrived at the opposite end of the gym. The phone continued to ring, growing louder as they neared the gym leader's office.

_"This is like something out of a horror movie..."_ Rina thought, gulping nervously. _"Its dark, the protagonist is alone, and a phone is ringing..."_ Rina reached out, opening the office door. _"And on the other end of the line could be some crazed murderer..." _As Rina opened the door, the phone's answering machine suddenly cut in, causing Rina to gasp sharply as it startled her.

"Giovanni, this is the Cinnabar Island Research Facility." A male voice said over the answering machine. "A recently revived Aerodactyl has escaped our labs and is headed in your direction. If you are there, please respond immediately!"

_"Whats an Aerodactyl?"_ Rina wondered. Suddenly the room went dark, Pippi's light vanishing. "EEK!" Rina shrieked. "Pippi! Pippi where are you?!"

Just as suddenly as the room went dark, the entire gym lit up. Pippi then walked back into the office, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "-Sorry Rina, I saw a light switch...-"

"Don't worry about it..." Rina replied, letting out a sigh. "But the guy on that recording...he said something about an Aerodactyl, and was looking for Giovanni..." Rina contemplated this while looking at the phone.

"-Wouldn't that mean Giovanni is the gym leader here?-" Pippi asked, tilting her head to the side.

"It would..." Rina replied, nodding slightly. "But...why would a gym leader be the boss of Team Rocket?"

"-If he's the gym leader here, who's Ashley supposed to battle for her badge?-" Pippi wondered aloud.

"Thats...a good question too..." Rina scratched her head and looked around the office. Spotting a small, open box in the corner with several badges and TM's inside, Rina grinned to herself.

"I think I have an idea..."

* * *

"Well, good luck finding a pokemon for your mother, Ashley." Professor Oak said. The group were now in the southern end of route one, and Professor Oak had a Fearow with him. The Fearow was one of the few pokemon Professor Oak owned himself and would be his transportation to Indigo Plateau.

"Thanks, professor, and thanks for registering the Great Ball too." Ashley replied, holding up the Great Ball in question.

"Remember, you only have one." Professor Oak cautioned her. "I highly doubt any of the pokemon around here can break free from a Great Ball too easily, but be careful with it nonetheless."

"Right, I don't plan to fight any if I can avoid it though." Ashley said to him, then looked down at Bulbasaur. "If I have to, though, I'll just have Bulbasaur put it to sleep. That should make things easy enough."

"-Heh. Thats using your head for a change.-" Bulbasaur said with a grin.

"Anyway, I've dawdled long enough now, I think." Professor Oak chuckled. He then climbed onto the back of his Fearow and waved to Ashley and Bulbasaur. "I will be seeing you two later!"

"Bye, Professor Oak!" Ashley waved to him as his Fearow started flapping its wings and then took off into the sky. Bulbasaur, likewise, extended a vine to wave. They watched for a moment as Professor Oak flew off into the distance, then Ashley looked ahead with a determined expression. "Ok, now to find mom a pokemon..."

"-Lets make it one you don't have, too, just for kicks.-" Bulbasaur said to her. "-Like, say, the ever so common Rattata that you seem to ignore completely.-" Bulbasaur shrugged. "-Its either that or a Pidgey, and you've already got one of those so there's no point in that.-"

"I don't think my mom is too fond of Rattata..." Ashley said to herself. Bulbasaur frowned and shook his head. "Pidgey would be the only other option, but I think I'll look around first. Maybe there's a pokemon around here that not many people have seen?"

"-Ha. I highly doubt that.-" Bulbasaur said, rolling his eyes. Suddenly a dark shadow passed over the two as a large creature flew quickly overhead. Ashley and Bulbasaur looked up and saw a gray, winged lizard-like pokemon flying off in the same direction as Professor Oak. "-On the other hand, I could be wrong...-"

"What IS that?" Ashley wondered, taking out her pokedex to try to scan it. The pokemon was long out of range though. Looking back up at it, Ashley realized something. "That pokemon is heading straight toward Professor Oak!"

"-WHAT?!-" Bulbasaur cried out. "-We have to go after them!-"

"Whatever that thing is, it doesn't look too friendly..." Ashley took a pokeball from her belt. "Pidgeot, go!" Ashley pressed the button on the pokeball as she held it up, releasing Pidgeot. Pidgeot appeared before her and stretched his wings, then looked back at her curiously.

"Pidgeot, Professor Oak might be in trouble! Go after them!" Ashley pointed toward the two distant figures in the sky. Though to Ashley and Bulbasaur they looked like ants, Pidgeot could see them clearly.

"-Got it.-" Pidgeot replied with a nod. He crouched down and got ready to take off, but stopped himself and looked back curiously. Bulbasaur had jumped onto his back.

"-I'm going with you.-" Bulbasaur said flatly.

"-Suit yourself.-" Pidgeot gave a shrug with his wings and then quickly took off, flying as fast as he could to catch up with Professor Oak and the mysterious pokemon that was quickly gaining on him.

"Hope they'll be alright..." Ashley said with a sigh. As she happened to glance down, she noticed a small pokemon hiding in the grass. The pokemon had a tail as long as its body, thick with a pair of stripes circling around it. The pokemon had no legs, just a pair of feet, and its arms were wide and thin like a pair of wings. The pokemon looked as though it had been watching them the whole time and had a curious expression.

"Now that would be a good pokemon for mom..." Ashley thought. She hesitated for a moment before taking the Great Ball in her hand again, getting ready to catch the small pokemon.

* * *

_"I wonder why Ashley wanted to catch a pokemon for Catherine anyway?"_ Professor Oak wondered as he and his Fearow flew high above the ground. _"Well, I suppose its hardly any of my concern. She probably just feels bad for leaving her mother home alone."_

Professor Oak looked off ahead, where Viridian City already loomed in the distance. He didn't see the pokemon coming up from below them. The pokemon bumped Fearow hard from below, knocking Oak off.

"Wha?!" Oak cried out in surprise, feeling only a slight bump and then finding himself freefalling through the air. He wasn't falling for long, however, before the same pokemon that bumped him off grabbed him by his shoulders and carried him off.

_"Just whats going on here?!"_ Professor Oak wondered. He looked up at the pokemon that grabbed him and immediately recognized it. _"Thats an Aerodactyl, an extinct pokemon! What on Earth is it doing here?!"_

"-Hey! You! Rockskin! -" Oak's Fearow called out as it flew behind Aerodactyl. "-Hand over the old man and I won't be forced to hurt you.-" Aerodactyl came to a stop, hovering in the air as it turned to face Fearow.

"-Think you can take me on?! Bring it!-" Aerodactyl shot back. "-I can take on a weakling like you even while carrying this guy!-"

"-Tch, fine. Have it your way.-" Fearow began to fly up, gaining altitude for an Aerial Ace attack.

_"It looks like Fearow is going to fight Aerodactyl..."_ Professor Oak thought. _"Though I hate to say it, Fearow doesn't stand much of a chance against this one...I fear my luck might have run out this time." _Oak looked up at the Aerodactyl holding him again, trying to think of a way to free himself.

Aerodactyl, meanwhile, stretched out its wings and began to glide forward. As Fearow was about to dive down, Aerodactyl raised its mouth toward it and began gathering energy. Fearow dove down and disappeared in a flash of movement, at which point Aerodactyl fired its Hyper Beam attack. Fearow was moving so fast, though, that it took the attack at nearly point-blank range. Fearow was blasted back through the air and then plummeted toward the ground.

"-Heh. That was too easy.-" Aerodactyl snickered. It continued to glide effortlessly, giving its body a chance to recover from using Hyper Beam, when suddenly a barrage of sharp leaves followed by several star-shaped rays blasted Aerodactyl from behind. Aerodactyl winced, but barely felt a thing. Aerodactyl gritted its teeth and looked back to see Bulbasaur riding on Pidgeot.

"-More company? Can't an Aerodactyl get a decent meal?-" Aerodactyl grumbled.

"-Pidgeot, I'll take it from here.-" Bulbasaur said, extending his vines. "-Get ready to catch Oak!-"

"Bulbasaur? Pidgeot?" Oak said in disbelief as he looked back. "How did they even know I was in danger?"

While Aerodactyl was still recharging, Bulbasaur jumped off Pidgeot and extended his vines. The ends of his vines reached out and wrapped around Aerodactyl's jaw, holding it shut. Aerodactyl growled, but was quickly silenced as Bulbasaur reeled himself in and slammed into Aerodactyl's head with a Tackle attack. Aerodactyl let out a pained screech and let go of Oak, at which point Pidgeot immediately swooped in and grabbed him.

"-You're going to pay for that you annoying...thing!-" Aerodactyl growled at Bulbasaur.

"-Not likely.-" Bulbasaur shot back. From Aerodactyl's back, he angled his bulb at the pokemon's face and fired a burst of green powder at it. Aerodactyl coughed as it breathed in the powder and began to feel drowsy. Aerodactyl's eyes closed over and it began to plummet straight down toward the ground.

"I sure hope Bulbasaur knows what he's doing..." Professor Oak said.

"-I'm sure he can handle something like this.-" Pidgeot said. "-Now lets bring you down...-" Pidgeot took a shallow dive down, eventually coming in to land near the unconscious Fearow. Bulbasaur, meanwhile, had grabbed Aerodactyl's wings with his vines in mid-dive and used them to pull up slightly, steering Aerodactyl into a group of trees. Bulbasaur jumped off at the last second, sending Aerodactyl crashing into them.

"-I don't know who you are, but no one messes with Oak while I'm around.-" Bulbasaur said, though he was sure that by now the Aerodactyl was unconscious. He was soon proven wrong as a beam fired out of the trees, catching Bulbasaur off guard and blasting him across a nearby pond and into another tree on the other side. Bulbasaur bounced off the tree and hit the ground. He slowly started to get back up again and glared back across the lake.

"-I'm not going down...that easily...-" Aerodactyl muttered weakly as it emerged. "-I don't know who you are...but I'm going to beat you...-"

"-Funny...I was about to say the same thing...-" Bulbasaur shot back. He began to gather solar energy in his bulb, and as he did a glow began to surround his entire body as well. Bulbasaur seemed to grow slightly and the bulb on his back sprouted into into a closed flower with four leaves at the bottom. When the glow faded, Bulbasaur had evolved into Ivysaur and was still charging power for his attack.

While Bulbasaur, now an Ivysaur, was still charging, Aerodactyl raised its head back and let loose with another Hyper Beam. The energy beam lanced out toward Ivysaur, but before it could reach him Ivysaur finally fired his own beam attack. The two beams collided briefly, but Ivysaur's Solarbeam attack quickly overtook Aerodactyl's Hyper Beam.

The Solarbeam expanded to engulf the Hyper Beam and continued on toward Aerodactyl, blasting the ancient pokemon with tremendous power. Aerodactyl was pushed back when the beam finally struck it, smashing it into the same trees again with such force that Aerodactyl smashed through three of them before being deposited on the ground in a heap.

"-And this time stay down!-" Ivysaur yelled across the pond at him. He then quickly went around the pond and ran over to Oak, who was tending to his injured Fearow.

"Well its nothing a quick trip to the pokecenter won't fix." Oak said to his Fearow, who was barely conscious, and then looked up at Ivysaur. "Bulbasaur, or rather Ivysaur, I'm impressed! I wasn't sure you would be able to handle such a pokemon. You must have been holding back your evolution for quite some time..."

"-Just waiting for the right moment.-" Ivysaur said with a grin. "-I'll save evolving to a Venusaur for when I REALLY need it though.-"

"-Wouldn't you be saving yourself some trouble if you just evolved already?-" Pidgeot said to him.

"-Going to have to agree with him...-" Fearow mumbled weakly.

"-Tch. You two just don't get it.-" Ivysaur muttered. "-Anyway! You better not be hurt, old man, or I'll blast that pokemon again while its still out!-" Ivysaur reached up and tapped Professor Oak on the shoulder with a vine.

"Don't worry, I'm doing fine Ivysaur." Professor Oak replied, patting Ivysaur's vine reassuringly. "Its a good thing we're just outside Viridian, though. I'll need to get Fearow here checked in at the pokecenter before we can go to Indigo Plateau now."

"Hey! Are you guys ok?" Ashley called out to them as she finally caught up with the group. She stopped a few feet away to catch her breath before speaking up again. "What happened with that pokemon?"

"That pokemon...was an Aerodactyl." Professor Oak explained to Ashley. "An ancient pokemon, carnivourous too I might add and apparently one with a taste for humans. Fortunately, your Bulbasaur and Pidgeot saved me. In fact, Bulbasaur even evolved..."

"I can see that..." Ashley replied, looking over at Ivysaur. "I don't get it, why did you decide to evolve now?"

"-Pft. You'll never understand either.-" Ivysaur said to her.

"Well anyway, I'm glad you're ok now." Ashley said to Oak. "Where's that Aerodactyl, did it get away?"

"I don't think it'll be moving for a while now..." Professor Oak replied, pointing over toward the line of trees that had been knocked over by their fighting. "Its still over there somewhere." Ashley nodded and took a Great Ball out of her bag while she ran over toward the trees.

"Wait! What do you think you're doing!?" Professor Oak called out after her. "I certainly hope you're not planning to catch that pokemon for your mother!"

Ashley came to a stop and turned around to face him. "Of course not!" She replied. "I already caught a pokemon for her!" She then turned and went into the trees, getting her first real look at Aerodactyl when she found it lying unconscious among the remains of several trees.

"So thats an ancient pokemon?" She thought. "Well, human eater or not, it can't harm anyone if its sealed inside a pokeball!" Ashley lobbed the Great Ball toward the unconscious pokemon. The Great Ball opened up when it hit Aerodactyl, firing out a red beam and pulling the pokemon inside. The ball then locked shut without any struggling from it and vanished in a white light as it was sent off to storage.

"What on Earth did you want to catch that for?" Professor Oak asked Ashley as he came up from behind her.

"Why else?" Ashley took out her pokedex and showed it to Professor Oak. "An ancient pokemon has to be pretty rare, so thats another rare one for my pokedex!" Ashley grinned widely. "Plus, it can't hurt anyone as long as its stuck inside a pokeball."

"I see, interesting." Oak chuckled lightly.

"-Who are you, and what have you done with Ashley?-" Ivysaur asked sarcastically.

"Well in any case. Ashley, Ivysaur, Pidgeot, thank you for rescuing me." Professor Oak said. "I suppose now I really should get going, I have to stop by the pokecenter yet."

"And I have to get back to Pallet Town and give that pokemon to my mom." Ashley looked over at Pidgeot. "Pidgeot, mind giving me a lift?"

"-Back to Pallet Town? Barely qualifies as stretching my wings.-" Pidgeot replied, waving one wing dismissively. "-Don't mind at all.-" Pidgeot turned around and motioned for Ashley to hop on.

"Think you'll be ok from here on?" Ashley asked Professor Oak.

"Well I certainly hope so." Oak said to her. "The chances of being attacked by an extinct pokemon are incredibly slim, you know. I can't possibly imagine it happening a second time."

"Guess you're right." Ashley replied, smiling lightly. "Ok then, lets go Bulb-er, I mean Ivysaur."

"-Yeah, yeah.-" Ivysaur muttered, then looked up at Oak. "-Listen, you take care of yourself old man.-" Ashley held up Ivysaur's pokeball and then recalled him. Pidgeot wasn't going to be able to carry both Ivysaur and Ashley.

"Well, once again, I will see you later, Ashley." Professor Oak said to Ashley.

"See ya!" Ashley waved to Oak, then took off back to Pallet Town while Oak headed into Viridian City with Fearow back in its pokeball.

* * *

Once she arrived back in Pallet Town, Ashley immediately went home and rushed in the front door. Her mother, looking much better than she did the night before, was sitting in the kitchen with a newspaper and a cup of tea. The bottles that had been strewn about the night before were all set on the counter and looked as though they had been cleaned out.

"I'm home!" Ashley called out as she went inside.

"Well you weren't gone long, I hardly expected you would be back at all." Catherine said to her daughter. She was still in bed when Ashley had left that morning and didn't know where Ashley had gone, she had assumed she had set off again.

"I went out to get something for you." Ashley said to her, then pulled out the Great Ball. "Tada!"

"A pokeball?" Her mother asked curiously, setting down the paper.

"A pokemon, actually." Ashley pressed the button on the pokeball, releasing the pokemon she had caught earlier. The pokemon looked around curiously when it appeared.

"Oh, its so adorable!" Catherine got up and walked over to pick up the pokemon, but it moved away without even noticing her. The pokemon walked over toward the oven, looking it over curiously.

"According to my pokedex its called a 'Sentret'." Ashley said to her mother. "He seems kinda strange, huh? I'm not sure he even realized he was caught..."

"He certainly seems like a curious little guy, thats for sure." Ashley's mother said, watching the little Sentret go about her kitchen and inquisitively looking over every little thing. "What made you decide to give me a pokemon?"

"Well..." Ashley rubbed the back of her head. "You said last night that you were lonely...and I thought maybe if you had a pokemon for company, then maybe you wouldn't be..." The Sentret finally stopped and looked in the direction of the two girls, eying them curiously before bounding over. Ashley's mother was finally able to reach down and pick him up. Sentret didn't even struggle in the least either as she did, instead it just kept looking at her curiously.

"He's a cute little guy..." Catherine smiled. "Thank you, Ashley. I don't know what to say..."

"He's not only cute, but he could protect you whenever you want to go shopping in Viridian City." Ashley said to her, smiling. "Speaking of which! Thats where I need to go to get my last badge, so I was wondering..."

"If I would like to watch?" Ashley's mother looked over at her and smiled. "Of course I would."

"And no more drinking?" Ashley asked her, looking hopeful.

"Well, if I'm looking after a pokemon now I guess I won't have time for that." She replied.

_"Drinking? Whats wrong with drinking? Doesn't everyone drink? Don't people and pokemon both need to drink regularly to survive?"_ Sentret wondered, still looking at the two curiously. _"So many questions..."_

"When did you want to go challenge that gym anyway?" Ashley's mother asked her.

"Well, its not even the afternoon yet, so if you don't have any plans I wouldn't mind heading over there today." Ashley said to her.

"Not at all." Ashley's mother replied. "Just let me finish drinking my tea."

_"Tea? Whats tea? I thought drinking was bad? Is some drinking bad and some drinking not bad?"_ Sentret wondered. _"Oh there's so many things to learn about these people!"_

* * *

Author's Notes: This is another chapter I went through a few ideas for, some of which would have provided an explanation for Sentret as Professor Oak was going to be there at the time of capture. Was basically just going to mention Johto pokemon migrating to Kanto. If you recall, in G/S/C you could catch Sentret and Furret north of Kanto. While Pidgey and Rattata both seem like good pets, I ended up deciding to go with Sentret.

I want someone to actually use that Aerodactyl eventually, but its training could cause problems. I mean, I could probably figure something out easily enough (it thinks of humans as food, therefore feed it and that problem is solved anyway, though there's still the issue of being captured by something lower on the food chain) but I'm not sure where I'd squeeze it in at this point. I pretty much have a general layout for every chapter at this point. Next couple of chapters are going to be especially hectic though...

Going to have to get used to writing Ivysaur instead of Bulbasaur now, damn you muscle memory...


	33. Chapter 33: The Earth Badge, Part One

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Thirty Three**

**Battle Who For the Earth Badge?!**

**Part One**

Ashley and her mother walked from Pallet Town to Viridian City, with the only pokemon out of its pokeball being her mother's Sentret. Catherine carried Sentret in her arms the entire way. They didn't even encounter any hostile wild pokemon along the way, either, and it didn't take them long to reach the city. They went straight to the gym and stopped just outside.

"So this is it then, your final badge?" Ashley's mother asked her while they stood outside the front door.

"Yep, this is it." Ashley replied. "And I'm ready for this one!" Ashley approached the door and threw it open. "I'm here to challenge the gym leader!"

"Ashley! What do you think you're doing?!" Ashley's mother yelled at her. Ashley, startled, quickly turned around to face her.

"I was just..."

"That is NOT how you open doors, young lady!" Her mother scolded her. "Why would you even do such a thing?!"

"Well the trainers on tv..."

"Are fictional characters who don't have to worry about property damage!" Ashley's mother said. "Now I want you to go in there and apologize to the gym leader before you even think of battling!"

"Yes mom..." Ashley mumbled, hanging her head in defeat.

_"Is tv something bad?"_ Sentret wondered.

"I'm sorry I..." Ashley turned around to face the gym leader, who was sitting on the opposite side of the gym. Ashley had only noticed someone was there before but now she could see exactly who it was. "RINA?!"

"You know, I've only been trying to tell you that same thing since you first burst through Brock's doors." Rina said to Ashley.

"You...you're kidding, right? There's no way you're the gym leader!" Ashley said, still in shock over the discovery. Catherine stepped into the gym behind her to see what all the commotion was about. She was likewise surprised to see Rina on the other side of the gym. Pippi was standing next to her as usual, holding a small paper fan in each hand.

"Technically, no, I'm not." Rina said to Ashley. To Ashley, she sounded much more serious than usual, as if she was getting into the role of being a gym leader despite her claim otherwise. "I came here and found the gym leader was gone again, probably for good this time. But he left this behind." Rina reached into her pocket and took out an Earth Badge, then held it up for Ashley to see.

"Then what are you doing here?" Ashley asked her. She had a feeling she already knew the answer, though.

"Isn't it obvious?" Rina said to her. "If you want this badge, you're going to have to beat me first. Six pokemon each. I might not be the gym leader, but I'm going to fill in for one anyway because it wouldn't be fair if you got this badge for nothing." With that, Rina slid the badge back into her pocket.

"Fine! If you want to play the gym leader, then I'll take you on!" Ashley said enthusiastically with a wide smile on her face. The smile soon faded, though, and was quickly replaced by an embarassed expression. "But...can I go switch my pokemon around first? I kinda came here expectiong a ground-type gym leader and...well..."

"Fine." Rina replied, nodding to her. "Its only fair to warn you, though, that I've already done the same. So don't think I'll have the same pokemon with me that I did yesterday."

"Right." Ashley nodded. "Back in a minute then!" Ashley dashed back out the door, which her mother was still holding open. Her mother finally stepped into the gym fully after Ashley left, letting the door close behind her.

"-I had my cheers all ready to go too...-" Pippi said, her shoulders drooping in her disappointment.

"Don't worry, you'll get your chance." Rina quietly reassured her. "Shouldn't take her more than a couple of minutes..."

"Rina, was it? I apologize for last night, I didn't properly thank you for cooking that meal." Catherine said to Rina. She then glanced around the gym and saw the usual bench off to the side. She went over to the bench to take her seat while she waited for Ashley to return.

"Oh...well...don't worry about it..." Rina replied, looking away and rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "I kinda messed that one up anyway..."

"It was a kind gesture though, and its not often that someone your age is even a halfway competent cook."

"I guess thats true..." Rina mumbled as she turned back to face her. _"She seems like an entirely different woman compared to yesterday..."_ Rina thought and then looked at the Sentret that Catherine was carrying in her arms. _"She couldn't have changed that quickly just from getting a pokemon, but then again she also had a headache..."_

"So what species is that pokemon, anyway?" Rina asked, trying to make conversation while they waited for Ashley to get back. Sentret also wasn't exactly a pokemon normally native to Kanto, so Rina didn't recognize it.

"Ashley's pokedex called it a Sentret apparently, but I decided I'm going to call him Rolly." Catherine replied, looking down at the Sentret and smiling. Rolly, as curious as ever, was taking in as much of the gym as he could from where he was. "So how did you and Ashley meet, anyway?" She then asked, looking back at Rina.

"We met in Viridian Forest, I was trying to find a Pikachu to be my first pokemon and she helped me." Rina replied. She decided to leave out the part about catching Ashley in a net.

"-I was still just a Pichu back then!-" Pippi added excitedly, then whispered to Rina. "-Who is she anyway?-"

"Thats Ashley's mom." Rina whispered back.

"You two must have been travelling together for quite a while." Catherine chuckled quietly. "I hope Ashley didn't cause you any trouble."

"N-nope! None at all!" Rina replied hesitantly. It was far from the truth, though.

Rina and Catherine continued to make idle chat until the gym doors opened again and Ashley stepped inside.

"Ok, now I'm ready!" Ashey declared as she entered the gym and stepped up to the edge of the rocky battlefield. She took a pokeball in one hand and removed her camera from around her neck with the other. "Mom, could you a picture of the finishing move in each match?" Ashley asked her mother, holding out the camera toward her.

"I don't see why not." Catherine placed Rolly on the bench next to her and then got up and took the camera from Ashley. She looked over the camera in her hands for a moment. "I'm surprised my old camera is still holding together after so long."

_"That camera was her mother's?"_ Rina thought, blinking in disbelief. _"Did her mother use to be a photographer too, then?"_

_"Whats a camera used for?"_ Rolly wondered.

Ashley's mother returned to the bench, sitting down next to Rolly with the camera in her lap. Ashley then turned back to face Rina with a determined expression.

"Ok, lets do this!"

"Right." Rina nodded in agreement, likewise adopting a determined look as she reached for a pokeball. "Hiro, I choose you!"

"Primeape, you're first up! Lets go!"

The two girls each released their first pokemon out onto the field, both choosing to start off with a fighting-type pokemon. Hiro the Hitmonlee appeared on Rina's side of the field and quickly slid into a fighting stance. Primeape appeared on the other side of the field, facing Hiro, and huffed fiercely while slamming his fists together.

"-This should prove interesting. Lets see who the stronger fighter is.-" Hiro said to Primeape.

"-I WILL DEFEAT YOU! ME ME ME ME ME!-" Primeape screeched back.

_"Well, he's certainly lucky the trainer does all the thinking..."_ Hiro thought, rolling his eyes.

"Primeape, hit 'em hard with Cross Chop!" Primeape charged across the field with his fists raised in the air, screaming in a frenzied rage. Rina waited until Primeape was halfway across the field before issuing a command.

"Hiro, dodge it with Jump Kick!" Hiro jumped straight up into the air before Primeape could reach him. The enraged pokemon stopped in his tracks and glared up at Hiro. Hiro's powerful legs sent him straight up over a dozen feet into the air. He then shifted his body in the air as he came back down, kicking Primeape in the face and sending him rolling back.

_"Right, Rina likes to play it defensively..."_ Ashley thought, remembering Rina's battles in the dojo. _"A reckless offensive won't get me anywhere. I need to carefully consider my attacks..."_

With Hiro landing the first hit in the match, Pippi began to wave around the two fans she was carrying. "-Go! Go! Go Hiro, go Hiro, go! Go! Go! Go Hiro, go Hiro, go!-" She chanted.

"Primeape, take him down with Low Kick and then use Karate Chop!" Primeape quickly jumped up and, without missing a beat, made a sweeping kick at Hiro's legs. Hiro stumbled to the side and then fell over onto the ground. After Hiro had just hit the ground, Primeape quickly moved to stand over him and brought his hand down onto Hiro's face in a chopping motion. Hiro grunted and winced as Primeape's hand struck right between his eyes.

"Hiro, strike back now with Revenge!" A dark, black and red aura surrounded hands and legs as he gathered power. Hiro lashed out Primeape with a vengeance, bringing his legs back and then kicking Primeape with both feet. Primeape cried out, getting knocked several feet back by the kick. The aura around Hiro's body quickly faded and he hopped back onto his feet. Primeape was likewise quick to recover. Primeape looked like he was starting to tire a bit, but refused to give in.

_"Great, any attack I make on that Hitmonlee is just going to be met with a powered up Revenge!"_ Ashley thought bitterly. _"What can I do?"_ She wondered. _"Maybe I could try using Seismic Toss? That should give Primeape some distance to evade a Revenge attack."_

"Primeape, use Seismic Toss!" Primeape moved toward Hiro and grabbed him by the hands, then started spinning around to gain momentum.

"Hiro, Counter attack!" Primeape gave Hiro a strong toss down the gym in Ashley's direction, but as Hiro flew through the air he positioned himself to land feet first. Though he hit the ground rather hard, hurting himself in the process, he bent his knees with the landing and used the energy to spring back toward Primeape.

_"No! It knows Counter too?!"_ Ashley thought in dismay. Hiro struck Primeape with a kick, putting double the power into it that Primeape had in his Seismic Toss attack. Primeape was flung back hard and hit the ground, skidding back until he was only a few feet away from Rina. Primeape seemed to be out cold for a moment, but then he started to weakly climb back onto his feet.

"Hiro, finish this now with Jump Kick!" Rina commanded. Hiro took a great leap toward Primeape, coming down toward him with his leg outstretched in a kick. Hiro struck Primeape on an angle that sent him smashing straight into the ground when Hiro's attack connected, knocking Primeape out instantly. Ashley's mother managed to get a picture of the attack at the moment of impact.

"-Hiro, Hiro, he's our 'mon! If he can't do it...-" Pippi stopped herself before she could finish and shook her head. "-That sounded better in my head...-"

_"Well that didn't exactly go over well..."_ Ashley thought, recalling Primeape. _"Well, this IS the first time I fought her Hitmonlee. He seems to be good at countering attacks, I'll have to keep that in mind..."_ Ashley placed Primeape's pokeball on her belt and carefully thought over what pokemon to use next.

"Well that came out well." Catherine said to herself, taking the recently printed picture in her hand. "I assume she wanted me to take pictures whether she wins or loses, she didn't say otherwise anyway..." Catherine set down the picture next to her, in front of Rolly. Rolly picked it up and looked it over briefly.

"-That looks painful...-" Rolly winced and set the picture back down.

"You made that entirely too easy, Ashley." Rina said to her. "You're not going to get the Earth Badge if you keep that up."

"I'll admit, your Hitmonlee's abilities caught me off guard." Ashley replied. "I won't let that happen again. In fact, lets see you deal with this!" Ashley took another pokeball from her belt and held it out in front of her. "Snorlax, go!" She called out, releasing Snorlax. Snorlax appeared on the field and gave a yawn.

"Wow...she managed to catch a Snorlax?" Catherine said to herself, blinking in disbelief.

_"What makes Snorlax so special?"_ Rolly wondered.

_"Snorlax?"_ Rina thought in disbelief. _"Why would she use Snorlax? Its not like her to use a pokemon with a type disadvtange if she has other options, and she still has four pokemon left. Her Snorlax won't even listen to her if she asks Snorlax to do anything requiring it to move...or is that why she's using it?"_

Rina thought it over for a moment and then nodded to herself. _"That must be it. She thinks I'd be expecting the same Belly Drum, Rest, and Snore strategy she's been using. I'll wait for her move, then, and get ready to counter or dodge it."_

"Snorlax, use Yawn!" Snorlax opened her mouth and let out a drawn-out yawn, spewing a white gas across the gym. The gas surrounded Hiro briefly before it dissipitated, leaving Hiro feeling drowsy.

"Ack! No! I can't counter that attack!" Rina said to herself in dismay. "No choice now! Hiro, attack with High Jump Kick!"

Hiro shook his head, trying to shake off the effects of Snorlax's Yawn long enough to attack. Hiro then took off running until he was halfway across the gym. He took a great leap into the air and flipped around when he reached the apex of his jump, coming straight down toward Snorlax with a powerful kick. The kick knocked Snorlax over while Hiro flipped back to land several feet in front of Snorlax, but then collapsed to the ground as he fell asleep.

"I knew you would go on the defensive." Ashley said to Rina with a smug smirk. "Because you weren't sure why I would use Snorlax, you decided to play defensively. That left you open for Snorlax's Yawn attack."

_"I wasn't expecting you to think that far ahead either..."_ Rina thought, blinking in disbelief.

"-Wake up, wake up, come on Hiro, wake up!-" Pippi chanted while waving her two fans from side to side.

"Snorlax, power up with Belly Drum!" Snorlax began pounding on her chest, weakening herself in order to drastically increase her physical attack power. After enduring Hiro's attack and pounding on her stomach, she was looking fairly tired. Fortunately, that was about to be remedied.

"Now use Rest to get back to full strength!" Snorlax closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, immediately restoring the damage that had been inflicted on her.

"Now lets top it all off with Snore!" Snorlax let out a loud snore in her sleep, vibrating the battlefield with a powerful soundwave. Hiro shook in his sleep as the Snore vibrated through him. He suddenly snapped awake, arching his back and crying out in pain. The blast of sound rolled him over several times, leaving him unconscious when he finally came to a stop.

"-Hiro lost...he even had the type advantage though...-" Pippi mumbled sadly.

"Type advantage doesn't always mean you'll win though." Rina said to Pippi as she recalled Hiro. "Ashley caught me off guard and managed to get her Snorlax powered up, but I'll get her back, don't worry."

"I didn't take a picture of that...but what was there to get a picture of?" Ashley's mother said to herself. "There was really nothing to see." Catherine looked over at Rolly with a smile and shrugged. "Oh well. At least she won that one." Rolly blinked in confusion at first, but then smiled and nodded in agreement with her.

"Clyde, its your turn now! Go!" Rina called out as she released her next pokemon. She held up Clyde's pokeball and pressed the button, sending the Clefable out onto the battlefield. Clyde pounded his fists together, eager for a fight. When he looked across the field at Snorlax, he was stunned to see who his opponent was.

"-My word...thats...a big one...-" Clyde mumbled in disbelief.

"-The bigger they are, the harder they fall!-" Pippi said reassuringly. "-Go get 'em Clyde! I'm behind you all the way!-" Pippi began chanting and waving her fans around. "-Go Clyde! Go Clyde! Go Clyde!-"

_"I think I could do without the background noise."_ Clyde thought, frowning slightly.

"-Whats with that pokemon?-" Rolly wondered as he watched Pippi. "-She keeps chanting and waving those things around...-"

"Clyde, huh? Well it doesn't make any difference now!" Ashley declared boldly. "Snorlax, attack with Snore again!"

"Clyde, quick! Use Protect!" Rina called out desparately. Clyde qucikly threw out his arms, forming a protective blue bubble around himself. Snorlax let out a loud snore, sending a powerful soundwave across the field and shaking the ground. The soundwave struck Clyde's barrier with full force, but Clyde held strong against. When the attack passed over, Clyde dropped his barrier.

"Now, use Encore!" Clyde nodded and began clapping his hands together. An applause echoed through the gym. Snorlax began to wake up and opened her mouth to try a Snore attack, but it failed. Now that she was awake, it wouldn't work, and she was trapped trying to use the technique.

"Thats the same strategy Sabrina's Mr. Mime used to disable Snorlax!" Ashley thought, remembering Snorlax's battle with Sabrina's Mr. Mime. She kept Snorlax in because she didn't think Mr. Mime would be a threat and didn't expect Snorlax to disobey her either. This time, Ashley wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

"Snorlax, thats enough for now! Return!" Ashley called out, holding out Snorlax's pokeball and recalling her.

"Hypno, your turn now!" Ashley returned Snorlax's pokeball to her belt and then took Hypno's pokeball in her hand. "Go!" Ashley held the pokeball out and released Hypno. The psychic pokemon looked around wide-eyed at his surroundings, looking none too happy to be there.

"-Why? Why does she keep making me battle?!-" Hypno whined. "-Why can't you people just leave me alone?!-"

"Hypno, attack Clyde with Hypnosis!"

"Clyde, get it first with Sing!"

Hypno began waving his pendulum back and forth, focusing hypnotic energy waves on Clyde, while Clyde began to sing a lullaby. Hypno seemed completely unaffected by Clyde's attack, while Clyde soon collapsed and drifted off to sleep.

_"It didn't work?"_ Rina thought in disbelief. _"Wait, that time the Ditto Hypno tried using Hypnosis on Ashley's Hypno it didn't work either. So Hypno must be immune..."_

"Good! Now use Nightmare and Poison Gas to start weakening it!" Hypno focused his pendulum on Clyde again. A harsh red aura surrounded Clyde as a msytical energy force began to invade his dreams, causing him painful nightmares. Hypno then began spewing a purple gas from his snout, which soon surrounded Clyde and inflicted poison on him while he continued to sleep.

_"Looks like Clyde is still asleep, now might be a good chance to power up."_ Ashley thought. "Hypno, power up with Meditate!"

"-I could use a trip to a happy place...-" Hypno muttered. He closed his eyes and began to meditate quietly, picturing a serene forest with no trainers in sight. Or humans period. While Hypno was meditating, Clyde began to stir and slowly rose to his feet. He was in quite a bit of pain, too, and looking quite exhausted. The combination of poison and Nightmare took a toll on him.

"Ok, Clyde definitely needs to heal!" Rina thought. "Clyde, use Wish!" Clyde nodded weakly. He began to focus and mumbled quietly, making his wish.

"That'll be the last Wish Clyde will be using!" Ashley declared to Rina. "Hypno, use Disable!" Hypno opened his eyes and focused on Clyde, causing a yellow glow to surround him. Hypno reached deep into Clyde's mind, disabling his Wish technique.

"Ok, that worked out well, but attacking again now is pointless." Ashley thought. "If I attack, Clyde will just block it with Protect while Wish takes effect. So instead, I'll have Hypno power up with Meditate again."

"Hypno, use Meditate!" Hypno closed his eyes and began to focus again, imagining the same scene from before only now with an unconscious Beedrill lying at his feet. The meditation gave Hypno a greater focus and relaxed his body, increasing his strength.

"You should have attacked!" Rina said to Ashley with a smug smirk. "Clyde, now! Use Moonlight!" Clyde focused, drawing light toward his body. His body radiated with a bright light as it gathered around him while simultaneously Wish took effect, briefly restoring Clyde to full strength prior to the continual sapping from poison.

_"Moonlight? I forgot about that one..."_ Ashley thought, wincing at her mistake.

_"Those two are really going at it..."_ Catherine thought, noticing the two girls' expressions. _"With the way they're battling, you would almost think they're bitter enemies. I hope they don't go overboard..."_

"Now, Clyde, attack Hypno with Meteor Mash!" Rina called out.

"-I've been looking forward to using this technique.-" Clyde said, grinning widely. He raised one fist back and then charged across the battlefield. An orange glow surrounded his fist and created the appearance of a tail dragging behind it, like a comet streaking through space. Hypno opened his eyes in time to see the attack coming toward him.

"-Oh...OH SON OF A-" Clyde's fist slammed into Hypno's stomach before he had the chance to finish his sentence. Hypno's eyes bulged and he felt the wind knocked out of him. Clyde drew his fist back and Hypno collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach in pain.

"Hypno, put Clyde to sleep with Hypnosis before he can attack again!" Ashley called out.

"-Not even...a little...sympathy...?-" Hypno wheezed. He weakly raised one hand, clutching his pendulum and then starting to wave it around. He focused on his pendulum, sending out hypnotic energy waves from it.

After connecting with Meteor Mash, Clyde had taken a moment to step back and let the energy from his attack subside. It kept him occupied long enough for him to start to become drowsy as Hypno used Hypnosis. Clyde wouldn't get a chance to fight back before collapsing to the ground, falling asleep again.

_"At least Hypno can't restore health easily like Clyde can."_ Rina thought. _"He can restore some with Dream Eater, but I doubt that would get him much."_ Rina looked at Clyde, who was grimacing in pain even while he slept. _"Still, that poison is going to be trouble. How much more will Clyde be able to take by the time he wakes up?"_

"-Come on, Clyde! Stop sleeping on the job!-" Pippi called out to him.

"Use Nightmare again! Then use Meditate!" Ashley commanded Hypno.

"-Crazy...bitch...-" Hypno grumbled as he finally got back on his feet. "-She's going to have me dead by the end of this, I know it...-" Hypno held out his pendulum and began swinging it around, using it as a focus for his Nightmare attack. A red energy surrounded Clyde as Hypno invaded his dreams, inflicting nightmares on him.

_"She's not using Dream Eater, Clyde will have even less time to do anything when he wakes up..."_ Rina thought. _"Why does she keep using Meditate though? Most psychic pokemon can't use physical attacks very well, is Hypno an exception?"_

After inflicting Nightmare on Clyde, causing him to break out in a cold sweat, Hypno closed his eyes and focused on his 'happy place' again. He pictured himself in a calm, serene forest with Ashley's Beedrill and Ashley herself out cold at his feet while several female Hypno crowded around him. Hypno began to feel totally relaxed and snickered quietly to himself.

While Hypno was meditating, Clyde opened his eyes and sat up. Clyde shook his head, chasing away the last images of his nightmare. "-Sheesh! Falling asleep near this guy is a very unpleasant experience.-"

_"Good! Clyde's awake!"_ Rina thought, smiling slightly. Her smile faded when she noticed Clyde barely seemed able to stay standing. _"Clyde's not looking too good out there. Would healing even help at this point? I think going on the offense is my best option..."_

"Clyde, attack Hypno with Meteor Mash again!" Clyde shook his head, clearing his mind to focus on the task at hand. He raised one hand back, which then began to radiate an orange aura as he powered up. Clyde charged toward Hypno and punched the psychic pokemon in the gut again. Hypno's eyes snapped open. He staggered back, nearly falling over from taking yet another Meteor Mash to his stomach.

"-Damn it...you suck...-" Hypno wheezed. "-I'm glad I didn't eat recently...-"

"Hypno, finish it with Headbutt!"

"Clyde, use Protect!"

Hypno staggered forward, trying to ignore his pain and attack Clyde. Hypno lowered his head and tried to Headbutt Clyde, but his head smashed into Clyde's barrier instead. Clyde was able to form the barrier almost instantaneously, blocking Hypno's attack. It did Clyde no good in the end, though. Poison was still draining what little strength Clyde had left to fight with, and soon the barrier collapsed as Clyde lost consciousness.

"That wasn't a particularly interesting defeat either." Catherine said to herself, choosing again not to take a picture even though she had the camera ready. "Would have looked better if Hypno at least hit Clyde with that last attack. Oh well."

"-But we only have one picture so far...-" Rolly said, glancing at the lone picture sitting in front of him.

"-Wait a sec...you mean I actually won?!-" Hypno stared at the unconscious Clyde in disbelief, until Rina recalled him.

"Felicia, your turn now! Go!" Rina called out, releasing her next pokemon as soon as she had recalled Clyde. The pokeball opened up, releasing the fire pokemon out onto the field.

"-Dirt? Ew!-" Felicia grimaced in disgust when she saw the bare dirt battlefield. "-My fur is just going to get all dirty battling here, and I hate getting baths!-"

_"Maybe she wasn't a good choice afterall..."_ Rina thought, smiling nervously

_"Flareon, huh? This might be a good chance for Hypno to make use of Dream Eater."_ Ashley thought. "Hypno, start off with Hypnosis!"

"Felicia, surround Hypno with Fire Spin!"

Felicia spewed a swirling cone of fire while Hypno began swinging his pendulum around. The flames surrounded Hypno before he could finish his attack. The cone of fire twisted upward to surround Hypno like a twister. The intense heat of the flames caused Hypno to lose his focus while continually inflicting damage and weakening him.

"-Come on, Felicia! You're burning now!-" Pippi cheered and gave a wave of her fans.

_"Need to disperse those flames somehow!"_ Ashley thought. "Hypno, try to concentrate and use Psychic to disperse the flames!" Hypno started waving his pendulum around and closed his eyes, struggling to concentrate. The flames wavered with his attempts, but showed no signs of dispersing.

"Felicia, finish this now! Shadow Ball!" Felicia began drawing out shadows, forming them into a ball in front of her. With a toss of her head, she sent the ball flying across the gym. The Shadow Ball pierced through the pillar of fire, smashing into Hypno and dispersing on contact. Hypno was flung out of the flames, which then began to disperse, and was unconscious when he hit the ground. Ashley's mother snapped a picture at the exact moment Hypno was knocked out of the fire.

"Well I guess that makes us two for two..." Ashley said with a sigh as she recalled Hypno. She placed Hypno's pokeball back on her belt and immediately took another one in hand. _"I don't have Vaporeon or Poliwrath, so this will have to do..."_ She thought.

"That didn't come out too bad, but thats just another loss for her." Ashley's mother said, looking over the picture and then setting it down in front of Rolly. Rolly picked it up and took a quick look at it as well.

"-I don't get it, what makes this one so special?-" Rolly wondered, looking over the image curiously. He then gave a shrug and set it down again.

"Jolteon, go!" Ashley called out, releasing Jolteon. Jolteon appeared on the field, looking as calm as ever.

"-Ok, lets do this.-" Jolteon said calmly.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the gym, a crowd had gathered and was watching the battle through the windows on the sides and front of the gym.

"Is that the new gym leader?" One observer wondered out loud.

"She looks kind of young." Another one said.

"Whats the deal with the Flareon?" Yet another observer wondered. "She should be using ground type pokemon, this gym has always used ground types!" The crowd continued to whisper to each other until a young man's voice startled them all.

"Whats going on here?" A hush fell over the crowd. Everyone turned around and saw Lance, the dragon tamer, standing nearby with an Aerodactyl perched next to him. The crowd remained silent as Lance strided toward the nearest window to peek into the gym.

"It couldn't be!" Lance mumbled in disbelief. He could see Ashley and Rina battling inside the gym. Ashley's Jolteon was locked in a heated combat with Rina's Flareon. _"What are those two doing in there?!"_

* * *

"Felicia, use Smog on Jolteon!"

"Jolteon, paralyze Flareon with Thunder Wave!"

Jolteon started off the battle, firing a pulse of electricity at Felicia. The electricity struck her head on, moving through her body and leaving her muscles paralyzed. The attack didn't hit quickly enough to hinder her, though. By the time the attack reached her, she was already releasing a toxic gas from her mouth. The gas surrounded Jolteon, causing the electric pokemon to cough as he breathed it in.

"Smog? Your pokemon has stronger attacks than that, doesn't it?" Ashley said to Rina.

"Smog might not be a strong attack, but it has a good chance of leaving the opponent poisoned." Rina replied with a slight smirk. "I learned that from your pokedex, remember?"

Ashley blinked in disbelief and then looked at Jolteon. Sure enough, he seemed to be in a bit of pain. The Smog attack had successfully poisoned him on the first try. "Huh...looks like Rina got pretty lucky with that one then..." She thought.

"Also, you could at least call my pokemon by name!" Rina said indignantly. "You know her name is Felicia!"

"-I rather like that name too.-" Felicia added, flicking her mane back. She winced involuntarily, her neck straining slightly from the effort due to paralysis.

"Fine, fine! I get the point!" Ashley shot back. "Jolteon, attack Felicia with Thunderbolt!"

"Thats better..." Rina said quietly to herself. "Felicia, dodge it with Quick Attack!"

Jolteon charged electricity around his body and then fired it all in a bolt toward Felicia. Felicia tensed her body, ready to evade the attack. When she tried to move, though, her paralysis slowed down her reaction time and as a result she couldn't get out of the way. The electricity passed through her body, causing a tremendous shock to her. Felicia cried out in pain, forced to endure the attack instead.

"Nevermind that then..." Rina let out a sigh, then got a serious look on her face again. "Ok! Felicia, attack with Fire Blast!" Felicia opened her mouth and began forming a small fireball. She fired it at Jolteon and it began to expand, growing five 'limbs' to become almost star-shaped. Jolteon quickly ducked down, letting the attack pass over him. It exploded just behind him, pounding him into the ground. He avoided a direct hit but it still had an effect on him.

_"Felicia seems to really be struggling against that paralysis..."_ Ashley thought. _"If I wait for Felicia to attack, then Jolteon should be able to get in a quick succession of attacks due to Felicia's slowness."_ Ashley smirked to herself. _"Rina, I just came up with a combination you're NOT going to like!"_

"Jolteon, start charging electricity for a Thunderbolt attack but don't fire!" Jolteon nodded and began charging electricity. His fur bristled as he used it to store the electricity, holding it for an attack.

_"She's not going to attack?"_ Rina thought, blinking in disbelief. _"Well if she won't attack, then I will!"_

"Felicia, attack Jolteon with Fire Blast!" Felicia spat out another fireball at Jolteon while he was still charging. By the time Jolteon was finished, it was too late for him to evade the attack. He took the Fire Blast head on, getting pushed back slightly until the Fire Blast exploded and knocked him to the floor. Jolteon then quickly got back up and shook it off. He was looking fairly exhausted, though. The poison was taking its toll on him.

"Ok, now's our chance, Jolteon!" Ashley called out. "Attack now with Shadow Ball, then follow it up with Quick Attack!" Jolteon quickly formed a ball of shadowstuff, while still keeping the charged electricity stored. He flung the ball at Felicia. While the Shadow Ball was still flying through the air he took off in a blur of movement, overtaking his own attack to quickly strike Felicia across the side. The Shadow Ball soon caught up, hitting Felicia head on, causing her to stagger back while shaking her head.

"At that distance, I guess thats an expected combination." Rina thought to herself, not overly impressed by it. "Jolteon's physical attack power isn't that great though, so what did she really gain by that? Unless she plans to follow it up with..." Rina gasped, Ashley's plan suddenly becoming clear to her.

"Now fire that Thunderbolt!" Ashley called out. While Felicia was still reeling from the Shadow Ball attack, Jolteon fired a bolt of electricity at her. The attack came almost instantaneously due to having been charged previously, giving Felicia little time to brace herself. The bolt of electricity shot through her, sending her body into a fit of spasms and causing her to cry out in pain. When it was all over, she collapsed to the ground. For a moment it looked like she was finished, but she was soon struggling to stand up again.

_"You should have stayed down, Felicia..."_ Rina thought sadly.

"Once more, Jolteon! Quick Attack!" Jolteon tensed his muscles and then shot past Felicia on an angle, hitting her in the face as he passed by. Felicia staggered back and collapsed again, this time out for good. Jolteon collapsed shortly after, though, as the poison inflicted earlier sapped the last of his strength.

"-Damn it...always...the poison...-" Jolteon muttered before falling unconscious. Ashley soon recalled him and placed his pokeball back on her belt.

_"This is one reason why I don't like pokemon battles..."_ Rina thought as she recalled Felicia. She held Felicia's pokeball in her hand and looked at it sadly. _"No matter how weak a pokemon gets, or how much pain its in, if it can still stand then its still in the fight..."_

"Thats three each so far. Amazingly, they're almost evenly matched." Ashley's mother thought. Another picture printed out of the camera, showing Jolteon as he came to a stop just after hitting Felicia and showing Felicia reeling from his attack. "Well, thats the first decent photo of Ashley winning a match at any rate." She said to herself, then handed the picture to Rolly since she knew he'd want to take a look at it. Which he did.

"-Wow! That actually looks kinda cool!-" Rolly said, smiling to himself. "-Its like he hit her so fast that her reaction was delayed...or something.-" Rolly set the picture down with the others, making three photos so far.

"Ok, after that double knockout we both need to send out a new pokemon. I think I'll start off this round big." Ashley drew another pokeball from her belt, as did Rina. Both ready to start off their next match-up when suddenly the gym's doors flew open and Lance stepped inside.

"Rina! What is the meaning of this?!" Everyone looked over at Lance, shocked by his sudden arrival. Lance didn't look at all happy either.

"Lance?!" Rina cried out in disbelief. He was the last person Rina wanted to be caught in the gym by. With no gym leader in, and without special permission, neither Rina nor Ashley were permitted to be there...

* * *

Author's Notes: This chapter wasn't originally going to be a two-parter, but we're at 15 pages and only three pokemon fainted on either side in addition to having quite a bit of dialogue for a gym/straight battle chapter. While there's no reason it couldn't have just been a very, very long chapter, it goes without saying that I probably wouldn't have been posting anything at all today in that case. The double-KO after three pokemon each created a rather convenient cutoff point anyway and I'll have more room for more dialogue in the next chapter to set up for chapter 35.

Whats going to happen in Chapter 35? Something big. And another two-parter.


	34. Chapter 33: The Earth Badge, Part Two

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Thirty Three**

**Battle Who For the Earth Badge?!**

**Part Two**

"Just because a gym is empty does not mean you can use it for your battle!" Lance scolded the two trainers. "Trainers are NOT permitted to be in the gym if no gym leader or league official is present! I can't believe you two, of all trainers, would do something like this!"

"But there is no gym leader here anymore, and Ashley needed a badge!" Rina protested.

"If that were the case, then it would have been the league's responsibility to find a replacement." Lance replied calmly while stepping out into the middle of the battlefield, putting himself between the two trainers. "However, that is not the case. Though he has not been around recently, Giovanni is still leader of this gym."

"But he's the leader of Team Rocket!"

"He's what?!" Said everyone, excluding Rina, in disbelief. Rina was the only one who had found out about Giovanni.

"Well I was in his office and..."

"You were in his office too?!" Lance muttered something under his breath and rubbed his temples. "Rina, just what compelled you to break into the gym leader's office?"

_"Uh oh...sounds like Rina is really in a lot of trouble now..."_ Ashley thought, swallowing nervously. She wanted desparately to say something in Rina's defense, but she wasn't even sure what she could say at this point. _"There has to be something I can do...something I can say..."_

"W-well the phone was ringing and..."

"Don't tell me you answered the phone too!" Lance yelled, cutting her off. "Rina, I don't know what Brock let you do in his gym, but you cannot just waltz into a pokemon gym like you own the place!"

"I...I..." Rina stuttered, looking as though she were on the verge of tears. Pippi looked up at her trainer but quickly looked away, feeling helpless. If it were anyone else, Pippi could have threatened them with a jolt of electricity. She definitely couldn't zap Lance, though, and she couldn't yell at him as he wouldn't understand her.

"Don't you think you're being a little harsh on her?" Ashley's mother finally spoke up. "Is what she did really so wrong?"

"What she did is in violation of Kanto League regulations." Lance said flatly. "What if she were to steal the gym's badges and hand them out to trainers? Or sell the gym's TMs? 'Earthquake' would fetch quite a price, you know."

_"That does it!"_ Ashley thought, clenching a fist. _"I don't care who he is, I'm not just going to stand here while he accuses Rina of being a criminal!"_

"How could you say such a thing?!" Ashley interjected, finally deciding she had heard enough. "How could you accuse someone like Rina of criminal intentions?!"

"Why would I dismiss the possibility?" Lance asked in response, glancing over his shoulder at Ashley. "Even though I adopted her, I don't intend to show her any favoritism."

"Adopted her? Thats a laugh!" Ashley shot back. "When was the last time you actually made any effort to take care of her? When have you ever actually been there for her? I bet this is the first time you've even seen her since SIGNING THE PAPERS!"

"A-Ashley!" Rina stuttered in disbelief at Ashley's outburst.

"Lance is...what?" Catherine mumbled to herself, blinking.

"Thats enough!" Lance barked, swiftly turning to face Ashley.

"Too bad, because I'm not finished yet!" Ashley snapped back. "Because you don't have any business standing there preaching about rules and regulations, not after you let two rookie trainers take on the Grand Hunters on their own! If we weren't going up against them for our own reasons then I would have told you to f-"

"I SAID ENOUGH!" Lance yelled, cutting her off. He then took a deep breath and sighed. "I realize I've failed Rina, in more ways then one, and I failed to keep a promise to a friend." Lance slowly turned toward Rina. "Now, explain to me what you two are doing in here."

"HEY!"

"Ashley, just let it go." Her mother said calmly. "He's giving her a chance to explain herself now..."

"Fine..." Ashley muttered defeatedly.

_"Isn't this just back where they started, only less yelling?"_ Rolly thought, scratching his head. _"Humans have an odd way of resolving conflicts. They didn't even use Tackle..."_

"-Wow, Ashley really got fired up...-" Pippi said, then looked up at Rina. "-Sorry I wasn't able to do anything...-"

"Don't worry about it." Rina said quietly, smiling slightly and wiping her eyes with her sleeve. She gathered her courage and then started to address Lance.

"I came here alone first because I wanted to see who the gym leader here was." Rina began. "The lights were out and there was obviously no one here but I didn't really think anything of it because I could hear the phone ringing. I wasn't going to pick it up but I ended up going into the office anyway and heard the answering machine cut in.

That was when I found out Giovanni was the gym leader here, and I already met him once when Team Rocket took over the Silph building. After that...well..." Rina rubbed the back of her head. "The first thing I thought about was that Ashley wouldn't be able to get her badge, and so I decided I'd wait here for her to show up and she'd battle me for it..."

"I see..." Lance rubbed his chin as he thought over what Rina said. "Well, I suppose at this point there's no avoiding it. As Ashley so bluntly put it, I have no right to be preaching rules to you..."

"So then...what now?" Rina asked him. Lance seemed to think this over as he walked over to the side of the battlefield, stopping near the bench and turning dramatically with his cape swirling behind him.

"Judging by your previous battle it would seem you are at least capable of holding your own against Ashley." Lance said to Rina. "The match will continue with you filling in for the gym leader, just this once."

"You're really going to let us keep going?" Ashley asked in disbelief.

"I don't see why not at this point. As the leader of the Elite Four, I will oversee the remainder of this match. Officially, this will be a trial to find a new gym leader for Viridian City, an offer which Rina will turn down." Lance glanced over at Rina. "Rina, you will have to abide by gym rules for the remainder of the match. Therefore, you cannot switch pokemon."

"Right!" Rina nodded quickly, happy to be able to get back to her battle with Ashley. She hadn't switched pokemon as it was anyway, so she was already abiding by gym rules in a way. Rina quickly took a pokeball from her belt. "Ok! Lets get back to it then! Knight, I choose you!" Rina called out, releasing Knight out onto the field. Knight stretched his arms when he appeared and then looked around the gym. He immediately noticed Lance off on the sidelines.

"-Wow, Lance is here, huh? This must be a pretty important battle then...-" Knight looked straight ahead at Ashley with a determined look on his face. "-In that case, I won't lose!-"

_"So Knight has evolved afterall..."_ Lance thought, grinning to himself. _"This should prove to be an interesting battle then."_

_"Knight...that one's going to be trouble for sure."_ Ashley thought to herself. _"Ivysaur can't take him in a straight up fight I don't think, and he knows Focus Punch so Snorlax isn't going to be able to set up. Charizard seems like my best bet to start off with..."_

"Ok, Charizard, lets get this battle started again!" Ashley called out as she drew Charizard's pokeball from her belt and then released him out onto the field. Charizard announced his presence with a roar as he appeared on the field.

"I hope you don't mind my asking, but whats the score?" Lance asked Catherine.

"They're evenly matched so far, three pokemon left each." She replied, then looked toward him curiously. "Is this really alright with you, Ashley battling Rina for her badge? What if the league finds out?"

"As of yesterday, the league is under new management." Lance replied, sounding somewhat bitter. "All things considered, in the off chance he finds out, I doubt he will care too much."

"She's using Charizard? Thats another odd choice for her..." Rina thought. "Knight, start off with Thunder Wave!"

"Charizard, attack Knight with Iron Tail!" Charizard charged across the battlefield, his wings spread and tail held out behind him as though he were ready to take flight. Knight thrust out one arm, sending a pulse of electricity toward Charizard. The electricity passed through Charizard's body, paralyzing his muscles and causing him to stumble briefly.

"-It'll take more than that to stop me!-" Charizard growled and was soon charging toward Knight again. He came to a stop, turning sideways as he approached Knight and raising his tail. A metallic coating formed around Charizard's tail and he then brought it down onto Knight. Knight was ready for the attack, though, and caught Charizard's tail in both hands.

"Charizard, blast Knight with Flamethrower!" Ashley called out, quickly compensating for the blocked attack. Charizard blasted Knight in the face with a stream of fire, catching the dragon pokemon off guard. This distracted Knight long enough for Charizard's Iron Tail to overpower him, landing a light hit across Knight's chest and knocking him back a foot.

"Knight, strike back with Dragon Claw!"

"Charizard, Slash attack!"

Both pokemon turned to face each other and raised one claw-tipped hand. Charizard's hand quickly dropped to his side, though, as he found himself gripped by paralysis. A set of long claws, radiating a draconic aura, formed on Knight's hand. Knight then lashed out at the paralyzed Charizard, raking his claws across Charizard's body. Charizard growled in pain and staggered back.

"-Seems I have the upperhand.-" Knight said to Charizard with a smirk.

"-Enjoy it while you can.-" Charizard growled back.

"-Knight! Knight! Drag-on-ite! Knight! Knight! Drag-on-ite!-" Pippi chanted, getting back into her cheer routine and waving her fans around.

"Charizard, attack with Slash!"

"Knight, Dragon Claw!"

Both pokemon raised a claw-tipped hand, with Knight's claws becoming enveloped in an orange glow. When they made their attack, bringing their claws toward each other, they blocked each other's attacks. They quickly followed up with their other hands, likewise blocking their attacks with their claws intersecting and going nowhere. They were evenly matched at first, but Charizard was quickly starting to lose ground and was straining with the effort to hold Knight back.

"Charizard, blast Knight with Flamethrower, now!" Charizard opened his mouth and let out a blast of flame, hitting Knight in the face with only a few feet between them. Knight held strong through the attack this time, but it was still enough for Charizard to hold against Knight's attack.

Charizard's tactic didn't help him for long, however. Paralysis soon took effect, causing him to lose his grip entirely. Charizard's hands were pushed out of the way by Knight, and Charizard ceased blasting him with flames as well. This gave Knight a chance to deliver a powerful blow, making an X-shaped slash across Charizard's chest with both claws. Charizard growled in pain and staggered back, clutching his stomach with one hand.

_"Ashley's Charizard is pretty strong."_ Rina thought. _"Its a good thing I had Knight use Thunder Wave, this match would probably be a lot closer if I didn't..."_

"Knight, use Slam!" Knight whipped his tail around and smacked Charizard with it while Charizard was still reeling from the double Dragon Claw. Charizard took a heavy blow to the gut and was knocked to the ground.

_"Charizard's really taking a beating out there..."_ Ashley thought. Just then, Charizard quickly leaped back to his feet. A red glow surrounded him briefly and the fire burning on the tip of his tail grew larger as well. "Charizard! Lets finish this now, Blast Burn!" Charizard grinned widely and nodded, opening his mouth and beginning to gather a ball of flame for his attack.

"Blast Burn?!" Rina thought frantically. "Knight, quick! Dragon Claw!" Knight raised his hand back, gathering energy in his claws and then jumping toward Charizard to attack. A sudden blast of flame stopped him, though, as he found himself enveloped in an expanding cone of fire. The flames Charizard was spewing out swirled around Knight while expanding in all directions.

Charizard eventually let up and the flames soon died down, and Knight was still standing. His body was scorched, but he held strong and was still ready to make his attack. Knight quickly lashed out at Charizard, slashing vertically down the fire pokemon's stomach. Charizard cried out and collapsed to the ground, falling unconscious while an exhausted Knight stood over him. Despite Ashley's loss, this time her mother did take a picture.

"That one was too good to pass up if you ask me." Catherine said, then handed the picture off to Rolly.

"What are you doing exactly?" Lance asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm taking pictures for Ashley." Catherine explained. "She wants to become a photographer, and I guess she wanted pictures of her battles. Though, getting someone else to take pictures for her doesn't help her much I suppose."

_"Ah, right, the photographer..."_ Lance thought, frowning slightly. _"With her skill she could become quite the trainer. On the other hand..."_ Lance looked over at Ashley curiously as she was preparing to send out another pokemon. _"Didn't she once say she had no intention of challenging the Elite Four? I know she's been collecting badges...but why? Has she changed her mind?"_

"Ok, Ivysaur, you can handle this one now! Go!" Ashley called out, taking Ivysaur's pokeball in hand and releasing Ivysaur out onto the field.

"-Damn. Its about time.-" Ivysaur said, grinning widely.

"IVYSAUR?!" Rina and Pippi shouted simultaneously.

"-Wait a sec...why are we battling Rina?-" Ivysaur wondered, then took a look at his surroundings. "-Correction...why are we battling Rina in a gym with Lance watching?-"

"Thats right! Bulbasaur finally evolved a stage!" Ashley replied smugly. "Now, Ivysaur, attack Knight with Leech Seed!"

"-Right, screw you if you want an explanation.-" Ivysaur muttered while positioning himself to fire a seed at Knight. "-Dragon over there, seed his ass.-" Ivysaur fired a seed from his flower, but Knight evaded it easily by taking a quick hop back.

"Ok then, lets see how much stronger your Ivysaur is then!" Rina said to Ashley. "Knight, slow Ivysaur down with Thunder Wave!" Knight thrust out his right hand toward Ivysaur, sending out a pulse of electricity. The electricity passed through Ivysaur's body, paralyzing his muscles.

"Well thats getting annoying..." Ashley thought bitterly. "Ivysaur, attack with Leech Seed again!" Ivysaur fired another seed at Knight, moving a bit slower to attack due to paralysis. As a result, Knight easily evaded the attack with another quick hop back.

"Knight, move in and attack with Dragon Claw!" Knight flapped his wings and took off flying low to the ground to move quickly across the field. He then came to a stop and dropped down in front of Ivysaur, raising one hand back while gathering power and then slashing across Ivysaur's backside. Ivysaur let out a low growl and winced in pain.

"Ivysaur, now's your chance! Grab Knight by the head with Vine Whip!" Ivysaur quickly extended a pair of vines from the base of his flower. The vines shot up toward Knight and quickly wrapped around his head, covering his eyes as well and leaving him blinded.

"Use Dragon Claw and shake him off!" Rina called out. Knight gathered energy in his claws and took a swipe at Ivysaur's vines, but only managed to graze them. Ivysaur was still holding on tight.

"Ok! Now for the finishing technique! Ivysaur..." Ashley struck a dramatic pose and pointed toward Knight. "Double Edge!"

"-Shoulda just done that from the start...-" Ivysaur muttered. He jumped toward Knight, throwing himself toward the dragon pokemon in a full body tackle. He then reeled himself in with his vines, pulling himself toward Knight to smash him in the face with Double-Edge. Ivysaur then released his grip on Knight, knocking him out and letting him drop to the ground. Ivysaur landed next to him, shaking off the impact.

"-Wow...I can't believe Bulba...I mean, Ivysaur managed to beat Knight so easily.-" Pippi said, blinking in disbelief.

"The fight with her Charizard took a heavy toll on him." Rina explained to Pippi as she recalled Knight. "It wasn't likely he was going to beat Ivysaur at that point anyway."

"An impressive technique." Lance mused. "Using Vine Whip, Ivysaur can use a tackling technique to greater effect on a larger opponent, like a Dragonite..."

"-Wow...those vines must come in handy a lot.-" Rolly commented. Catherine then handed her most recent picture to him. "-Well, he couldn't do that to me anyway! I'm too small!-" Rolly smiled to himself and then set the picture down with the others.

"That did look pretty impressive. Her father would have been proud of such creativity." Catherine said with a bit of a sorrowful smile as she recalled the few times she had watched her husband battle.

"Geri, go!" Rina called out, releasing her Tangela out onto the field. Ivysaur cringed when he saw the viney pokemon emerge from its pokeball.

"-OH! Do I get to battle now?!-" Geri cried out excitedly. "-Yay! I get to battle my bestest friend!-"

"-Thats about the last pokemon I wanted to battle...-" Ivysaur muttered, shuddering.

"Geri, start off with Sleep Powder!"

"Ivysaur, Poison Powder!"

Ivysaur fired off a burst of purple powder from his flower while Geri moved closer before shaking her body and releasing a green powder toward Ivysaur. Ivysaur's Poison Powder attack hit Geri first, soon followed by Sleep Powder raining down on Ivysaur. Ivysaur dropped to the ground, falling fast asleep, while poison spread through Geri's body.

_"Ivysaur won't be able to hurt Geri much because she's a grass type, but the same applies moreso to Geri."_ Ashley thought to herself. _"So, if I wait out the sleep and then mess up Geri a bit more, I can switch to Snorlax and win this!"_ Ashley smirked, confident in her strategy.

"Geri, dig in with Ingrain and then use Sunny Day!" Rina called out. _"Solar Beam is our best chance to cause any harm to Ivysaur."_ She thought. _"Ivysaur can resist the attacks from both my remaining pokemon pretty well though, and so can her Snorlax. I'm in a bit of trouble here I think..."_

Geri extended a few vines from the lower part of her body, digging them into the ground. The vines held her in place and drew nourishment from the gym's soil, slowly restoring her health at the same rate she was losing it from poison. She then sent a ray of light up into the roof of the gym. The light spread out, causing a warm glow to shine down on the battlefield.

"Now, Geri, use Solar Beam!" Rina called out. Geri wound up several vines in front of her, forming them into the shape of a pair of cupped hands. Meanwhile, Ivysaur shook off the sleep and opened his eyes.

"Ivysaur, get ready with Sleep Powder!" Ashley called out just before Geri fired off a bright yellow energy beam. The beam lanced across the gym and Ivysaur braced himself for impact, withstanding the attack as the beam broke over his body and pushed him back. He then quickly responded by firing a burst of green powder. The powder floated through the air and sprinkled down around Geri. Her eyes slowly closed and she fell to the ground, fast asleep.

"Ok, now use Synthesis!" Ivysaur nodded and began drawing light to himself. He paused briefly and seemed to struggle to stay standing for a moment as paralysis kicked in, but he was soon over it and gathered light energy through his flower. Thanks to the Sunny Day effect, the Synthesis technique left him fully healed.

"Ok, thats enough for now then." Ashley then said to him, taking his pokeball in hand. "Return!"

"-Can't say I'm complaining for once.-" Ivysaur muttered, taking one last look at the sleeping Geri before disappearing into his pokeball. Ashley then took another pokeball in hand, which had her only other fighting-condition pokemon inside.

"Snorlax, go!" The pokeball opened in Ashley's hand, releasing Snorlax out onto the field for a second shot at battle. However, due to Ivysaur taking so long to use Synthesis, Geri was starting to wake up by the time Snorlax was released.

Tangela slowly opened her eyes and blinked in disbelief when she saw Snorlax. "-Oh wow...-" Geri smiled, though only her eyes showed it. "-She's a big one!-"

"Snorlax, power up with Belly Drum!" Ashley called out, choosing to go with her usual tactic despite Geri waking up. Snorlax pounded on her chest, maximizing her physical attack power but causing injury to herself in the process.

"Geri, Sleep Powder!" Rina commanded Geri, despite knowing Snorlax could attack with Snore. She was solely planning to deny Snorlax the chance to heal and follow up with a powerful attack, crippling Snorlax. Geri proceded to attack as directed, spraying Snorlax with a green powder and immediately sending her to sleep.

"Thats not going to stop Snorlax, Rina, and you know it!" Ashley called out to her. "Snorlax, finish Geri off with Snore!"

"It might not stop her, but it'll leave her weakened!" Rina shot back. "Geri, Solar Beam!"

Geri began twisting her vines around while quickly absorbing energy from the light hanging over the gym. Snorlax let out a loud Snore, sending a shockwave across the gym. Geri managed to fire the beam before the shockwave reached her, but Snorlax easily withstood the blast and barely moved an inch. Geri, however, was quickly thrown back by the shockwave until her anchored vines pulled her back down. She was knocked out immediately, forcing Rina to recall her.

"Well that leaves it two against one now, hopefully there will be at least one good finish." Catherine commented, looking at the camera in her hands. Once again, Snorlax's Snore attack made for a poor photo opportunity.

"Ashley has brought the match down to a two-on-one..." Lance thought to himself. "However, I have a feeling Rina has something up her sleeve..."

"-My turn now, right?-" Pippi eagerly asked Rina. Rina nodded to her, and Pippi quickly dropped her fans and moved out onto the field. "-Ok! Lets do this!-" Pippi grinned widely, her cheeks sparking with electricity.

"Ok, Pippi! Finish what Geri started, Volt Tackle!" Rina called out, pointing across the field toward Snorlax.

"-I knew you'd say that!-" Sparks gathered around Pippi's body as she took off charging across the gym. The electricity continued to build up as she ran, leaving a trail behind her.

"Snorlax, quick! Use Snore again!" Ashley called out desparately. Snorlax opened her mouth to let out a Snore, but Pippi plowed into her first. Snorlax groaned as if she had been punched hard in the chest, which Pippi's Volt Tackle was comparable to relative to Snorlax. Snorlax, woken up by the attack, flailed her arms as she fell back and hit the ground. She tried to push herself back up, but had no energy left and simply collapsed again.

Pippi staggered back from the impact as well, wobbling around a bit and rubbing her head. "-Ow...that one hurt a lot...-" She quickly shook it off, though, and ran back to the other side of the gym as Ashley recalled Snorlax.

Meanwhile, another picture printed off from Ashley's camera. Her mother took a picture shortly after the impact, showing Pippi hitting Snorlax but without any interference on the camera from her electricity. "That was a much better end at least, though that means the battle is tied now and Ashley is down to Ivysaur." Catherine passed off the picture to Rolly, who simply set it down instead of looking for a change.

"-This is getting really interesting now, though!-" Rolly said excitedly after Catherine passed him the picture. "-I think this will be close!-"

_"Seems Rina is proving herself quite capable."_ Lance thought with a smirk. _"Of course, its only fair that they'd be equal or near equal. They've faced similar challenges along the way, even if Rina didn't challenge any gyms."_

"Looks like its down to our last pokemon each then." Ashley said to Rina with a smirk. "To think, you used to doubt yourself and hated battling."

"I still don't like battling." Rina replied quietly, then allowed a slight smile to cross her lips. "But why would I have any reason to doubt myself now? The Grand Hunters are almost gone, aside from the ones with the legendary pokemon, and I've rescued my parents pokemon. I'm ready for anything now!"

_"Legendary pokemon...if my guess is right, each of the remaining five hunters will have one of those."_ Lance thought, closing his eyes momentarily. _"Come to think of it, once this battle is over..."_ Lance opened his eyes again and looked between the two girls.

"Whats all this about my daughter taking on a criminal organization in your place anyway?" Catherine asked Lance, casting a menacing glare in his direction. Lance felt somewhat unnerved when he looked over and saw the look she was giving him, but quickly cleared his throat and began to explain.

"We needed the help of trainers like them to catch the hunters off guard." Lance said to her. "Of course, we were always nearby ready to lend a hand if needed but we kept out of sight so we wouldn't draw suspicion." Lance was lying to her about having backup ready, of course, but Catherine seemed to buy it as she relaxed slightly when he said this.

"You better have been keeping a very good eye on her." Catherine said coldly.

_"I can see this will be one of those days..."_ Lance thought, rolling his eyes.

"Well, however this ends, I'm glad to have had this battle with you." Ashley said to Rina, then took Ivysaur's pokeball in her hand. "Ivysaur, this is it! Come on out!" The pokeball opened and released Ivysaur out onto the field again, just as the intense light from Geri's Sunny Day was fading.

"-Ah, I see I'm up against the spawn of the demon mouse this time.-" Ivysaur said, grinning and snickering to himself.

"-H-hey! You can't say that about my mother!-" Pippi shot back. "-Rina, let me at this guy!-"

"Just wait, we need to see how Ashley plans to start this..." Rina quietly said to Pippi. Pippi nodded hesitantly, realizing Rina was right.

"Ivysaur, start with Stun Spore!" A cloud of spores fired out of the flower on Ivysaur's back. The spores then began to float toward Pippi, rapidly approaching her.

"Pippi, attack Ivysaur with Surf to counter it!" Pippi nodded and summoned a pillar of water from under her feet. She rose up with the water, but then jumpep back out of it as it was sent speeding off toward Ivysaur. The spores were gathered up by the wave, which then crashed down on top of Ivysaur. Ivysaur coughed and sputtered after the water washed over him, but easily shook it off.

_"Thats right, Pippi can use Surf now."_ Ashley realized. _"So she can use that to block Ivysaur's spore or powder attacks rather easily. So back to the usual starting strategy then..."_

"Ivysaur, use Leech Seed!" Ivysaur grimaced for a moment as he tried to produce a seed to fire at Pippi. Nothing came of his efforts, however, and instead he fell forward onto his face. His body had become gripped by paraysis again.

"Pippi, now's your chance! Thunderbolt!" Pippi quickly gathered electricity in her cheeks. She then fired a Thunderbolt from her body. The bolt of electricity zipped across the gym and struck Ivysaur, sending a powerful shock through his body. Ivysaur cried out in pain, but when it was all over he shook it off and hopped back up onto his feet.

"-Not bad, kid, but thats nothing compared to the jolt your mother gave me.-" Ivysaur said to Pippi. Pippi growled and clenched her teeth.

_"Thanks to that paralysis, Ivysaur's managed to take a bit of a beating..."_ Ashley thought. _"Good thing we can take care of that!"_

"Use Synthesis now, Ivysaur!"

"Pippi, hit him hard with Thunder!"

Ivysaur began gathering light to restore his strength with while Pippi gathered static electricity in the air. She then made a motion with her hand, directing a large bolt of electricity that seemed to come out of nowhere. Ivysaur cried out as the powerful lightning bolt passed through him, but the damage was soon repaired once he used the energy he gathered to restore himself.

_"Ok, lets think here. Status effects won't work because all of them can be blocked with Surf, and Pippi could probably evade a Leech Seed pretty easily anyway. So how can we do this? Hmm..."_ Ashley thought for a moment and was soon struck by an idea.

"Ivysaur, grab Pippi with Vine Whip!" Ivysaur extended two vines, reaching across the battlefield toward Pippi. Pippi made no effort to dodge the attack, nor did Rina make an effort to order her to. They both knew that, by grabbing Pippi, Ivysaur was leaving himself more open to Pippi's electric attacks. Ivysaur's vines wrapped tightly around Pippi's body, at which point Rina was ready to call out an attack.

"You've left yourself open, now!" Rina said to Ashley. "Pippi, blast Ivysaur with Thunderbolt! That will make him let go in a hurry!"

"-Take this!-" Pippi send a powerful jolt of electricity through Ivysaur's vines to shock Ivysaur directly. Ivysaur braced himself and managed to shrug off the shock pretty well, managing to keep his grip on Pippi in spite of her attack.

"Ok, Ivysaur, now reel her in and start charging Solar Beam!" Ivysaur grinned as he started to drag Pippi across the gym, while light began to gather into his flower. Pippi struggled against her bindings, trying to pull back, but she wasn't strong enough to hinder Ivysaur in the slightest.

"-Looks like this is where it ends.-" Ivysaur said to Pippi.

_"Solar Beam?!"_ Rina thought, shocked to learn Ivysaur knew the technique now. _"Then she must be trying to..."_ Rina gulped nervously, realizing Ashley's plan.

"Pippi, quick! Try to shake him off with another Thunderbolt!" Pippi launched another Thunderbolt attack through Ivysaur's vines as she drew closer and closer to him. Ivysaur cried out in pain as the electricity shot through him, but again he managed to withstand it and maintained his grip. Worse, the attack brought him into range for Overgrow to activate, causing his body to glow briefly and his flower seemed to grow slightly.

"You know what to do now, Ivysaur!" Ashley called out with a smirk. "Fire the Solar Beam and finish this!"

"Pippi, try to counter it with Volt Tackle!" Rina called out desparately. She wasn't sure if it'd work, but it seemed like her best bet.

Ivysaur lifted Pippi up and positioned her over his flower, while Pippi began charging electricity around her body. Ivysaur let go of Pippi and then blasted her straight up with a Solar Beam attack. Pippi was nearly pushed into the ceiling of the gym before she started to push back against the beam.

Pippi strained with the effort, using her electricity to try to protect herself while pushing back against the beam. The beam was losing strength, but Pippi was still slowly nearing the ceiling. She was only inches away from hitting the ceiling when the energy finally dissipated. The electricity around Pippi's body dispersed and she fell back to the ground, flipping around in the air to land on her hands and feet in front of Ivysaur but then dropping to the ground. She was still conscious, but exhausted from the effort.

"Phew...that was close..." Rina mumbled, breathing a sigh of relief.

"-Geez, you're a persistant one.-" Ivysaur muttered.

"-Like I'd...let you win...that easily...-" Pippi replied weakly. She shakily stood up on her hind legs, slowly regaining her strength to continue the fight.

_"I thought that'd end the battle for sure..."_ Ashley thought, blinking in disbelief. "Ivysaur, use Synthesis!"

"-Well, you might have survived, but unlike me you can't heal.-" Ivysaur said to Pippi, grinning as he started to gather energy.

"Pippi, quick! Finish Ivysaur with Slam!" Pippi gathered her strength and quickly spun around, striking Ivysaur across the face with her tail. Ivysaur reeled back and his legs gave out from under him but, to Pippi and Rina's dismay, it wasn't enough to knock Ivysaur out. Ivysaur continued to gather energy and used it to restore his strength, then hopped back onto his feet.

_"If I can hit Pippi with just one attack, this should be over..."_ Ashley thought. "Ivysaur, attack Pippi with Razor Leaf!"

"Pippi, evade it with Quick Attack!" Rina called out to Pippi. Ivysaur fired a barrage of sharp leaves from the base of his flower, but Pippi quickly shot off to the side to evade the attack. "Now use Double Team!" Pippi focused and split off into multiple images of herself, forming into a semi-circle around Ivysaur.

"-Damn it...-" Ivysaur grumbled.

"Ivysaur, distract Pippi with Sweet Scent!" Ivysaur nodded and released a sweet fragrance from the flower on his back. The scent spread out and Pippi got a whiff of it. Each of the images of her looked like they were in a daze, leaving them open to attack.

"Ok, now sweep across them with Bullet Seed!" Ivysaur turned to the right-most Pippi and began spitting a steady stream of small seeds. He turned quickly, sweeping across the entire group of them until only a single Pippi was left standing in front of Ivysaur. Pippi winced when the seeds hit her, gritting her teeth in pain for a moment before shaking it off.

"Now finish this with Vine Whip!" Ivysaur quickly extended his vines and lashed out at Pippi, bringing them down on her like a pair of whips. Pippi quickly hopped back to evade the attack, but Ivysaur was quick to follow up. He continued trying to whip Pippi with his vines while she continued to flip, hop, and roll out of the way of each. She managed to hold up long enough for Ivysaur's vines to get tired, forcing him to retract them. By then, Pippi had backed away almost to the middle of the gym.

_"Wow, Pippi must really be determined to win..."_ Rina thought, surprised by the manuevers she was pulling to evade Ivysaur's attacks. "Ok, Pippi, fire back with Thunderbolt!" Pippi gathered electricity in her cheeks and then fired a bolt across the gym at Ivysaur. The bolt of electricity passed through Ivysaur, sending a powerful shock through his body.

"-If I keep this up I'm going to evolve into an electric type when this is over...-" Ivysaur growled weakly, shaking off the attack.

"Ivysaur, Synthesis!" Ivysaur began drawing energy to heal himself, but his body ceased up and prevented him from healing any. His paralysis had gone quite a while without causing him any problems, but now he was left open for attack again.

_"Ok, Ivysaur could probably survive a Thunderbolt..."_ Rina thought, gauging her situation. _"Pippi's in rough shape, but so is Ivysaur. I think she could handle the recoil from a Volt Tackle."_

"Pippi, now's your chance to end this!" Rina called out. "Use Volt Tackle!"

"-Gladly!-" Pippi replied with a grin. "-Volt...-" Pippi chanted while she gathered electricity around her body. She then shouted and took off charging across the gym. "-TAAAAAAACKLE!-"

_"No time to heal now! Best I can do is..."_ Ashley clenched a fist determinedly. "Ivysaur, counter with Tackle!"

"-This plan of your's better work!-" Ivysaur growled, shaking off the paralysis and charging toward Pippi. He didn't get far before the two of them collided, sending a bright flash through the gym from Pippi's Volt Tackle. Both pokemon were thrown back from the impact and knocked off their feet. Ivysaur and Pippi lied unconscious on the ground, both of them knocked out.

"Urk...maybe I should have just used Thunder..." Rina said to herself, realizing her mistake too late. "Wait a minute...does that mean this is a draw?" She wondered, looking at the two unconscious pokemon.

"Neither of them are getting up." Ashley said to Rina. "That last attack took a lot out of both of them, neither of them are getting back up thats for sure."

"Then it is a draw..." Rina blinked and then looked questioningly to Lance. "What do we do if there's a draw?"

"In the event of a draw between a gym leader and their challenger, the challenger is declared the winner and receives their badge." Lance replied. "Rina, as you were taking the role of gym leader for this match, you may give Ashley her badge."

_"Well at least I still get my badge then."_ Ashley thought as she recalled Ivysaur. _"Still...it came down to a draw, and against Rina? She really surprised me today..." _Rina likewise recalled Pippi and started across the field. Ashley starting walking toward her as well, to meet her in the middle of the gym.

"That battle was amazing. Its just too bad I used up all of Ashley's film..." Catherine looked at the handful of photos she took and chuckled to herself. "I got so carried away in that last battle, it seemed like every move could have ended it. I can't get a picture of Ashley receiving her badge now..."

"-Whats the badge for anyway?-" Rolly wondered. "-I have no idea how these gyms work at all actually. I'll have to look into that!-"

Ashley and Rina stopped when they reached the middle of the field. Ashley held out a hand toward Rina and Rina, mistakenly, held out Ashley's badge to her.

"Umm...I was offering you a handshake..." Ashley said to her.

"Oh...s-sorry..." Rina blushed in her embarassment. She shook Ashley's hand with one hand and rubbed the back of her head with the other.

"That was a great battle, Rina! You're even better than I thought you were." Ashley said to her.

"Thanks, but you're the one who earned the badge!" Rina replied, retracting her hand and then giving Ashley the Earth Badge. Ashley took out her trainer card from her bag and placed her final badge on the card.

"You two battled well." Lance said as he approached the two. "Which is why I now have a favor to ask." Ashley and Rina blinked and looked over at him curiously.

"A favor?" They asked him simultaneously.

"Its about the Grand Hunters." He began. "We know where their base of operations is now, they are located within the Sevii Islands. The remaining five hunters all appear to be gathered there. With the help of the rest of the Elite Four, it is my intention to attack their base directly. Given your history with them, and your battle capabilities, I feel it wouldn't be right if you were left out of this final attack..."

"The final attack on the hunters? Well there's no way I'm going to back down, count me in!" Ashley replied enthusiastically.

"Right, I can't back down now either." Rina said, nodding to Lance. "You should know that already..."

"Of course." Lance nodded solemnly and rested a hand on Rina's shoulder. "Rina, I promise you I will make up for my absence when this is over..."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Catherine asked, casting a stern look at Ashley. Lance looked at her for a moment and then nodded to Ashley.

"We'll be waiting outside..." Lance and Rina walked toward the door and left the gym. They were greeted by a crowd outside, leaving Lance to explain the situation to them while Ashley dealt with her mother.

"You heard him, mom! The Elite Four is going to be there and you just saw how strong my pokemon are!" Ashley said to her mother, determined not to back down from her position.

"I know..." Catherine replied quietly, her expression softening. "I had no idea you were out there facing criminals all this time, do you have any idea how worried I would have been if I knew you were? Especially the Grand Hunters, you know their reputation!"

"-Who are the Grand Hunters anyway?-" Rolly wondered. "-This just raises so many questions...-" Rolly picked up the pictures from the bench and hopped down to stand next to Catherine.

_"You already became an alcoholic just because I was gone, how much worse could it have been?"_ Ashley thought.

"Mom, I'll be fine..." Ashley said quietly, trying to sound reassuring. "They were never a big deal anyway, they all just use one pokemon. They'd have to be a lot stronger than my pokemon to be a threat, which they're not. Its six against one, though, so the odds are in my favor anyway!"

"If you say so..." Catherine let out a sigh. "Just promise me you'll be careful..."

"Don't worry about it! We'll beat them all and be back before the day is out!" Ashley replied confidently. "So stop worrying! Besides, I've already faced these guys a while ago and they were pushovers then too"

"I'll take your word for it then." Catherine replied, chuckling lightly. Ashley and her mother finally exited the gym, by which point the crowd was starting to disperse. Lance and Rina were sitting on his Aerodactyl waiting for the.

"Ready to go, then?" Lance asked Ashley. Ashley gave no response, she was at a loss for words when she saw the prehistoric pokemon Lance was riding. "Is there something wrong?" Lance asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Umm...n-nothing..." Ashley replied, smiling nervously. "We're fine! Think we can give my mom a lift home first, though?"

"Of course." Lance replied with a nod. "I will explain the situation on the way."

"By the way...whats with the Aerodactyl?" Ashley asked him.

"I came here to investigate a rogue Aerodactyl, I thought it would be easier to find if I had my own with me." Lance explained. "Why do you ask?"

"N-no reason..." Ashley replied while rubbing the back of her head. Catherine looked at her suspiciously, knowing full well her daughter was hiding something, but said nothing.

_"I wonder what happened to that Aerodactyl anyway?"_ Rina wondered, remembering the message left for the Viridian gym leader. _"Oh well, someone must have caught it I guess..."_

* * *

Author's Notes: I was planning to have this up last night, and probably could have if I stayed up another half an hour or so. However, toward the end, I realized the Pippi/Ivysaur battle I originally had seemed like a bit of a copout. It originally had Pippi being knocked out by Ivysaur's Solar Beam, so I decided to have her narrowly survive instead and draw out the battle to a draw. This chapter, combined with the last chapter, would have totalled about 33+ pages in word pad with 12-pt Arial font.

Ended up leaving out some character development for Snorlax. Originally, the battle between Snorlax and Tangela was going to draw out a bit with Snorlax taking constant damage and eventually getting annoyed enough to attack. The way it was set up didn't make much sense, though, so Snorlax finally deciding to get up off her fat ass and attack will just have to be left for another chapter.

Also, in the last chapter's notes I said this would set up for Chapter 35. But when I said that, I was thinking of this chapter as 34. So really, chapter 34 is when stuff happens. In other words, next chapter will start another two-parter.


	35. Chapter 34: Hunter to Hunted, Part One

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Thirty Four**

**From Hunter to Hunted**

**Part One**

After making a brief stopover in Pallet Town to drop off Ashley's mom, the group flew over to Vermilion City. They stopped by the pokecenter to restore so Ashley and Rina could restore their pokemon and make changes to their line-up, and then they boarded the Sea Gallop. The ship speeded off toward the Sevii Islands, and the group took the time to make a plan of attack.

"The base is located on a small island off the coast of Seven Island." Lance explained to the two girls, pointing out the island in question on a nearby map of the Sevii Islands. They were gathered in the ship's lounge for the meeting. Only the three human trainers were present, neither Rina nor Ashley had released any of their pokemon. "The base is split up into several sections. Koga, who will be joining us in the assault, has already infiltrated the base to provide us details."

"How did he manage that?" Ashley asked.

"He's a ninja." Lance replied with a shrug. "Even I'm not sure the extent of Koga's abilities, but that is precisely why I enlisted his assistance for this mission. He has been able to move about the base undetected. From him, we know that the five remaining hunters are current divided. The area each Hunter resides in is apparently set up like a small pokemon arena..."

"Why would they be in a pokemon arena?" Rina asked. "That makes it sound like they..."

"Are expecting us." Lance nodded to her. "It seems likely. However, if they were able to find out we're coming, then it hardly makes a difference. They would be ready for us anytime."

"Right, so there's no reason to back down now." Rina said, nodding in agreement.

"Koga has also planted several devices around their base designed to block a psychic pokemon's Teleport." Lance continued. "There will be no need to confiscate any smoke balls, as they won't work."

"So then all we have to do is go in there, beat up any pokemon they have, and take them in." Ashley said. "Sounds easy enough."

"We can only hope that will be all." Lance said quietly. "In any case, the plan of attack is as follows: Ashley, you will be going after the one known as Fire with Lorelei. Rina, you will be with Agatha and going after Mystique. Gary and Bruno will go after Thunder. I will go after Freeze personally, and I have contacted Red to go after Galactica."

"Alright. But who are Galactica and Mystique?" Ashley asked Lance.

"Msytique is a psychic trainer. According to Koga's intel, she has captured the pokemon Mew, thought by many to not even exist. Based on its appearance, Koga did not believe it to be much of a threat. As for Galactica, we are not sure what pokemon she was using. Koga said the pokemon does not appear in any records or legends. As the true champion of Kanto, we're relying on Red to deal with this one."

"Wait! Why am I battling Mystique?" Rina asked, sounding upset that she was facing a pokemon that Koga considered to be 'not much of a threat'.

"Also, why are you going solo against Freeze? And whats this about Red being the true champion?" Ashley added.

"Just because we don't think its a threat doesn't mean it isn't." Lance said to Rina. "Mew is, afterall, the mother of all pokemon according to some legends. If that is the case, it would be best it was freed from Mystique's control as soon as possible. That is where you and Pippi come in."

Lance then looked to Ashley to address her questions. "I may be the dragon trainer, however not all of my pokemon are of the dragon type. I also have Aerodactyl and Charizard, both capable of dealing with the ice type Articuno. As for Red, he defeated the Elite Four and Gary earlier this morning. Gary has been rather bitter over it, especially after his grandfather showed up."

_"So Gary beat Red to becoming Champion, but then Red just beat the newly formed league..."_ Ashley thought, grinning to herself. _"Hehehe! That'll teach that jerk, Gary!"_

"Do you two understand the plan?" Lance asked Ashley and Rina. They both nodded in response. "Good. We should be arriving shortly, make sure you are ready to move out when we arrive." Lance got up and started to leave but stopped, remembering something else he thought he should mention.

"One last thing...they've upgraded their slave collars."

* * *

The Sea Gallop, being one of the fastest brand of ships in the world, reached the Sevii Islands in little time. Crossing the ocean at highway speeds, it took little over half an hour to reach the small, unnamed island off the coast of Seven Island. The ship pulled up as close to the shore as it could. There was no dock on the island, so instead Ashley, Rina, and Lance used their pokemon. Arriving on the shore, they met up with the rest of the Elite Four, Koga, and Gary.

"Hmph. You're wasting your time bringing those two losers along, Lance." Gary said as the group arrived and hopped off their respective pokemon, Ashely using Pidgeot and Rina and Lance both using their respective Dragonites. Gary's attitude earned him a swift smack in the knee from Agatha's cane. "Ow!"

"You had best show other trainers some respect. Especially after your defeat by Red." Agatha said to him.

"Ashley, Rina, this is Lorelei, ice trainer of the Elite Four..." Lance gestured toward a red-headed woman wearing glasses and a dress with a black, sleeveless top and blue skirt. "Lorelei, this is Ashley..." Lance gestured back to Ashley. "You two will be parterned to face Fire."

"So you're Ashley? I've heard about you." Lorelei smirked lightly. "I look forward to seeing how you handle yourself in battle."

"Its a pleasure to be able to battle alongside you, miss Lorelei." Ashley replied, bowing to her.

"This is Agatha, mistress of ghost and poison pokemon." Lance continued, gesturing next to an old lady with faded blonde hair, wearing a purple dress and carrying a wooden cane in her hand. "Rina, Agatha will be your partner."

"Lance has told me about you, child." Agatha said to Rina. "Do not assume the upcoming battles will be easy just because you've faced so many hunters before. A flame flickers violently just before it goes out."

"Huh? Whats that supposed to mean?" Rina asked, blinking in confusion.

"Even with all of us here, this will be your toughest battle yet." Agatha replied.

"And finally, this is Bruno." Lance gestured to the final member of the Elite Four, Bruno. Bruno was a rather large and muscular man who wore only a pair of ragged looking pants. His feet were bare and he didn't wear a shirt either. "I'm sure you both already know Gary and Koga." Lance added, gesturing toward the remaining two individuals. Gary gave a 'hmph' and turned his back to the group.

_"A bit too well in Gary's case."_ Ashley thought bitterly.

"Ashley, Rina, you must give your best today so this criminal empire will finally be brought to an end." Bruno said to Ashley and Rina in a gruff-sounding voice. Both girls nodded to him in agreement.

"The teleport disruptors are all in place and I've taken the liberty of sealing all of the storage areas. They will not be able to call any of their enslaved pokemon for reinforcements." Koga said to Lance. "I only wish I could be more of service, but alas these particular hunters are a bit out of my league."

"Your help has been much appreciated, Koga." Lance said, nodding to him. "However, I have one more favor to ask of you. Ensure that Galactica does not manage to slip by before Red shows up."

"Understood, I will stop her in any way I can should she try to escape." Koga replied, nodding in understanding.

"Good. Everything should be ready then." Lance looked around at the group of trainers gathered. "Any questions?"

"I have a question! Whats the deal with you calling all the shots?!" Gary angrily demanded, turning to face Lance. "I'm the champion now, that means I should be the one calling the shots here!"

"What?! Why would we listen to..." Ashley began, but Lance threw out his arm and motioned for her to stop.

"Gary, if you have a better plan, then lets hear it." Lance said to Gary in a challenging tone. Gary was taken back at first and turned to the side.

"Tch...we'll go with your plan..." Gary muttered, folding his arms. "But only because I said so."

"Of course." Lance smirked.

"-Man, I can't believe you guys lost to someone like that.-" Knight said to Lance's Dragonite.

"-In spite of his attitude, his pokemon are actually pretty strong.-" Lance's Dragonite replied with a shrug. "-He beat Gyarados and Charizard fairly easily. Of course, it took all three of his pokemon to beat me.-"

"-Of course...-" Knight rolled his eyes.

"Where exactly is their base anyway? This is supposed to be the place, isn't it?" Ashley asked Lance. The island they were on was incredibly small and barren aside from grass and trees, yet there was no such base in sight.

"Where else? Its underground." Lance explained to her. "This island simply houses the entrance to the base."

_"Underground base, should have figured."_ Ashley thought bitterly. _"The bad guys always get cool bases like that, where do they get the money for that kind of stuff anyway? Is there an black market bank that funds projects for these people?"_

"If there are no more questions..." Lance looked around at the group. Everyone remained silent. "Lets move out then." Ashley, Rina, and Lance recalled the pokemon they had used to fly to the island. The group then set off toward the middle of the island with Lance and Koga leading the way while Ashley and Rina took up the rear.

"Hey, what do you think those new slave collars do?" Rina whispered to Ashley.

"Probably just make it harder for the pokemon to resist." Ashley whispered back. "Remember when Zapdos and Knight resisted the slave collar's control? They probably strengthened them so that wouldn't happen."

_"Would that be all though?"_ Rina wondered. _"If they made them out of stronger materials too then it'll be harder for Pippi's Volt Tackle to remove them. But I guess if we can knock the pokemon out then it wouldn't be an issue, we could find a way to get the collar off after."_

Toward the center of the island, the group came upon a hole in the ground with a set of stairs leading down. There was a metal wall along either side of the stairs, but at the top it was corroded at the edges and gave way to the soil around it. Parts of the stairs were also corroded a bit. Earlier, Koga had used his Muk's acidic sludge to slowly burn through the secret door that was once there.

"I've taken the liberty of removing the traps they placed in this stairwell while I was here." Koga said to the group. "Its safe for us to go down."

"Traps?" Rina asked. "Why would they put traps in a secret base?"

"Perhaps they've known we would be coming for some time." Agatha said to her.

"Hardly makes a difference, they're gone now." Gary said with a shrug.

"No, I only had time to remove the traps in the stairs before your arrival." Koga corrected him. "There are bound to be traps further in. I suggest you all stay alert."

One by one, everyone followed Koga down the flight of stairs. At the bottom of the stairs was another sliding metal door, or a spot where one was anyway. On the other side of the door was a small foyer-type area with three corridors leading away from it. One directly ahead, and one to the left and right. The corridor straight ahead of them looked like it used to have a door as well. The other two corridors had doors, but they were opened normally.

The inside of the base didn't seem to be anything special, either. For as far as they could see, it consisted of unpainted walls and a white tile floor. Any sort of furnishings seemed to be either non-existant or spartan at best, with the foyer's only addition being a wooden desk in the corner with a computer set up on it. There was noone at the computer, however, and it wasn't even turned on.

Koga stopped and turned to the group as they entered the room. "This is where we must split up. Fire and Thunder are down the left corridor, Freeze and Mystique are down the right corridor." Koga pointed out the corridors as he mentioned them. "Bruno, Agatha, and Lorelei already know the directions to Thunder, Mystique, and Fire respectively. Lance, I've marked the path to Freeze on the walls with chalk."

"I will keep an eye out for them." Lance said.

"Wait! How is Red going to find his way to Galactica when he shows up then?" Rina asked.

"I will wait outside for Red and lead him to her when he arrives." Koga replied. "My Crobat will be keeping an eye on Galactica until then. He will report back to me if she makes a move."

"You all know where you're going then." Lance said to the group. "Split up and move out."

The group split up with Bruno, Gary, Lorelei, and Ashley taking the path left from the entrance and Lance, Agatha, and Rina taking the path right from the entrance. Once everyone was out of sight, Koga walked back into the stairwell and then seemingly vanished.

* * *

"So, Gary, I heard you've already had your first loss as Champion, huh?" Ashley said to Gary, stifling a giggle.

"Well I don't see you doing any better." Gary grumbled bitterly.

"Don't you two start bickering now." Lorelei said to them, then she and Bruno came to a stop in the corridor. They had come up to a red door with the word 'Primary Power Supply - Do Not Enter ' written on it. "This is where we split up again."

"Gary, you and I will continue through this door." Bruno explained to Gary.

"Fine by me. The less time I spend with this loser, the better." Gary reached for the door handle and threw it open.

"NO!" Bruno shouted and quickly tackled Gary to the ground. A ceiling-mounted gun flared to life, firing a blast of electricity at the door. The floor tiles where Gary would have been standing exploded from the blast. The turret maintained a stream of electricity for a few seconds before shutting back down.

"Ack! These guys are really pulling out all the stops this time!" Ashley said in surprise, taking a step back away from the door. Her and Lorelei were already standing past it and out of harm's way.

"It should hardly come as a surprise. This is their base of operations, afterall." Lorelei said to her.

Bruno stood up and held out a hand to Gary to help him up. "We were warned to watch for traps, did you forget?" Bruno said. Gary swatted his hand away and stood up.

"I'm not worried about a stupid electric gun." Gary grumbled and then reached for a pokeball. He took the pokeball in his hand and then aimed it into the next room. "Rhydon! Go!" The pokeball opened in Gary's hand and released Rhydon into the next room. The turret immediately turned on it and fired another blast of electricity. The electricity was drawn into Rhydon's horn and grounded out by its body, leaving Rhydon completely unaffected.

"My Rhydon can stand there all day." Gary said with a grin.

"It would be easier still to simply destroy the gun." Bruno said to Gary. Gary waved a hand dismissively.

"I was getting to that part." Gary said. "Rhydon, rip that gun down!" Rhydon nodded and reached up to the electricity-shooting gun. The gun kept blasting Rhydon with no effect until Rhydon grabbed the turret in its hands and ripped it out of the ceiling. With its power supply cut off, the gun shut down immediately and Rhydon tossed it aside.

"Alright, now keep going through the room and rip down anymore you find." Gary said to Rhydon. Rhydon nodded and walked further into the room, out of sight of the trainers standing next to the door. Another blast of electricity soon sounded through the air, followed by the sound of the crushing and tearing of metal.

"Lorelei, Ashley, you two keep going now." Bruno said to the two girls. "We can handle everything from here."

"Just make sure you keep our hotheaded champion out of trouble." Lorelei replied. Bruno flashed a slight grin and nodded to her. Ashley and Lorelei continued down the corridor while Bruno and Gary entered the power supply room.

"We could save ourselves a lot of trouble if we just destroyed all these generators." Gary said as he stepped into the room. There was a clear aisle down the center, leading to another room, with several noisy generators on either side. "That'd take care of the traps anyway. Rhydon, go on and..."

"Do you really think that will work?" Bruno said, cutting him off. "The sign said this was only the primary power supply. That suggests there is at least one other power source to act as a backup."

"Fine then." Gary shrugged. "Forget it then, Rhydon." Gary brushed past his pokemon to get to the next door. A sign on the door read 'Electric Field'.

"Gee, what do you wanna bet Thunder is behind this door?" Gary rolled his eyes and reached for the handle. Bruno quickly grabbed his hand, stopping him.

"You may be strong as a trainer, Gary, but you are certainly not strong in the head." Bruno ripped off a small piece of fabric from the leg of his pants and dropped it onto the handle. There was a brief zap of electricity that knocked the strip of fabric off and set it on fire.

"Another trap..." Gary muttered.

"This is something best handled by your Rhydon." Bruno said to Gary, then nodded to the Rhydon standing behind them and stepped aside. Rhydon, understanding the message without needing an order from Gary, stepped forward and smashed through the door with one fist. The door was ripped clean off its hinges and Rhydon stepped through into a vast room that looked like a typical gym battlefield.

On the other side of the room was the legendary pokemon Zapdos, wearing the usual slave collar and what looked like a metal backpack strapped to his body. The metal canister was directly attached to the collar with only a hinge to allow for movement of the neck. Standing behind Zapdos on a raised, square platform was Thunder wearing his trenchcoat. A single metal post was erected next to him, with one red and one green button on top of it.

"Must you make such a destructive entrance?" Thunder said to them, seeming only slightly annoyed by the arrival of the two trainers.

"I don't see what difference it makes." Gary said to Thunder, stepping out in front of the doorway. "We're taking you in, what condition this place is in won't matter after that." Gary took another step forward, and Thunder reached for the metal post next to him. Seeing this, Bruno quickly reached out and pulled Gary back into the power supply room.

The buzz of electricity was heard throughout the room. Several generators hidden in the walls and floor shot out a line of electricity toward each other, forming a grid throughout the gym. The grid was nearly impenetrable, except for the spot where Rhydon was standing and disrupting the flow of electricity. Thunder was standing in the one spot that was missed completely by the electricity, and the pack on Zapdos back seemed to absorb the bolts directed at it.

"Well, well, well! All those muscles and you still have a brain in your head, Bruno!" Thunder chuckled.

"An electric field...only our ground-type pokemon will be able to survive in there." Bruno said to Gary.

"Well thats fine for us then." Gary said, grinning widely. "Our pokemon would still have the advantage over Zapdos anyway."

"That, however, you are correct about." Bruno said, nodding in agreement as he reached for a pokeball. "ONIX!" Bruno yelled, taking the pokeball in his hand and thrusting it forward as he released his pokemon. The giant rock snake emerged from its pokeball next to Rhydon, taking up a large section of the gym. Like with Rhydon, Onix's body disrupted the flow of electricity around it.

"Fools. Don't you think I had planned for this?" Thunder said with a grin. "Perhaps I should explain. You see, I designed this slave pack specifically for Zapdos. As long as it has a constant power supply, it will continually restore Zapdos' health and increase its power."

"So what?" Gary said dismissively. "You still can't harm our pokemon."

"Can't I?" Zapdos flapped its wings and then held them out stiff. A metal coating quickly formed on them. "Now, now. You shouldn't underestimate a legendary pokemon. Zapdos, take them down with Steel Wing!" Zapdos let out a screech and charged on foot toward the two rocky pokemon, holding its wings ready to strike.

"This may be more difficult than we thought it to be..." Bruno said, his body tensing as he prepared himself for battle.

* * *

"Tertiary power supply?" Ashley said in disbelief while she stared at the door ahead of them.

"This 'Fire' clearly has something up his sleeve that requires a lot of electricity." Lorelei said to her.

After continuing down the corridor, Ashley and Lorelei came upon yet another corridor that lead north through the base. They then turned right down another corridor and came upon another power supply room, which Lorelei was pointing out as where they had to go.

"Ashley, step aside." Ashley nodded and moved to the side of the door. Lorelei moved to the side near the handle. She turned the handle and pushed the door open, then waited for the sound of a trap to go off. Nothing appeared to happen, though, so they took a quick peek inside. There was no sign of any ceiling-mounted turrets, just more power generators.

"No traps...interesting." Lorelei mused.

"Not that we can see anyway..." Ashley added.

Ashley and Lorelei continued through the room, nearing the door on the other end that said 'Fire Field' on it. As they approached the door they stopped and looked at each other.

"Its starting to feel a bit warmer in here..." Ashley said to Lorelei.

"He might not have any traps but he definitely has something set up." Lorelei said, then quickly moved to the side of the door. Ashley followed suit, and then Lorelei threw the door open. Again, no trap went off, however a bright light was now filtering into the room. A very bright light. The two of them stepped out to find the field in the next room bathed in an intense white light and giving off a lot of heat. A large, white globe was positioned in each corner of the room and provided a similar effect to Sunny Day.

"Lorelei, ice and water trainer of the Elite Four, and Ashley, the annoying photographer, welcome to my barbecue." Fire greeted the two of them from the back of the arena. Moltres was positioned in front of her, wearing a metal slave collar and matching metal pack on its back.

"You must be Fire then." Lorelei said to the other woman.

"Indeed I am." Fire smirked lightly. "And I'm afraid your crusade against the hunters comes to an end here."

"Ha! You're not the first to say that!" Ashley shot back as she reached for a pokeball. Lorelei likewise took a pokeball from her belt, preparing herself for the impending battle.

"Oh? But am I not the first to have a fire pokemon with four times the effect of Sunny Day?" Fire threw her arms out in a gesture. "Each one of those orbs you see produces a similar effect to the technique, greatly enhancing the power of Moltres' fire attacks. Even your water pokemon will not be able to withstand it."

"Lorelei, Sunny Day doesn't work like that, does it?" Ashley asked.

"Normally, no. But that is only because the technique causes the new effect to override the old one." Lorelei explained to her. "In this case, we have the same effect four times simultaneously."

"Not a good thing then..." Ashley muttered to herself. "Well, lets fight fire with fire! Charizard, go!" Ashley held out Charizard's pokeball and released him from it. Charizard gave a roar, announcing his prescence as usual as he appeared on the field.

"Slowbro, go!" Lorelei held out a pokeball as well and released her pokemon. A pink-furred pokemon with a dopey expression appeared on the field. On the end of the pokemon's tail was a cone-shaped shell pokemon.

"Allow me to show you how powerless you are before the mighty Moltres! Moltres, attack them both with Heat Wave!" The enslaved Moltres began flapping its wings, sending a strong wind toward Slowbro and Charizard. The wind then seemed to catch on fire, surrounding Charizard and Slowbro in a searing inferno. They both growled in pain and braced themselves against it.

_"Even being resistant to fire attacks, those two are barely holding up out there!"_ Ashley thought in dismay. _"This isn't good! How are we supposed to defeat a pokemon with so much firepower?"_

* * *

"You know, Lance, many people would find it morally questionable that you are ordering a young girl and an old lady to deal with a potentially powerful legendary pokemon." Agatha jokingly said to Lance as they continued through the base. They had already come to one turn in the corridor and were continuing north now.

"Age means little when it comes to pokemon. Many young trainers experience great hardships and are forced to adapt quickly, becoming talented young trainers." Lance looked to Rina as he said this, smiling lightly.

"We also have our friends to push us to become better." Rina added.

"Age also does not dull one's experience." Lance then said, looking back to Agatha. "Once a trainer achieves greatness, it does not go away so easily."

"Hmph. Explain that to Samuel Oak then." Agatha replied in a sour tone. "Back in the day he was one of the best, now all he does is study them. His talent has gone to waste, it has."

"He's simply chosen to apply his talent elsewhere." Lance said to Agatha. As they reached an area where another corridor intersected their path, Lance came to a stop. Agatha and Rina then stopped as well and looked back at him curiously.

"This is as far as I go." Lance said to them, pointing at an arrow on the wall. The arrow pointed down the corridor branching off to the right. "Rina, be on your guard in the upcoming battle."

"I will." Rina replied with a nod.

"Do not worry, I have no intention of retiring early." Agatha said to Lance.

Lance nodded to them. "Alright, good luck to both of you then." Lance turned around, flipping his cape behind him and continuing off down the right corridor while Rina and Agatha kept going straight ahead. As Lance neared a door at the end of the corridor he felt the air getting a bit colder. There was no sign on the door to suggest what was inside.

_"Suppose I should be careful of a potential trap..."_ Lance thought. He stepped to the side of the door and then carefully opened it. He then peeked inside and saw nothing except what looked like several freezers with pipes connecting them to the ceiling.

_"Some sort of air conditioning?"_ Lance wondered. _"But why would they need a central air conditioning room?"_ Lance stepped into the room and began to cautiously walk through the middle. As he neared the other end of the cold room he saw a wall of bricks covered in ice blocking his path.

_"Thats a strange choice for an obstacle. I don't see what else it could possibly be, but its nothing Dragonite couldn't get through."_ Lance reached down to his belt and unclipped Dragonite's pokeball, then held it up and released him. Dragonite shivered as he materialized and felt the cold air of the room.

"-Hate the cold.-" Dragonite muttered.

"Dragonite, smash through that wall and be prepared to defend yourself after. There's no telling whats on the other side." Dragonite nodded and slowly walked up to the wall, stopping when he was an arm's length away. Dragonite then raised his arm back and slammed his fist into it, shattering both the bricks and the ice in a single punch. On the other side of the wall was an opening leading into the next room.

"Nothing? Lets keep going then." Lance followed behind Dragonite and the two of them walked through the doorway. The next room was set up like an arena, which was where they expected to find Freeze. Sure enough, the blue haired man was standing at the other side of the arena with the legendary bird pokemon Articuno standing before him. As soon as Lance entered the room a blue beam of light shone down on him from the ceiling.

"What is this?!" Lance yelled in surprise. The light faded soon enough, though, and Lance felt nothing from it.

"I call that the 'pokeball freeze'." Freeze explained with a wide grin. "It renders a pokeball unable to restore a pokemon to its true form, leaving the pokemon trapped inside until it wears off."

Lance took another pokeball from his belt and then tried to release a pokemon from it. The pokeball opened up, revealing the red glowing ball that the pokemon had been transformed into, but nothing happened. "I can't release another pokemon! Then that means..."

"Thats right, you're stuck facing Articuno with Dragonite." Freeze said, grinning widely. "I left that blockade there just so you would have your Dragonite with you when you arrived. Afterall, I want to have at least a little fun with your pokemon."

"You knew you would be fighting me!?" Lance replied, a shocked expression overtaking his usual calm demeanour. "How could you know so much in advance?"

"Thats a secret, and not one you will live to find out. If you thought facing a legendary ice pokemon with your Dragonite was bad enough, you haven't seen anything yet." Freeze clapped his hands. Several ceiling fans roared to life and snow began to fall from the ceiling. Fans at the back of the room started up as well, creating strong winds to send the equivalent of a blizzard toward Dragonite and Lance.

Lance quickly pulled his cape across his body, using it to shield himself from the blowing snow. _"Now I understand why those machines were there...they create snow, for this."_ He thought. "This is going to be a tough one, I hope Dragonite can take it..." Lance looked hopefully at his Dragonite, bracing itself against the storm. The dragon pokemon would now have to face off against Articuno on its own, and while being pelted by snow.

* * *

"Umm...are you sure this is the way?" Rina asked Agatha, blinking in disbelief as she gazed around the room the two now found themselves in. It looked like a typical break room. There was a tv, chairs and couches to lounge around in, and two vending machines. There was also a spot for a pool table, though it was currently just empty space.

"Koga did say Mystique's arena was just through a break room." Agatha replied, then raised her cane to point at a door on the far end of the room. "I would say our target is just through there." Agatha looked back over at Rina, but she was already gone. She then heard the sound of a machine running and looked up to see Rina getting a bar from the vending machine.

"Mmm! They have all my favorites here!" Rina took the bar out of the machine and then turned to face Agatha and found the older woman giving her a cold glare.

"This is not the time to be indulging your sweet tooth!" Agatha scolded her. She whacked Rina's hand with her cane, forcing her to drop the bar. "We have serious work to do. Let us be on our way."

"Yes mam..." Rina whimpered, holding her wrist in pain as she followed Agatha toward the door. Agatha opened the door with her hand and then pushed it open the rest of the way with her cane. No traps were sprung by the door opening and the two of them walked into a fairly ordinary looking arena. A purple haired woman in a black trenchcoat stood at the opposite side of the field. A pink, feline pokemon, with a collar around its neck and a metal cap on its head, was floating around the woman.

"You two kept me waiting long enough. I can't believe you actually had the gall to stop for a snack." Mystique said to them.

"What? How did you know?" Rina asked in disbelief.

"Same way I knew you would be coming, and what would happen here today." Mystique replied, a grin spreading across her lips. "I had a vision of your arrival several months ago, and we prepared accordingly. You have no chance of defeating us now, I have already forseen the outcome!"

"Thats impossible!" Rina shot back.

"She is correct. Even if you had psychic powers, there is only so much you can tell. Glimpses of the future, and not necessarily accurate either." Agatha said.

"How true. But I have already seen your downfall." Mystique said to them. "You see, I have a particular psychic talent that you're not going to like. Observe." Mystique held out a hand toward Rina to focus on her. Almost immediately Rina's eyes went wide in shock and she dropped to the ground, curling up into a fetal position and whimpering.

"What did you do to her?!" Agatha demanded angrily, clutching her cane.

"Its quite simple, really. I forced her mind to recall her worst fears." Mystique replied with a wicked grin. "She will be forced to experience a neverending nightmare so long as I maintain a grip on her mind."

"Then I will put a stop to you!" Agatha reached into her apron and took out a pokeball. "Gengar, come forth!" She called out, releasing the purple ghost pokemon out onto the battlefield. A grinning set of teeth appeared first, and then the rest of Gengar's body faded into view.

"A ghost type pokemon, normally that would give you the advantage against a psychic type." Mystique said to Agatha. "However, your Gengar is unfortunately a poison type as well and thus weak to psychic attacks. Not only that, but the slave collar worn by Mew increases the power of its psychic attacks!"

As if to demonstrate this, Mew's eyes gave a blue flash. A blue glow then surrounded Agatha's Gengar as Mew focused its psychic powers on the ghost pokemon. Gengar winced in pain as it felt the psychic force pressing down on it and collapsed to its knees when the psychic attack finally ceased. With only one attack, Gengar was left barely able to stand and gasping for breath.

"As you can see, Agatha, your poison pokemon are just no match for me." Mystique proudly boasted. With Rina disabled by Mystique's psychic abilities, it was down to a one on one match between Agatha and Mew. A match in which Mew seemed to have the advantage.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the base, Koga was vigiliantly guarding a small device near the entrance. The device held two pokeballs within and emitted a faint yellow aura. The device was channeling the power of the two pokemon, combining their abilities to prevent any pokemon from teleporting off the island. Though he was waiting for Red, he was sure any hunters that managed to get out would come straight for the device.

_"Red is running late."_ Koga thought, looking up at the starry sky above. _"I hope he hasn't decided not to come..."_ Koga took a quick look at his surroundings, but found nothing out of the ordinary. _"I suppose I should relax. If there was any trouble then Crobat would be here to warn me."_

Koga sat down on the ground next to the teleportation-inhibitor and took a deep breath. He didn't get to relax long before he sensed movement. He quickly grabbed the device and jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding a large ball of electricity. Koga quickly looked up and saw an orange colored, humanoid looking pokemon with no feet and a pair of long tendrils instead of arms. He recognized the pokemon as Galactica's pokemon, but Koga also realized it looked different now. The pokemon was holding an unconscious Crobat in one pair of tendrils, which it then tossed to Koga's feet.

"Crobat!" The bat pokemon slowly opened its eyes and looked upon its trainer.

"Failed...I...have...-" Crobat wheezed weakly and then fell unconscious again. Koga quickly drew out a pokeball and recalled it.

"Seems you're as quick as they say..." Came a woman's voice. A middle aged woman, with cyan-colored bowl-cut hair and wearing the same black trenchcoat every other remaining hunter wore, emerged from the stairwell and came into view. "I call this pokemon Deoxys. Its a pokemon with many faces, and what you are seeing is its power face. This is its strongest attacking form. But I wonder...can you keep up with its speed form?"

For a moment, Koga was confused. But when he looked back up at the strange pokemon he saw it was shifting its appearance. Its two tendrils merged into one, and its body became more streamlined and thinner.

"Deoxys, circle." Deoxys dropped to the ground near Koga and then began quickly circling around him. The pokemon was moving almost too fast for even Koga to follow.

_"What is this pokemon?!"_ Koga wondered. _"It can shift from an offensive form into a speed form? I can barely keep up with it now!"_

"Now, I am afraid we will have to finish this. I have places to go, you see, and that device of your's is proving to be rather annoying." Galactica said to Koga. "Deoxys, destroy them both. Psycho Boost!"

As Deoxys continued to circle around Koga, a pink aura seemingly crackling with electricity began to surround it. Deoxys was building power for an attack, and Koga was trapped in the middle. Eventually the pokemon came to a sudden stop and fired the large ball of psychic energy at Koga.

Koga braced himself, but just then a purple feline pokemon appeared between Deoxys and Koga using Quick Attack. A gem on the pokemon's forehead flashed and a blue aura surrounded the ball of psychic energy. It came to a stop just inches away from the pokemon's forehead. The pokemon, an Espeon, then thrust its head skyward and sent the ball of energy straight up.

"Hmm? Whats this?" Galactica looked up and saw a Charizard come in to land next to Koga and the Espeon. Red jumped off Charizard's back and then turned to face Galactica.

"Koga, I'll take over from here." Red said to him.

"Your timing is impeccable." Koga replied with a smirk and nodded to him. "I will leave this in your care then." Koga set the device down on the ground.

"Alright." Red nodded.

"My job here is done. Good luck, Red." Koga took off across the island and then disappeared into the shadows.

"So you must be Red, then." Galactica said with a smirk. "It hardly matters. You're no match for my Deoxys." Red glanced over at the psychic pokemon. A slave collar was fitted around its neck, with another snapped around its forehead and a metal bar connecting them. Red then looked back at Galactica and shook his head.

"No...I don't think you realize who I am." Red said to her. "If you did...you wouldn't rely on a single pokemon. No matter how strong it is."

"Oh? And why is that?" Galactica asked with a smug grin.

"Because I never lose."

* * *

Author's Notes: So! Final showdowns all around, and a chapter that basically exists just to set up a cliffhanger for everyone! On a side note, I think at some point I need to define a ninja's capabilities in the pokemon world. Just incase I ever decide to include one in the main cast. Oh yeah, and I need to start planning actual layouts when I'm going to have a base or something like this. Other than that, nothing else to say for a change...


	36. Chapter 34: Hunter to Hunted, Part Two

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Thirty Four**

**From Hunter to Hunted**

**Part Two**

"Charizard, use Flamethrower! Espeon, Shadow Ball!" Red's Charizard opened its mouth and fired a blast of flames at Deoxys while his Espeon formed a ball from shadows and flung it at Deoxys. With the enhanced speed in its current form, Deoxys moved quickly to evade both attacks.

"Deoxys, Iron Defense and Amnesia!" Deoxys' body briefly became covered in a metal coat, its body hardening to increase its defenses. Deoxys then focused to forget something temporarily and increase its defense against special attacks.

"Charizard, don't let it dodge this one! Flamethrower!" Charizard let out another blast of flames, this time catching Deoxys while it was using its Amnesia technique. The flames seared Deoxys, due to it being too busy to try to dodge the attack.

"Ok, now attack with Shadow Ball, Espeon!" Red's Espeon quickly formed a ball of shadow and flung it at Deoxys. The flames around it ceased as Charizard stopped its attack, but then the Shadow Ball attack struck Deoxys and burst upon impact. Deoxys easily withstood the attack with its enhanced defenses, though.

"Switch to defense mode and begin using Cosmic Power!" Galactica ordered Deoxys. Deoxys' body began to shift, its long tendrils splitting into two and flattening out. Its body became bulkier as well, lending to its increased defenses. A purple aura then surrounded it as it drew power to itself to further increase its defenses.

"Boosting defense? Then I'll take the path of least resistance." Red thought to himself.

"Espeon, thats good enough, return!" Red raised Espeon's pokeball and then took another one in hand. "Venusaur, I choose you!" Red held up the pokeball he grabbed and released Venusaur. Venusaur let out a low growl and peered at Deoxys curiously, realizing it faced a strange opponent.

"Venusaur, start draining Deoxys with Leech Seed and Charizard, you get in and go at it with Slash!" Venusaur launched a seed from the large tree-like plant on its back, hitting the defending pokemon with little trouble. Charizard then flapped its wings and made a quick dash toward Deoxys to slash it with its claws. Deoxys easily held its ground through the attack.

"Deoxys, use Recover to maintain your health while continuing to use Cosmic Power." Galactica commanded. The purple glow faded from around Deoxys briefly, its body then shimmering as it used a restorative energy to heal itself. The purple aura then surrounded it again to continue increasing its defense.

_"Recover too? Thats going to cause more problems..."_ Red thought.

"Charizard, back off from Deoxys. Venusaur, wait until Charizard is a safe distance away and use Poison Powder." Charizard quickly backed away from Deoxys, allowing Venusaur to attack without hitting Charizard. Venusaur then shook its plant, releasing a cloud of purple powder. The powder rained down around Deoxys, inflicting poison on it while it continued to increase its defense with Cosmic Power.

_"That could be problematic."_ Galactica thought. _"Leech Seed and poison combined will drain a good portion of Deoxys' health in the time it takes it to attack once. A strong attack from his Charizard could still potentially knock it out if it gets too weak without recovering."_ As Galactica was thinking this, Deoxys took another brief break from its defense boosting to use Recover.

"Ok, Venusaur, now use Sleep Powder!" Red called out. Venusaur shook its plant again, releasing a green powder onto Deoxys. Deoxys immediately stopped what it was doing and fell asleep. However, it wasn't going to stay awake for long.

"Deoxys, awaken." Galactica commanded calmly. The slave collar around Deoxys activated and the pokemon opened its eyes immediately. Deoxys then used Recover again, restoring the damage inflicted upon it. "I'm afraid sleep attacks won't work." Galactica said with a smug grin. "The slave collar allows us to simply order our pokemon to wake up."

_"No kidding..."_ Red thought bitterly, clenching a fist. _"Well there goes that plan. If it would have stayed asleep then Leech Seed and poison would have finished it easily enough. What can I do now?"_ Red folded his arms over his chest and thought over his options. Meanwhile, the purple glow faded around Deoxys as it used Recover again. This time, however, it did not go back to using Cosmic Power. Its defensive capabilities were already at their best.

"Now switch to attack mode and take Charizard down with Zap Cannon!" Galactica commanded Deoxys. Deoxys' body changed again, reverting to the form it had originally appeared in. Its body became slimmer and the tendrils that formed its arms became long and slender again, like a pair of whips. It then raised its four arms over its head and began charging a ball of electricity.

"Charizard, get out of the way!" Charizard flapped its wings and flew straight up, hoping to avoid Deoxys' attack by taking to the air. As Charizard flew up, Deoxys took off straight up after him and quickly moved past Charizard. Deoxys came to a stop as soon as it was hovering over Charizard and threw the ball of electricity down into the fire pokemon. Charizard roared in pain and dropped straight back down.

"Charizard!" Red called out in despair. Charizard crashed into the ground head first and then dropped onto its back. The powerful fire pokemon laid unmoving, knocked out by Deoxys' attack. Red stared at his fallen pokemon in shock and horror.

"I bet this is a new experience for you, having a pokemon knocked out in one attack." Galactica said to Red with a smug grin. "Get used to it, the rest of your pokemon will suffer a similar fate. You see, the metal cap on Deoxys head isn't just for decoration."

"I figured that much..." Red spat bitterly, then raised a pokeball and recalled Charizard. Deoxys slowly lowered itself back to the ground, its body shimmering as it used Recover as per Galactica's previous orders.

"But could you guess what it does? I bet you couldn't!" Galactica mocked Red. "You see, Deoxys' signature technique, Psycho Boost, has a side effect of lowering Deoxys special attack power. But this device attached to its slave collar prevents Deoxys abilities from being lowered by its own attacks, allowing it to use its strongest techniques with impunity."

_"Psycho Boost...that was the attack Espeon blocked while Deoxys was in its speed form."_ Red thought.

"Deoxys, Psycho Boost! Take down Red's Venusaur!" A purple sphere of crackling energy formed around Deoxys body. Deoxys channeled an immense psychic power into its attack and then fired a large ball of psychic energy at Venusaur. Venusaur, being too large and slow to evade the attack, took it head on. The sphere of energy passed through Venusaur's body, continually assaulting it with psychic energy until Venusaur collapsed.

"Urk! Venusaur too?!" Red cried out in disbelief. Losing his pokemon so easily was indeed a new experience for Red, who was used to being able to simply overpower his opponents. Now he was realizing that such a tactic won't work against Galactica. Red quickly shook off the initial shock of Venusaur fainting and recalled his pokemon.

"Go on and send out more of your pokemon!" Galactica taunted Red. "I want to watch you squirm as each of your pokemon are defeated, one by one!"

_"I've still got a chance to do this..."_ Red thought. _"But how? I need to be able to overcome its defenses somehow and deal a strong blow to finish it off. Blastoise might be able to take a Zap Cannon, but can I bank on that? What other attacks does she have up her sleeve? Could Snorlax take a hit?"_ Red thought over his options for a moment.

_"Maybe there's something Espeon can do..."_ He thought, then took two pokeballs in his hand. "Espeon! Blastoise! I choose you!" Red called out, releasing both pokemon simultaneously. Blastoise and Espeon emerged from their pokeballs, facing Deoxys and ready to fight.

"Two pokemon? It makes no difference, as you can already tell." Galactica said to Red. "Deoxys, put his Blastoise down with Zap Cannon!"

"We'll see about that." Red shot back. "Blastoise, Protect! Espeon, Psych Up!" Deoxys quickly formed a ball of electricity and then hurled it at Blastoise, but Blastoise was able to form a barrier around itself to block the attack. The electricity dispersed harmlessly againstly Blastoise's barrier. Espeon, meanwhile, focused its psychic power on Deoxys and copied the other pokemon's defense enhancements.

_"A Psych Up technique! I should have seen that one coming!"_ Galactica thought, mentally slapping herself. _"Well, it matters not. His Espeon cannot possibly harm my Deoxys as it is."_

"Deoxys, ignore it and attack Blastoise again with Zap Cannon." Deoxys raised its for arms over its head and formed a ball of electricity, then hurled it at Blastoise. This time, Blastoise couldn't count on its Protect technique and took the full power of the attack. The ball of electricity dispersed through his body on contact, bringing the water pokemon to its knees.

Blastoise struggled for a moment after being attacked by Deoxys. Though it was a powerful attack, Blastoise remained conscious and was struggling to get back onto its feet. The attack had left it paralyzed, making it difficult for Blastoise at first, but a blue glow surrounded it as its torrent ability activated. With renewed strength, Blastoise stood back up.

_"Can always count on Blastoise to take a hit."_ Red thought with a smirk. "Espeon, Baton Pass!" Espeon opened her mouth and a red baton formed. She threw the baton into the air and was then recalled by Red. Red quickly took another pokeball in hand and sent out his Snorlax, who then reached up with one of its large hands and grabbed the baton. Snorlax absorbed the baton into its body, gaining the status boosts Espeon had copied from Deoxys.

"Damn it! He passed the defense boosts to his Snorlax!" Galactica cursed. "Even attack form Deoxys can't overcome Snorlax's defenses now, but his Snorlax can still..."

"Snorlax, use Belly Drum now!" Red called out. His Snorlax began pounding on his chest, inflicting damage upon itself in the process but maximizing its attack power. Snorlax's physical attack power and its defenses were now maxed, leaving it an unstoppable powerhouse.

"NO! Deoxys, finish it now! Superpower!" Galactica called out desparately. Deoxys began focusing its power, and the ground around it began to shake.

"Aren't you forgetting about someone?" Red said to Galactica with a slight grin. "Blastoise, Protect!" Blastoise stepped back, moving closer to Snorlax and formed a barrier around itself. Deoxys moved toward Blastoise in one quick movement, thrusting its arms into the barrier and firing a blast of energy that completely engulfed both Blastoise and Snorlax. However, Blastoise's barrier deflected the energy around them, and both pokemon emerged unharmed.

"Ok, now pin Deoxys with Hydro Cannon!" Blastoise dropped its barrier and then trained its twin cannons on Deoxys. A blast of water fired from each cannon, with each blast as wide and tall as Blastoise. Deoxys was smashed into the ground by the high pressure water blasts and was pinned down. It struggled against the attack with all its strength but it was too much for it.

"Now, lets end this! Snorlax, attack with Body Slam!" Snorlax crouched down, building power in its legs and then took a great leap straight up. Snorlax jumped straight over Blastoise, just as the water pokemon's cannons were running out of water. No longer pinned by the attack, Deoxys began to stand up, but couldn't get out of the way in time.

Snorlax landed on top of Deoxys, coming down onto it with its incredible strength and immense bulk. Even with its enhanced defenses, Deoxys was far too frail in its attack form to take a full strength Body Slam from Snorlax. Deoxys was knocked out instantly, crushed under Snorlax's weight.

"Its over." Red said quietly. "Snorlax, break off its collar." Snorlax sat up and took one end of the collar in each of its hands. With Snorlax's enhanced strength, the collar ripped apart like it was a piece of paper in Snorlax's hands.

"No! This is impossible!" Galactica growled, clenching her fists tightly. "This can't be happening! I had the strongest pokemon!"

"Ok, good job you two. You can both take a well deserved rest." Red took Blastoise's and Snorlax's pokeballs in his hands and recalled both of them, then returned the pokeballs to his belt. He then reached into his backpack and took out a pair of yellow crystals. He crushed one of the crystals in his hand and tossed the dust on Deoxys unconscious form.

Deoxys slowly opened its eyes and looked around. The dust Red had sprinkled on it was from a Revive and restored Deoxys to consciousness and half strength. Deoxys looked to Galactica, then Red. Its body then shifted into a more streamlined form, its two arms merging into one and its legs and torso turning black. Once it switched to speed form it flew into the air and took off away from the island at top speed.

"Good idea." Red said quietly, watching as Deoxys took off. He then took another pokeball from his belt and released his unconscious Charizard. He crushed the other Revive crystal he had in his hand and tossed the dust on Charizard. The fire pokemon regained consciousness and quickly stood back up, shaking its head.

"You may have caught me off guard, Galactica, but like everyone else you lost in the end." Red said as he walked up to Charizard. "I'll leave you for Lance and the others to deal with. I have bigger fish to fry." Charizard leaned forward, allowing Red to get up on its back more easily.

"What did you say?!"

"I only agreed to help them because I was going to be in the area anyway." Red replied. "Your leader called me out, and I intend to end this once and for all. What happens to you doesn't matter now." Red patted Charizard on the back, signalling for him to take off. Charizard flapped its wings and took off into the sky, immediately turning and heading toward Seven Island.

"You'll regret this!" Galactica called out after Red. "You hear me?! I'll make you regret insulting me like this!"

* * *

"Rhydon, grab its wings!" Gary commanded his pokemon. Rhydon moved to intercept Zapdos, raising its hands to catch Zapdos' metal-coated wings. The plan failed, however, as Zapdos struck Rhydon with more force than it was able to withstand. Rhydon was pushed back by the initial impact, and then Zapdos dropped down in front of it and slashed Rhydon across the chest with one of its wings. Rhydon growled and staggered back, clutching its chest with one hand.

_"Even though Rhydon is weak to steel-type attacks, it should be able to take a physical attack like that."_ Gary thought. _"That Zapdos must be getting quite the power boost..."_

"Onix, BIND IT!" Bruno called out loudly. Onix moved toward Zapdos to attack, but the thunder bird was already moving toward Onix to attack as well. Zapdos was intent on continuing its assault and slashed Onix across the head with one of its wings before the metal coating finally faded. The attack threw Onix's head into the wall of the arena. Onix shook it off but was a bit disoriented for a moment.

"Its Steel Wing attack is impressive...I don't think Onix or Rhydon can get a good shot at Zapdos at this rate." Bruno said to Gary.

"That hardly matters now, any other pokemon we send out wouldn't last long with all that electricity going around." Gary rested a hand at his side. "Rhydon, attack Zapdos with Rock Blast!" Rhydon thrust his arms forward repeatedly, firing a total of four rocks at Zapdos. Zapdos dodged the first, but the remaining three hit it and knocked it to the ground.

Zapdos quickly shook off the attack and took several quick hops toward Rhydon, flapping its wings for extra lift. Its wings gained a metal coat again and it slashed Rhydon across the chest with another Steel Wing attack. Rhydon staggered back and then dropped to his knees. Rhydon struggled to maintain consciousness, but the effort was too much for it and it soon collapsed. Gary took Rhydon's pokeball in hand and recalled it.

"Thats one down." Thunder said with a smirk. "Now you only have one pokemon left you can even try to fight me with, and all I had to do was order Zapdos to use Steel Wing. With the Elite Four and its new Champion defeated by us, our capabilities will be recognized world wide!"

"You have not gained victory yet!" Bruno said to Thunder. "Onix, BIND!" Onix quickly moved across the floor, putting the front end of its body behind Zapdos while the back end was still in front of it. Onix effectively had Zapdos surrounded and moved in for the attack, wrapping its body around the electric bird and started trying to crush it. With its increased strength, however, Zapdos was managing to push back against Onix to keep from getting crushed.

"Zapdos is far too powerful now for that to work." Thunder said smugly. Zapdos was pushing Onix's body out further and further, nearly giving itself enough room to break free.

"Then lets see how it does without that power boost. Alakazam, now!" While the battle had raged on, Gary had covertly released his Alakazam into the room behind them. On Gary's signal, Alakazam shut down the power generators. The room immediately went dark and the electric field shut down, but soon a backup generator kicked in. The lights came back on, but the electric field didn't.

"Just as I thought." Gary said smugly. "That electric field of your's uses a lot of power, which was being supplied by its own dedicated power generators. The backup generator doesn't supply enough power to keep them running."

"What?!" Thunder cried out in shock. Zapdos immediately lost what ground it had gained against Bruno's Onix and the rock snake's body squeezed tightly around it. Thunder tried repeatedly pressing the button to activate the electric field, but produced only sparks and caused the lights to flicker.

"Well played!" Bruno said to Gary. "Even I didn't notice you released another pokemon."

"I thought it was an obvious plan of action." Gary replied casually. In a flash the psychic pokemon Alakazam appeared before him, courtesy of its teleport attack. "Now lets finish this! Alakazam, attack Zapdos with Psychic!"

"Onix, enough! Return!" Bruno recalled Onix, releasing Zapdos from its grasp. The weakened Zapdos began to drop, but was caught by Alakazam's telekinesis. Alakazam focused on Zapdos with its psychic powers, a blue glow surrounding it and crushing it from all sides before slamming Zapdos into the ground hard. Zapdos let out a pained squawk and was down for a moment with the wind knocked out of it before slowly getting back up on its feet.

"Machamp, go! CROSS CHOP!" Bruno called out as he released the four-armed fighting pokemon, Machamp, from its pokeball. Machamp started running toward Zapdos as soon as it appeared. Machamp brought its upper set of arms down on Zapdos in a chopping motion, striking Zapdos in the shoulders with each fist. Zapdos let out another cry and collapsed, unconscious.

"D-damn you! This wasn't supposed to happen like this!" Thunder growled. "We were supposed to win! Mystique said our victory was assured!"

"You never really did stand a chance against us." Gary said to Thunder.

"Machamp, break the collar on Zapdos." Machamp nodded and turned Zapdos over on its stomach. It then gripped the device equipped to Zapdos in all four of its hands. Machamp struggled for a moment before managing to pull the device apart, then removed it and tossed it aside. Thunder turned to flee, but Gary's Alakazam teleported into his path to stop him.

"There's nowhere for you to even run to now, Thunder. You're finished."

* * *

"Moltres, finish this now with another Heat Wave!"

"Charizard, counter with Blast Burn!"

Moltres began flapping its wings while Charizard began forming a ball of fire. The beating of Moltres' wings send a blast of hot air and flames toward Charizard and Slowbro, but Charizard countered with Blast Burn before the attack could reach them. The fireball Charizard had prepped erupted into a column of fire, spewing into the oncoming Heat Wave. The attacks appeared evenly matched until both pokemon were finally forced to back off.

_"That collar isn't doing anything for Moltres defensively."_ Fire thought. _"One good fire attack from that Charizard will cripple Moltres at this point."_ Fire grinned to herself. _"Fortunately for me, then, that using Blast Burn left it open to attack."_

"Slowbro, use Disable!" Lorelei called out before Moltres could get off another attack. Slowbro didn't seem to do anything, its face maintaining a dopey and unaware expression even while it focused psychic energies on Moltres. A yellow glow surrounded the fire bird, sealing off its Heat Wave technique.

"A pointless effort. I will simply defeat your pokemon one by one." Fire boldly stated, though she felt a twinge of nervousness as well. She had been banking on defeating their pokemon simultaneously and then killing off the two trainers before they could send out reinforcements. Taking each pokemon down one at a time meant one of them would always have an opportunity to send out another pokemon.

"Moltres, attack Charizard with Flamethrower." Moltres opened its beak and spewed out a stream of flames. The flames only engulfed Charizard briefly before it gave a pained roar and collapsed to the ground, leaving Slowbro standing alone to face Moltres while Ashley recalled Charizard and sent out another pokemon.

"Slowbro, attack Moltres with Psychic!" Again, Slowbro's expression remained unchanged as it focused its powers. A blue glow surrounded Moltres as Slowbro's Psychic attack began to take effect. A telekinetic force began to crush Moltres and continued for as long as Slowbro could maintain its concenration. Before losing focus on the attack, Slowbro ended it by slamming Moltres into the ground. Moltres didn't stay down long, though, quickly hopping back onto its feet to continue the fight.

"Snorlax, you're up next! Go!" Ashley called out, releasing her bulky pokemon out onto the field next to Slowbro. Snorlax's Thick Fat ability provided her with resistance to fire attacks, making her an ideal switch in while Moltres was able to put up such a powerful offensive. Almost as soon as she appeared, though, Snorlax started to sweat. The four fake suns made the field feel incredibly hot, especially to Snorlax.

"Moltres, attack Slowbro with Flamethrower." At Fire's command, Moltres flapped its wings and took off, moving toward the two pokemon to get a better shot. Moltres then opened its beak and spewed out a stream of flames at Slowbro, knocking it out almost instantly. Lorelei quickly recalled it and quickly reached for another pokemon's pokeball to take Slowbro's place.

"Snorlax, use Amnesia!" Ashley called out. Snorlax focused briefly to forget something, trading in the memory for an increase in its defense against non-physical attacks. As Moltres focused only on fire attacks, this meant Snorlax would be even more resilient to any attack Moltres threw at it.

"Dewgong, go!" Lorelei released her next pokemon, sending out Dewgong into the fray. The water-based pokemon looked rather out of place on land and lying on its stomach next to Snorlax, but Dewgong was more capable on land than most marine water pokemon.

_"That Snorlax is going to be a pest, but I can't give that Dewgong a chance to attack either."_ Fire thought. _"Here goes nothing then..."_

"Moltres, attack both of them with Heat Wave!" Moltres flapped its wings, already remembering its Heat Wave attack. A wave of hot air and flames was unleashed upon Dewgong and Snorlax, inflicting heavy damage on Dewgong. While Snorlax still took a heavy blow as well, the attack seemed to annoy her more than anything.

_"If we're going to have any chance of beating Fire we'll need to take out those artificial suns."_ Lorelei thought, looking up at the artificial sun to the left of her. "Dewgong, attack that object with Signal Beam!"

Dewgong shook off the hit from Moltres' attack and followed Lorelei's direction to see the artificial sun in the corner. Dewgong nodded and fired a thin, rotating, tri-color beam from his horn at it. The beam struck the artificial sun, but served only to crack it.

Snorlax, use Amnesia again!" Ashley called out while Dewgong was attacking. Snorlax focused briefly to forgot something again, further increasing its defenses against Moltres' attacks.

"It will take more than that to destroy my suns." Fire said smugly. "Now, Moltres, use Heat Wave again!" Moltres flapped its wings, sending blasts of hot air at the two pokemon. The hot air was soon accompanied by a river of fire, searing Dewgong and Snorlax. Dewgong cried out sharply and collapsed from the heat while Snorlax continued to endure it.

"Destroying those things is our best shot at winning." Lorelei said to Ashley, observing the damage. "Unfortunately it looks like we'll need more firepower..."

"Wish I could help, but Snorlax can't really do a thing to those suns even if she was willing to move." Ashley replied. She briefly thought over what pokemon she had and how they might be able to help but then realized Snorlax was in pretty rough shape after that last Heat Wave and turned her attention back to the battle.

"Snorlax, use Rest!" Snorlax hesitated for a moment with a furious look on her face. She desparately wanted to strike back at Moltres now for making Snorlax endure such extreme temperatures, but in the end she gave in and closed her eyes. Snorlax fell into a deep sleep, instantly restoring herself to full strength while Lorelei recalled Dewgong. Lorelei was quick in switching pokeballs to send out another pokemon.

"Jynx, go!" Lorelei called out, quickly releasing her psychic pokemon from its pokeball, positioning her behind Snorlax to protect from a Heat Wave attack, and wasting no time in attacking.

"Jynx, use Psychic and smash that sun!" Lorelei commanded, pointing to the same one Dewgong had attacked earlier. Jynx nodded and brought her hands together, focusing a psychic attack on the cracked sphere. It didn't take long before it shattered under Jynx's psychic attack, depriving Moltres of some of its power.

"Hmph. So they managed to destroy one of them." Fire muttered to herself. "Its still not enough to stop Moltres. Moltres' fire attacks are still receiving a large power boost as it is. First things first, though, that Jynx has to go before Lorelei gets any bright ideas."

"Moltres, fly past Snorlax and attack Jynx with Flamethrower!" Fire called out. Moltres gave a flap of its wings and flew across the room toward the two, then hovering just over Snorlax's head to launch its attack. Moltres opened its beak and fired a stream of flames down onto Jynx. The psychic and ice type pokemon let out a cry and quickly collapsed, standing no chance against the power of Moltres' attack. Lorelei quickly recalled her.

Before Lorelei could send out another pokemon, though, Snorlax began to wake up. Noticing Moltres hovering above her, Snorlax gritted her teeth in a rage and quickly stood up to Headbutt Moltres in the jaw. Moltres let out a squawk and fell back, dropping to the ground at Snorlax's feet.

"-I don't know who you are, but this heat is obviously your fault.-" Snorlax said to Moltres in a bitter tone. "-I don't like the heat.-"

"Snorlax attacked Moltres on her own?" Ashley said to herself in disbelief. Lorelei looked over at her curiously, then back at Snorlax. Seeing Snorlax attack Moltres, a grin spread across Ashley's face.

"Snorlax, use Belly Drum! Now!" Ashley called out. Snorlax happily obliged, pounding her chest in a fury. The attack sharply cut her health but maximized her physical attack power.

"What do you hope to accomplish with that?" Fire said to Ashley, seemingly unphased by the turn of events. "All you've managed to do was weaken your pokemon and allow for Moltres to finish it off."

"Oh yeah? Just try it!" Ashley shot back challengingly.

"Have it your way then." Fire shrugged. "Moltres, finish her Snorlax with Flamethrower!"

"Snorlax, end this now! Body Slam!"

Snorlax bent her knees and jumped into the air while Moltres got up and aimed its beak at Snorlax. Moltres fired a blast of flames at Snorlax, but Snorlax was already coming down on top of Moltres by then and hardly seemed bothered by the flames. Snorlax crashed down on top of the fire pokemon, flattening Moltres into the ground and knocking it out instantly with a powered up Body Slam.

"-That'll learn ya.-" Snorlax growled. She stood up and wiped her forehead with her paw. "-Why is it still so hot in here?-"

"D-damn it..." Fire cursed. "I thought for sure her Snorlax would be too slow to attack, even at that range!"

"Ok, now remove its collar, Snorlax!" Snorlax gripped the collar around Moltres' neck and ripped it apart easily, then likewise broke the metal strap around Moltres' body to remove the device on its back.

"Looks like we didn't need to deal with those suns after." Lorelei smiled slightly and looked over at Ashley. "Nice going, your Snorlax handled that just fine."

"Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without your help." Ashley replied.

_"This is impossible! Mystique told me my victory was assured!"_ Fire thought. She slowly backed up and then turned around to flee. Seeing this, Ashley quickly grabbed a pokeball from her belt.

"Ivysaur, go! Grab her with Vine Whip!" Ashley called out, throwing Ivysaur's pokeball across the gym to release Ivysaur closer to Fire. The pokeball opened up and released Ivysaur, at which point he quickly extended his vines. Fire had nearly reached the door on the other side of the room when Ivysaur grabbed her around the legs, tripping her.

"Sorry, Fire, or whatever your real name is, none of you are getting away today!" Ashley declared.

"-We finally go after the rest of the hunters and this is all I get to do?-" Ivysaur said to himself. "-Lame...-"

* * *

"Articuno, take down his Dragonite now with Ice Beam!" Freeze commanded.

"Dragonite, counter with Ice Beam!" Lance commanded similarly. Both pokemon opened their mouths and fired a blue beam across the room. The beams collided in the middle and began forming into a chunk of ice. The ice continued to build up until they finally backed off, leaving a chunk of ice larger than Lance's Dragonite between them.

"Interesting. Seems your Dragonite is better able to defend itself than I thought." Freeze said to Lance. "In that case, lets up the ante. Articuno, Mind Reader!" Articuno closed its eyes and focused, tapping into Dragonite's mind to ensure the next attack would hit.

"No point trying to evade the next one, we'll wait for a chance to strike back instead." Lance thought, then directed his gaze toward the ceiling. "This hail is certainly a nusiance, though. We'll deal with that now."

"Dragonite, ice the ceiling fans!" Lance commanded. Dragonite nodded and tilted its head up to fire an Ice Beam attack at the ceiling. Dragonite strafed the attack across the fans, putting a sheet of ice over the openings and seizing up the fans themselves with ice. It was enough to bring the indoor blizzard to a halt, and Lance was finally able to let go of his cape.

"A useless gesture, Lance, as this battle is now over." Freeze said smugly. "Articuno, Sheer Cold!" Articuno flapped its wings while breathing out a cold air from its beak. Ice began to form on the ground around Dragonite's feet and slowly crept up its legs. Dragonite made no attempt to avoid it, though, allowing the ice to eventually encase his body completely.

"Looks like your only pokemon has been defeated, Lance. Some hero you turned out to be." Freeze said to Lance in a mocking tone, chuckling to himself.

"I think you better look again." Lance said with smirk. The ice encasing Dragonite began to crack and eventually shattered, freeing Dragonite from his prison and leaving him seemingly unscathed. "Dragonite, strike back with Thunder Wave!" Lance then commanded his pokemon. Dragonite brought his hands together and fired a pulse of electricity at Articuno, paralyzing the legendary pokemon.

"WHAT?! Impossible! No pokemon can survive that attack!" Freeze cried out in dismay.

"Perhaps you've forgotten that if the target pokemon is stronger than the pokemon using the technique, then the technique will fail." Lance said to Freeze. "As you can no doubt tell by now...it would seem my Dragonite is indeed stronger than Articuno."

"That...thats impossible!" Freeze growled. "Articuno is a legendary pokemon, there's no way your Dragonite is stronger than it!"

"Legendary pokemon are powerful, but other pokemon can be even stronger than they are. As is the case with my Dragonite." Lance replied. "But enough of this banter. Dragonite, attack Articuno with Thunderbolt!"

"-About time, I'm itching to get back at this guy.-" Dragonite muttered. He charged electricity through his body and held out his hands toward Articuno. A bolt of electricity fired out from Dragonite's outstretched hands, moving past the chunk of ice between them to strike Articuno. Articuno cried out in pain and dropped to its knees as it was struck, the electricity painfully passing through its body.

"Damn..." Freeze growled. "Articuno, strike back with Blizzard!"

"Dragonite, get ready and fly over it."

Articuno struggled to get back on its feet, the paralysis weighing it down. Articuno eventually managed to stand up and began flapping its wings, sending blasts of cold air and ice at Dragonite. Dragonite quickly jumped up and flapped his wings, flying over Articuno's attack and then dropping down behind it.

"Now attack with Thunderbolt again!" Lance called out. Dragonite cupped his hands together and charged electricity through his body, then fired out another bolt at Articuno from behind. Articuno cried out and fell over again, but then quickly got up again and turned around to face Dragonite.

"Articuno, Ice Beam!" Freeze called out, desparate to get an attack in. Articuno opened its mouth and fired out a blue beam at Dragonite. The beam struck the dragon pokemon in the chest, forming a thin sheet of ice. Dragonite cried out and stumbled back from the attack, taking a strong hit due to his high weakness to ice attacks.

"Excellent! Finish it with one more, Articuno!" Freeze called out.

"Dragonite, attack with Outrage!" Dragonite gave a fierce roar, quickly getting over the pain from Articuno's attack and channeling its rage. An orange glow appeared in Dragonite's eyes as it moved toward Articuno. Before Articuno could launch another attack, Dragonite slammed into it and slashed Articuno with his claws. Articuno fell back to the ground and struggled for a moment as it tried to get back up. It had taken considerable damage at this point and paralysis was still affecting it as well.

Continuing his rampage, Dragonite didn't give Articuno a chance to get back up. With Articuno flat out on the ground, Dragonite couldn't very well tackle it. Instead, Dragonite opted for slashing Articuno with each set of claws. Articuno cried out and fell unconscious and, with Articuno's defeat, Dragonite quickly shook off the rage and confusion that briefly followed.

"But...I had the type advantage! And with a legendary pokemon!" Freeze said in disbelief.

"Type advantage doesn't mean everything in battle." Lance said to Freeze. "Your mistake was overestimating Articuno's power, as well as underestimating my own. Had you not allowed me the chance to battle Articuno at all, you would have beaten me. It is your arrogance that cost you this match."

_"I don't get it!"_ Freeze thought. _"Mystique said Sheer Cold would work on Lance's Dragonite, and she's never been wrong before now!"_

"Dragonite, break Articuno's collar." Lance said to his pokemon. Dragonite nodded and reached down to the unconscious pokemon, gripping the slave collar in his hands. Dragonite struggled with it for a moment before finally snapping the device in two. Dragonite then proceded to remove the canister part of the device, snapping it off its bindings.

"Looks like this is it for you." Lance then said to Freeze.

* * *

"Arbok!" Agatha called out, releasing her poisonous snake pokemon out to battle alongside Gengar. However, Gengar wasn't going to stick around much longer itself.

"Gengar, Curse!" Gengar nodded, resigning itself to its fate. A shadowy pin formed in front of Gengar and then stabbed the ghost pokemon through its chest, knocking it out almost instantaneously. A dark aura then surrounded Mew, inflicting it with a Curse. Agatha was alone against Mew, since Mystique had already removed Rina from the battle, and was intent on throwing everything she had at the psychic pokemon.

"Interesting. A shame I can't foresee what attacks a ghost pokemon will use, but it makes no difference." Mystique said to Agatha as she recalled Gengar. Agatha was also getting ready to release another pokemon, having no intention of leaving Arbok to battle alone with the distinct type disadvantage.

"Crobat!" Agatha called out, ignoring Mystique as she released the four winged poison bat out into the battle. She now had two poison pokemon on the field and Mew could only attack one.

"Mew, attack her Arbok with Psychic." Mystique commanded calmly. Mew's eyes flashed and a blue aura surrounded Agatha's Arbok as Mew focused its psychic powers on it. Arbok hissed as a telekinetic force crushed its body. The attack ended when Mew used the last of its power to fling Arbok into the rear wall of the gym, knocking it out instantly. Agatha seemed to expect this, though, and was already recalling Arbok before it could even hit the floor.

_"I only have one pokemon that even stands a chance against this Mew."_ Agatha thought as she took another pokeball in hand. "Misdreavus!" Agatha called out, releasing that very pokemon next. A feminine-looking ghost pokemon with a pearl necklace appeared next to Crobat.

_"I need to help Rina somehow."_ Agatha thought. _"Mew's Curse should buy me some time as it will have to heal eventually. If weren't able to do that then I'm sure Mystique would be more concerned."_

"Misdreavus, attack with Shadow Ball. Crobat, you too."

"Mew, Softboiled!"

Misdreavus and Crobat began forming black shadowy balls, with Crobat forming the attack much faster than Misdreavus. Crobat fired the black ball at Mew, inflicting minor damage on the psychic pokemon, followed by Misdreavus attack hitting Mew with similar results. The psychic pokemon easily shook off both attacks and an egg formed in the air over it. The egg cracked, sprinkling a sparkly dust on Mew that instantly recovered its health.

"Your pokemon can do nothing to Mew." Mystique said to Agatha, chuckling quietly. "You should just surrender already. I've predicted everything that will happen today. From your method of attack, to the downfall of my 'comrades'."

"Downfall?" Agatha asked curiously, furrowing her eyes.

"Of course. I instructed them all into taking a course of action that would lead to their own defeat." Mystique replied, snickering to herself. "Why should I share control over the Grand Hunters? With my capabilities I can lead the hunters into a new age! An age of global domination! The very name will be synomous with fear itself!"

"Is that so?" Agatha intoned with a sly smirk. "Then tell me, what do you see in the future for you and your Grand Hunters?"

"You truly wish to know? Very well then..." Without any shift in her expression, Mystique used her psychic powers to search for a vision of the future. In doing so, however, she had unintentionally released her mental grip on Rina. The girl batted her eyes and slowly stood up, looking somewhat disoriented. All of a sudden a look of fear began to form on Mystique's face.

"Ow...what happened?" Rina asked groggily, rubbing the side of her head. She looked across the gym toward Mystique and blinked in disbelief when she saw the look of fear on her face. "What happened to her?"

"She's receiving a taste of her own medicine." Agatha said to Rina, chuckling to herself.

"You...you tricked me!" Mystique accused Agatha in a raspy tone. "There's no way this can be real! I've come too far to lose now! This changes nothing! NOTHING, YOU HEAR ME?!"

"Now, now, now, whats the matter? Is the future not turning out quite how you planned?" Agatha mocked Mystique, then glanced over at Rina. "Child, perhaps now would be a good time for you to use that collar-busting technique of your's?"

"Right!" Rina nodded and quickly grabbed Pippi's pokeball from her belt. "Ok, Pippi! Come on out!" She called out, releasing Pippi from her pokeball.

"-Phew! Its about time!-" Pippi said as she appeared. Seeing Mew she tilted her head to the side and peered at it curiously. "-What pokemon is that?-"

"I'll explain later!" Rina said to Pippi. "Now get in there and break the strap around Mew's chest with Volt Tackle!"

"-Ok, got it!-" Pippi charged electricity around her body and took off running across the gym.

"You won't win that easily!" Mystique growled. "Mew, Hypnosis!"

"Pippi, stop and use Double Team!" Pippi came screeching to a halt as Mew started to focus hypnotic, psychic waves on her. She began to feel drowsy, but before falling asleep she managed to split off into multiple images of herself. With six copies of Pippi now facing it, Mew didn't know who to continue the attack on, sparing Pippi from falling asleep.

"Damn it..." Mystique growled. "Mew, use Softboiled." Mew focused briefly, forming an egg out of nowhere over its head. The egg crackled, sprinkling a restorative substance down onto Mew. With Mew taking constant damage from Curse, it needed to keep its health up.

"She has this under control now." Agatha thought, taking a pokeball in each hand and resting her cane against her side for a moment. "Crobat, Misdreavus, you both did well. Now, return." Agatha held up the pokeballs and recalled each of her pokemon, then put the pokeballs away and took her cane in hand again.

"Ok, now lets try this again! Volt Tackle!" Rina called out. Pippi quickly formed the aura of electricity around herself again and then shot toward Mew, smashing into Mew's stomach and striking the metal band around its torso. Mew cried out and staggered back, and the metal band snapped at the point of impact.

Mew was still under the effects of the collar, but the effect seemed to be weakened. Mew started shaking its head violently, trying to fight off the device's control. Eventually Mew's body began to shift, its skin changing to a yellow color and body briefly losing shape until it dropped out of the collar. Mew fell to the ground and continued reconfiguring its body until the transformation was complete. When Pippi got back up, after being bounced back from the impact, she found herself face to face with another Pikachu.

"-Huh?! Where did you come from?-" Pippi asked the other Pikachu, who was actually Mew transformed into a Pikachu.

"-I'm Mew!-" The transformed Mew replied cheerfully. "-Thanks for breaking that thingy!-"

"Mew can transform?" Rina asked, blinking in disbelief.

"It would seem so. I suppose such a capability makes sense for a pokemon rumored to be the ancestor of all pokemon." Agatha said.

"-Oh...your welcome then...-" Pippi blinked, still not understanding why she was now speaking with another Pikachu. All she knew now was it was actually Mew. Mew turned to face Mystique while its body began to shift again, reverting back to Mew.

"-You're a bad lady!-" Mew said to Mystique. "-I...ow!-" Mew winced, feeling the curse still taking its toll.

"It seems all you have succeeded in today, Mystique, is engineering the end of the Grand Hunters in its entirety." Agatha said to Mystique. "In your attempt to take over, you sacrificed your allies and entrusted your own victory to psychic visions. The future is constantly in motion, Mystique."

"I don't need a lecture from you, grandma!" Mystique spat.

"Grandma? Hmph..." Agatha said indignantly.

"-Hey! Can I get a heal, please?-" Mew asked, giving Pippi a pleading look. "-I'm still cursed and it hurts!-"

"-I don't think I can help you with that...-" Pippi said to Mew.

"I think you'll have to wait for it to wear off." Rina added. Mew looked at her curiously and then quickly floated over to her, flipping upsidedown in the process.

"-You can understand me?-" Mew asked Rina. Rina nodded to it. "-Wow! I didn't think humans could!-"

"Its...a rare talent..." Rina explained. "Anyway, you should just keep using Softboiled until the curse wears off and then you'll be fine."

"Unless Mew was willing to go into a pokeball, that may take awhile." Agatha said to Rina. "Of course, Mew could also choose to allow the Curse to knock it out. I have a few Revives with me."

"Oh! That could work!" Rina smiled at Mew. "If you're willing to go through with that then we could just revive you as soon as you're knocked out." She said to it.

"-Hmm...-" Mew flipped rightside up and leaned in closer to Rina, looking her straight in the eye for a few seconds before nodding to her. "-Ok! You seem trustworthy enough!-" Mew waited another short moment before suddenly collapsing into Rina. Rina caught the small pokemon in her arms.

"That Mew has them distracted it seems..." Mystique thought, grinning to herself. "Time for me to make my escape!" Mystique turned to flee the area, but found Pippi already standing in her way.

"-Sorry, but trespassers will be shocked.-" Pippi said to Mystique, grinning widely. Mystique growled, but said nothing.

Agatha reached into one of her pockets and retrieved a single Revive crystal, then handed it off to Rina. Rina took the crystal in one hand and crushed it, then sprinkled the dust on Mew's unconscious form. Mew quickly opened its eyes and Rina let go of it, allowing Mew to float in the air again.

"-Ooh! Thats much better!-" Mew said, sounding rather pleased.

"Let us be going now." Agatha said to them. "I'm sure the others are waiting outside."

* * *

With the Grand Hunters all rounded up, and the legendary pokemon freed from their control, the trainers all met back outside on the island. There was no sign of Galactica anywhere when they got out, but Lance contacted Koga and was assured that Red had shown up to deal with Galactica and that Deoxys was spotted leaving the island alone.

The remaining hunters were all tied up and tossed on board the Sea Gallop, and the three legendary birds were quickly fixed up with a Revive each. Mew was still hanging around Rina as well, despite now having the chance to leave the island.

"It seems Galactica may or may not have escaped." Lance said to the group once everyone was gathered and the three legendary birds healed. "We can't find her, all we know is Deoxys left on its own and Red was here. I would rather not think of what he might have done to Galactica, given that he has kept quiet on what he did with Giovanni as well." The rest of the group remained silent, allowing for Lance to continue.

"Aside from that, only the hunters shadowy leader remains to be found. As an organization, though, they are pretty much done for. There is nowhere for them to run now."

"Well if thats it, I'm getting out of here." Gary muttered, taking a pokeball from his belt. "I ain't spending another minute with these losers. Pidgeot, come on out!" Gary held up the pokeball and released his Pidgeot next to him.

"Do what you wish then, Gary." Lance said with a sigh. Ashley glared at Gary, but he didn't notice as he climbed onto Pidgeot's back and took off.

"-Wow, that guy seems like a jerk.-" Mew commented.

"He is." Rina whispered to Mew.

Once Gary had left, Lance turned to address the three legendary birds. "We've dealt with the hunters who had enslaved you." He said to them. "You are free to go now, we won't stop you." Lance looked back toward Mew. "Same goes for you as well, Mew."

"-I'm in no hurry, you guys are kinda interesting.-" Mew replied, smiling.

"-Interesting?-" Pippi asked, twitching her ears.

Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres looked around at the group and then backed away. They didn't flee, however. Instead, they turned to face each other, and sounded as though they were talking amongst themselves.

"-There is no doubt, that is the same girl.-" Articuno said to Zapdos and Moltres.

"-I recognize her as well.-" Zapdos said, casting a glance toward the group. "-Its clear what we must do. I won't make the mistake of underestimating her again.-"

"-I doubt its the same girl, but the resemblance is uncanny.-" Moltres added. "-I agree that we should at least give her the chance to challenge us.-"

"Rina, what are they saying?" Ashley asked. Everyone else looked at her expectantly.

"I don't know, I can't make them out." Rina replied. After talking amongst themselves for a moment, Articuno turned around and scanned the group. The legendary bird seemed to focus on Rina as it moved toward them again.

"-We wish to battle the one you call 'Ashley'.-" Articuno said, apparently expecting that Rina would understand it. Rina and Pippi looked on in shock and Mew seemed confused, wondering what the big deal about it was. Again, everyone looked to Rina, expecting an explanation.

"Umm...Ashley?" Rina said nervously as she looked over at her.

"What is it?" Ashley asked her.

"They want to battle you..."

* * *

Author's Notes: That two Snorlax KO was more or less unplanned. When I was making up the 'win' scenarios it just happened to lead to Snorlax for both Red and Ashley, and in Ashley's case providing an opportunity for Snorlax to get up off its lazy ass and attack for once.

Galactica, obviously, escaped capture for now. She probably won't be making another appearance in this saga. I may have other plans for her yet. As for the obvious upcoming battle, I intend to give a little backstory before we jump into that one. For anyone thats read the "Legends in Hoenn" series that came before this, there's going to be a brief "History Chapter"-type blurb at the beginning of the next chapter to explain a few things basically.

As for the mysterious leader of the Grand Hunters...well, its no one anyone knows at this point. He will be making an appearance eventually, but there's a few more chapters left until then. In the next few chapters, though, expect a few things to start coming together.


	37. Chapter 35: Fire, Ice, and Lightning

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Thirty Five**

**Fire, Ice, and Lightning**

A long, long time ago, in ancient Kanto...

A brown haired girl wearing armor, made from leather, and carrying a large sword on her back, stood at the edge of a valley. Behind her, her tribe had set up a temporary encampment. Ahead of them, high on the cliffs, were three caves. Each cave belonged to a different pokemon, pokemon that were preventing the tribe from moving through the valley.

"This time I will get them for sure." The girl said under her breath.

"AISHA!" The girl, Aisha, heard a voice calling out from behind her. Aisha let out a sigh. She already knew who it was. She heard footsteps approaching her, coming to a stop only a few feet behind her.

"Aisha, you better not be thinking of going out there on your own again!" A yellow-haired girl said to her. She was two years younger than Aisha and, after recent events had left her tribe doubting her leadership, was assigned to be her 'advisor' as well as a negotiator. She was chosen in particular due to a unique ability she possessed.

"That WAS the plan, yes." Aisha replied in an annoyed tone.

"No way! I'm going with you!" The girl shot back.

"And just what help would you be? You can't even control a pokemon on your own, Lina." Aisha replied, turning sideways to look back at the girl. Unlike her, the girl was dressed in an ordinary cotton shirt and shorts. She didn't have a need to wear armor, though Aisha hardly needed the protection either since her pokemon did most of the fighting.

"I can still try negotiating with them at least!"

"Yeah, that just went over so well with those Ptera too." Aisha spat. "There's no negotiating with pokemon, Lina. All they are concerned with is their own survival. They can only be controlled."

"We won't know that for sure if you don't let me talk to them!" Lina replied indignantly, clenching her fists. "Besides, you're supposed to be listening to me, remember."

"Whatever." Aisha grumbled, turning her back to the girl. "Feel free to tag along then. It'll hardly be any loss if the thunder bird shocks you." Aisha gave a shrug and then started off into the valley.

_"Her attitude lately is starting to bug me..."_ Lina thought, following behind her.

- Insert Line Here -

The two girls made their way through the valley without saying a word to each other. Eventually they ascended the wall of the valley to reach a small cave near the top. It was one of three caves that seemed to exist just for the bird pokemon Aisha had encountered in the valley, and this particular cave was home to the thunder bird she was seeking.

_"After the losses I've incurred against these birds I am finally ready."_ Aisha thought, a determined expression on her face as she walked through the darkened cave. _"The thunder bird will fall first, then I can use the thunder bird to defeat the fire bird. With the birds of thunder and fire under my control, the bird of ice will be an easy catch."_

"I'm talking to this one before you try fighting it again." Lina said to Aisha, interrupting her thoughts. Aisha had almost forgotten the girl was following her up until then.

"Do what you want, just don't expect me to save you if negotiations fail again." Aisha shot back. It was an idle threat, though. She had nothing against Lina on a personal level. Lina was usually so upbeat all the time that she was hard to hate unless you just hated people for being in a good mood. Aisha did, however, take issue with the idea of having an advisor and wasn't too thrilled with her ideas of trying to negotiate with pokemon.

"Someday you'll appreciate having someone around who can talk to pokemon." Lina muttered.

The two continued through the darkened cave, and eventually it started to become somewhat brighter. The cave opened up into a large cavern with a straw nest in the center and an open ceiling, letting the daylight shine through. Resting in the nest was a bird pokemon with jagged, yellow feathers covering its body and giving it an appearance symbolic of lightning.

The thunder bird rose to its feet when it saw Aisha and Lina enter its nesting area. It glared at the two and spread out its wings, charging electricity around the edges and looking like it was ready to attack. Aisha quickly took one of the pyramid-shaped objects, which were hanging around her neck, in her hand and reached for her sword. Before she could do anything with either object, though, Lina quickly stepped out in front of her.

"WAIT!" Lina called out. The thunder bird, surprised by this, actually backed down, as did Aisha.

"Pokemon, we come here to talk, not to fight." Lina said to it. The bird pokemon looked at her intently, apparently listening to her.

"Speak for yourself..." Ashley muttered under her breath.

"Tell us why you won't let us pass through the valley." Lina said to the thunder bird. "If you would just let us pass through the valley then..."

"-Can you even understand me?-" The pokemon asked, cutting her off. "-No? Didn't think so. Trying to communicate with you humans would be pointless.-"

"Actually, I can understand you." Lina replied with a slight smirk. The pokemon was shocked to hear her say this.

"-Thats...certainly a first.-" Came the bird's hesitant response. "-Very well then. The reason we do not allow your kind to pass is, simply put, as a test. Only those who prove themselves worthy by defeating myself, Articuno, and Moltres in battle may pass.-"

"Huh..." Lina blinked. "So...is there any chance at all you will let us through without a fight?" Lina asked. The pokemon shook its head. Lina let out a sigh and turned to Aisha.

"Well?" Aisha asked, looking at her expectantly.

"The pokemon want to test us." Lina explained to her, looking a bit upset. "Looks like you get your battle afterall."

"Thats fine by me." Aisha replied with a grin, then stepped out in front of her. "As leader of the Kanto tribe I, Aisha, accept your challenge, pokemon!"

"-Yes, because your overgrown bug just fared so well last time.-" The pokemon rolled its eyes. "-And stop calling me 'pokemon'. My name is Zapdos.-"

"The pokemon said its name is Zapdos." Lina informed Aisha.

"Zapdos then. Either way, I don't intend to lose this time." Aisha reached back and carefully drew her sword. Her sword was a rather large one, requiring her to use a second hand to steady it. Holding it out straight, the ruby embedded in the blade glistened in the light shining down on it. Aisha then dropped the pyramid-shaped object to the ground at her feet and pointed the sword at it.

"Rejice, release!" Aisha called out. The ruby on her blade began to glow and the object split open, releasing a small green energy orb. The orb expanded immediately, forming into an ice golem standing at almost six feet tall. Several gemstones formed the pokemon's 'face', and they flashed briefly as the pokemon came to life. With Rejice released, Aisha let the heavy sword drop to her side.

"-Well this is a new one. Perhaps it will prove to be more of a challenge then. I highly doubt it though.-" Zapdos spread its wings and hopped out of the nest. "-Take your best shot, human.-"

"Rejice, attack with a cold wind!" Aisha commanded. Rejice stretched out its arms toward Zapdos and released a blast of cold air and light snow. Zapdos shivered as it felt the cold wind rush over itself. Before the wind stopped, though, Zapdos gathered electricity around the edges of its wings and fired a short blast at Rejice. The ice golem hardly seemed to notice, though.

"-Well, its certainly a tougher pokemon than the last at least.-" Zapdos said to itself.

_"I don't think that hurt it much, so lets try a different approach."_ Aisha thought. "Rejice, summon inner power now!" Rejice's eyes flashed and it held out its thick, icy arms as it began to focus its inner strength. Rocks began to break loose from its surroundings and hovered around it.

_"This attack worked well on her last pokemon..."_ Zapdos thought as it began to form a vacuum of air around its beak. Zapdos flapped its wings, hovering while it awaited Rejice's attack. Rejice flung a barrage of rocks at Zapdos which the thunder bird then tried to avoid, but took a glancing blow to the wing. Zapdos quickly shook it off, though, and flew toward Rejice to stab the golem with a drilling beak attack. Rejice easily withstood the attack, forcing Zapdos to soon back off.

_"I think that did even less. Guess we'll just have to go with our strongest attack!"_ Aisha thought, clenching a fist determinedly. "Rejice, full power attack now!"

_"Does Aisha even know what she's doing?"_ Lina wondered, frowning to herself as she watched the battle.

Maintaining the same pose, Rejice began to gather power. Zapdos began to fly backwards to avoid the attack, but Rejice quickly focused its power and gave chase. Bringing both arms together with a powerful aura churning about its body, Rejice seemingly slid across the ground without moving its feet. Rejice soon caught up with Zapdos and struck the bird below the beak, throwing the pokemon back into its nest with a powerful strike. Zapdos seemed to easily shake it off, though, and quickly stood up.

"-You call that 'full power'? Don't make me laugh!-" Zapdos said mockingly as it charged electricity through its wings again. Zapdos still couldn't tell what its best option for attacking Rejice was, so it opted to use another electric attack. The electricity shot out with a flap of Zapdos' wings, blasting Rejice with a direct attack. Again, Rejice remained seemingly unharmed.

_"Why is it I cannot hurt this...thing?"_ Zapdos wondered. To Zapdos, its attacks all seemed completely ineffective.

_"Ok, guess that didn't work out too well actually..."_ Aisha thought, wincing. "Rejice, draw out your inner power again!" Rejice threw its arms out, focusing its power and causing rocks to float around it again. The rocks then shot toward Zapdos, but in a flash of movement Zapdos was gone and reappeared next to the nest.

"What the?!" Aisha shouted in shock at Zapdos' sudden movement. "That technique...I couldn't even follow it!"

"But she's seen a pokemon shoot electricity and use a spinning mouth attack?" Lina thought curiously.

"Lets see you evade this, then! Rejice, surround Zapdos with a cold wind!" Aisha called out while thrusting her free hand forward. Rejice thrust its arms toward Zapdos, sending a blast of cold air at the electric pokemon. Zapdos shivered and staggered back, feeling the cold wind cutting into it. Zapdos quickly fired back, blasting Rejice with another electric attack that hardly seemed to affect it. Zapdos, meanwhile, was obviously starting to weaken.

_"I think we've almost got it!"_ Aisha thought, a smirk forming on her lips. "Rejice, again! Same technique!" Rejice's body again chilled the air and sent a blast of cold wind at Zapdos. Zapdos fell back as it felt its legs grow weak, the cold air numbing its body and draining its strength. Zapdos shook it off and cast a glare at Rejice.

"-Thats enough!-" Zapdos growled bitterly. "-My attacks are having little effect on your fighter. I cannot possibly win at this rate. Therefore, I admit defeat...-"

"Zapdos is surrending." Lina said, translating for Aisha.

"Then you'll let us pass through the valley?" Aisha asked Zapdos.

"-No, you must defeat Articuno and Moltres as well first.-" Zapdos replied. "-However, since you have managed to defeat me, I will join you in battle.-"

"Zapdos says you have to beat the other two, Articuno and Moltres, first, and Zapdos will help you battle against them." Lina explained to Aisha.

"Fine by me then." Aisha said with a smirk. "In that case, I suggest you rest up, Zapdos. I will be needing your power against the other two."

Aisha and Lina left the cave, giving Zapdos a day to rest. The next day, Aisha recruited Zapdos to challenge the fire bird Moltres. With Zapdos battling for her, Aisha was able to claim victory easily and Moltres likewise pledged to battle by her side. Aisha then used Moltres to beat their leader, the ice bird Articuno, and gained the ice bird as a third ally and could finally lead her tribe through the cave.

With the three legendary birds in her control, Aisha convinced them to remain guardians for Kanto throughout the ages. Gaining the power of the legendary birds also gained her favor within her tribe again and the elders allowed her to make decisions on her own again. However, she decided to keep Lina with her in the end for her ability to speak with pokemon.

* * *

Present day...

"Ok, you three, hold still now!" Ashley focused her camera on the three birds posing before her with their wings stretched out. She took a quick picture and then examined her work. "Kinda boring looking. Still a picture of three legendary pokemon, though!" She said to herself, pocketing her newly printed photo.

"-Why are we doing this again?-" Zapdos whispered to Articuno and Moltres.

"-Humor her.-" Moltres replied quietly.

"Ok, now I'm ready to battle. Rina?" Rina nodded and walked over to Ashley. Ashley then handed her the camera. "Make sure you get plenty of pictures!"

"I'll do my best!" Rina replied, nodding enthusiastically. "Good luck, Ashley!" Rina quickly ran back over to where the Elite Four were standing alongside Pippi and the mirage pokemon Mew. They had stayed to watch Ashley attempt to capture the three legendary birds and were all standing off to the side to keep out of the way.

"Now lets get this started!" Ashley called out excitedly as she drew three pokeballs from her belt. "Snorlax! Pidgeot! Charizard! Go!" The three pokeballs opened up, releasing their respective pokemon before her. Charizard gave a loud roar to announce his prescence as usual while Snorlax cast an angry glare at Moltres, the previous battle still fresh in her mind. Pidgeot grinned eagerly when he saw the three birds, already realizing what he was up against and looking forward to the challenge.

"I don't understand, why did they single out Ashley specifically?" Lance wondered aloud.

"Come to think of it, Zapdos acted strangely when one of the hunters ordered it to attack Ashley." Rina said. "Its almost like they know her somehow."

"I don't think they stand much of a chance, regardless." Lorelei commented. "After seeing how Ashley handled herself against Moltres with a power boost, I'm sure she can handle them on her own."

"-Why are they fighting Rina's friend?-" Mew wondered aloud, floating upside down next to Rina and Pippi.

"-Thats what everyone else wants to know.-" Pippi said to Mew.

"-Zapdos, Moltres, lets begin with a co-ordinated assault.-" Articuno said to the other two birds. The two of them nodded and began preparing for their attacks, Moltres visibly gathering fire in its beak and Zapdos charging electricity across its wings. Articuno joined the two, a blue orb of energy forming as it opened its beak.

"Pidgeot, evade with Quick Attack! Charizard, Snorlax...brace yourselves!" Ashley called out, reacting as quickly as she could. Pidgeot dashed out of the way with a quick attack as the three birds fired, managing to avoid the Flamethrower that would have hit it. Ashley's Charizard takes a direct hit from Articuno's Ice Beam, briefly forming a layer of ice on its chest before breaking off, and Snorlax barely flinched as Zapdos' Thunderbolt attack zapped her.

"Ok, now fire back at Articuno with Flamethrower, Charizard! Snorlax, you use Amnesia! Pidgeot, attack Moltres with Air Cutter!" Charizard opened his mouth, firing a blast of flames back at the ice bird. Articuno was briefly engulfed in the fire until it took off straight up. Snorlax, meanwhile, concentrated briefly to forget something and increase its defense against special attacks, and Pidgeot fired a v-shaped blade of air to cut into Moltres.

"-Moltres, concentrate on the Pidgeot. Zapdos, you concentrate on Snorlax. I will handle Charizard.-" Articuno said, issuing commands to the other two birds. Moltres nodded and flapped its wings, taking off into the sky as well in hopes of leading Pidgeot away.

"Pidgeot, go after Moltres and use Wing Attack. Charizard, you go after Articuno and use Flamethrower again. Snorlax, put Zapdos to sleep with Yawn."

Pidgeot and Charizard took off into the sky and didn't take long to catch up with their respective targets. As Pidgeot neared Moltres, Moltres pulled a u-turn and came toward Pidgeot. The two birds flew past each other, their wings stretched out to strike as they flew by. The impact from their collision knocked each pokemon to the side slightly but they quickly adjusted their course.

Charizard opened his mouth and sent a blast of flames at Articuno once it was in range. Articuno knew the attack would be coming, though, and quickly swerved to the side to evade it. Articuno then performed a u-turn and fired an Ice Beam attack at Charizard, but Charizard likewise swerved to the side to evade it. Articuno remained hovering in the air as Charizard flew by it.

Back on the ground, Zapdos charged electricity along its wings and fired a pulse at Snorlax. The weak electric attack passed through Snorlax's body harmlessly but paralyzed her muscles, slowing her movements. Snorlax followed up, with no immediate hindrance by the paralysis, by spewing a white gas from her mouth with a Yawn. The gas surrounded Zapdos, causing the electric bird to become drowsy.

After dealing with their respective opponents, Moltres and Articuno turned toward each other. Pidgeot and Charizard followed behind, keeping up with their targets while awaiting further orders. Zapdos, meanwhile, fired a bolt of electricity at Snorlax before falling asleep. Snorlax winced in pain as the electricity struck her, but she was able to take the attack rather easily.

_"What are those two?"_ Ashley wondered, observing Moltres and Articuno's actions. _"I bet they're trying to get Pidgeot and Charizard to attack each other, so I'll have Pidgeot use Swift and Charizard go up and then follow up after."_

"Pidgeot, attack Moltres with Swift! Charizard, gain altitude! Snorlax, use Belly Drum!" Pidgeot and Charizard quickly made their move, Pidgeot firing out several star-shaped rays from his wings and Charizard angled himself to fly straight up. Pidgeot's attack homed in on Moltres and hit, but neither Charizard nor Pidgeot were ready for what the legendary pokemon had really planned.

Articuno flew over Moltres with only inches to spare between them. This allowed for Articuno to land a surprise attack on Pidgeot, blasting him with an Ice Beam that froze Pidgeot's wings and sent him plummeting toward the ground. Pidgeot was stunned for a moment while he fell. As soon as he realized what had happened his smashed his wings together, shattering the ice, and then pointed down to gain momentum as if in a dive and pulled out before hitting the ground.

Moltres, meanwhile, started to follow behind Charizard while an orange glow surrounded its body. Charizard continued to fly straight up, oblivious to the fact that Moltres was even following him. Back on the ground, Snorlax began pounding on her chest while Zapdos remained asleep. Using her Belly Drum technique, Snorlax inflicted pain on herself to drastically increase her attack power.

_"That Snorlax could be troublesome..."_ Articuno thought, observing from above. Pidgeot, back in the air, sped past Articuno to continue chasing Moltres, leaving Articuno alone to consider its next move. Articuno focused for a moment, reading into Snorlax's thoughts.

"Looks like Moltres is getting ready for an attack, better watch out for it." Ashley thought. "Charizard, stop and drop! Pidgeot, Double Edge! Snorlax, attack Zapdos with Headbutt!" Snorlax stood up, looking as though she would go on the offense for a change. However, as she took a step forward, she felt her body go numb and her muscles wouldn't respond. Paralysis set in, keeping her from attacking.

With Snorlax paralyzed, Zapdos finally woke up and quickly shook off its grogginess from being asleep. Seeing Snorlax stumbling, Zapdos spread its wings and charged electricity through them. A bolt of electricity shot out from Zapdos' body and struck Snorlax. Snorlax cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground. After using Belly Drum, a Thunderbolt from Zapdos was more than Snorlax could take.

"Looks like I wasn't needed afterall." Articuno thought, then cast its gaze up at the battle between Charizard, Pidgeot, and Moltres.

Charizard stopped flapping his wings and began to drop straight down. Moltres wasn't about to let Charizard get by so easily, though. A fiery aura surrounded Moltres and it shot into Charizard with a Sky Attack, flipping Charizard over in the air and sending him plummeting head first into the ground.

Moltres came to a stop high in the air and looked back to survey the damage, leaving it unable to avoid Pidgeot even as it saw him coming toward it. Pidgeot smashed into Moltres in a midair tackle, sending both pokemon plummeting toward the ground. Pidgeot quickly recovered, holding out his wings to stop and then flapping them again to hover in the air. Moltres soon followed suit but was far below Pidgeot, leaving it hovering next to Articuno. Charizard also managed to just barely recover before hitting the ground, and Ashley recalled Snorlax.

"-I can't take much more of this...-" Moltres said to Articuno, panting heavily. "-Her pokemon are clearly on the same level as us at the very least.-"

"-You are right, but we cannot give in so easily.-" Articuno said to Moltres. "-The Pidgeot and Charizard are both weakened now, one strike will finish them. Zapdos is in range to attack Charizard, so let us concentrate on her Pidgeot.-"

"-Very well.-" Moltres replied, nodding to Articuno. The two of them then took off up toward Pidgeot while preparing to attack. Charizard started to fly up after them as well, but a lightning bolt shot up from the ground caught him off guard. Charizard collapsed to the ground and fell unconscious, forcing Ashley to recall him as well.

"Pidgeot, dive and use Quick Attack!" Ashley called out while frantically reaching for two more pokeballs. "Jolteon! Ivysaur! Go!" She held up one pokeball in each hand, sending out Jolteon and Ivysaur to battle next. Meanwhile, Articuno and Moltres both attacked Pidgeot with Ice Beam and Flamethrower respectively. Pidgeot dove down toward the ground, using quick attack to quickly move out of the way and join up with Ivysaur and Jolteon as they emerged.

"-Damn. Its about time.-" Ivysaur said with a grin.

"-So these are the legendary birds.-" Jolteon mused. "-Well, zap one bird, you've zapped them all.-"

"-Don't underestimate them, they defeated Charizard and Snorlax already.-" Pidgeot warned them. Ivysaur and Jolteon nodded.

"Ashley's down two pokemon already! I hope she can still pull it off!" Rina said worriedly.

"Whatever will be, will be." Agatha said calmly. "I believe if she is meant to win here today, then she will do just that."

"You really think its that simple?" Rina asked Agatha, blinking in disbelief. Agatha nodded.

"Many legendary pokemon, such as those you see before you now, exist to test us humans." Agatha said. "Though I cannot say why they have chosen Ashley, I am sure they have reason for it."

"Hmm..." Lance considered what Agatha said for a moment and looked over at Rina. "Rina, you said they seemed to recognize Ashley, correct?"

"Well...umm...seemed like it anyway..." Rina replied hesitantly, recalling the battle in Vermilion. "Zapdos resisted the slave collar's effect when ordered to attack Ashley, but only after getting a good look at her. When I had to fight Knight, he resisted the collar's effect too."

"I see." Lance nodded and looked back toward the battle. "It seems possible, but I say we'd need more proof than that."

"Ashley and her pokemon have grown strong. I don't doubt for a moment that she is capable of capturing them, so long as she does not give up." Bruno added, nodding slightly.

"-Hmm...-" Mew, having heard the group talking, looked out at the legendary birds for a moment. Mew then looked back at Rina, as if considering something.

_"Ok, I've got them where I want them now."_ Ashley thought with a smirk. "Jolteon, take point! Intercept any attack from Zapdos. Ivysaur, use Stun Spore and Pidgeot you use Gust to bring it to Articuno and Moltres!"

Jolteon quickly moved out in front of the group while Ivysaur and Pidgeot attacked. Ivysaur quickly released a cloud of spores into the air and Pidgeot flapped his wings, kicking up strong gusts of wind to send the spores toward Articuno and Moltres. The spores paralyzed the two, causing them to drop out of the air and crash into the ground next to Zapdos.

"-It will take more than a single pokemon to stop me.-" Zapdos stated as it quickly charged electricity and fired off a Thunderbolt attack. The bolt struck Jolteon and was immediately absorbed into his fur with little effect.

"-Really? What if its a single pokemon who regains strength from your strongest attacks?-" Jolteon said to Zapdos with a grin.

"Good job!" Ashley said to her pokemon. "Jolteon, follow up by paralyzing Zapdos with Thunder Wave! Pidgeot, keep them down with Gust until Ivysaur puts them to sleep with Sleep Powder." The three pokemon nodded and Jolteon quickly attacked first, firing a pulse of electricity at the grounded Zapdos. Zapdos grunted and stumbled back as the electricity passed through it, paralyzing Zapdos' muscles.

Articuno and Moltres were struggling to their feet as Pidgeot moved out ahead of Jolteon. Both Articuno and Moltres opened their beaks to attack Pidgeot, but Pidgeot began flapping his wings and quickly knocked them back with a strong gust of wind. The three legendary birds were knocked off their feet, keeping them from attacking for a moment.

Articuno raised its head to try to fire an Ice Beam attack at Pidgeot, but by then Ivysaur had released a Sleep Powder attack into the wind Pidgeot was kicking up. The powder landed on all three pokemon, sending the paralyzed birds into a deep sleep. Ashley then quickly grabbed a single Great Ball from her bag.

"Here goes nothing!" Ashley called out as she lobbed the ball at the sleeping and paralyzed Moltres. The ball landed on top of Moltres and opened up, pulling the fire pokemon inside. It then dropped to the ground and started to shake, continuing to do so for several tense moments before locking shut with a click and disappearing in a white light.

"She caught one!" Rina cheered.

"-Wow! I can't believe she's actually doing it!-" Pippi said in disbelief.

"This hardly comes as a surprise to me." Lorelei said with a smirk.

"ALRIGHT! Thats one down, two to go!" Ashley shouted enthusiastically. "The other two are still asleep too, so lets hit them hard and start with Articuno. Jolteon, Thunderbolt! Pidgeot, Air Cutter! Ivysaur, you attack Zapdos with Leech Seed!"

Pidgeot and Jolteon were still taking point as they made their attack. Jolteon's fur bristled with electricity and Pidgeot brought his wings together, then Jolteon fired a bolt of electricity followed by Pidgeot firing a v-shaped blade of air. Articuno cried out in pain as Jolteon's Thunderbolt attack struck it, barely noticing the damage inflicted by Pidgeot's Air Cutter by comparison. Articuno quickly hopped back on its feet, fully awake now. Ivysaur, meanwhile, fired a seed from the plant on his back, planting it on Zapdos and starting to slowly sap its health.

"-She reversed the situation...but I won't go down so easily...-" Articuno said under its breath. Articuno flung out its wings, sending a blast of cold air, snow, and ice at Jolteon and Pidgeot. Ivysaur, who was in behind the two, was protected from the attack. Pidgeot collapsed almost immediately, but Jolteon was able to withstand it and shook it off when it was all over.

"Jolteon, use Thunderbolt again!" Ashley called out as she recalled Pidgeot. Jolteon fired off another quick Thunderbolt attack, striking Articuno with a bolt of electricity. Articuno cried out and collapsed in exhaustion as the rest of its strength was drained from it.

"Ok, this one we definitely have then!" Ashley took another Great Ball from her bag and tossed it at the unconscious Articuno. The ball opened up and pulled Articuno inside, then locked shut almost immediately to seal it in. A white light enveloped the ball as it and the Articuno trapped inside were sent off to storage.

"Seems that one was their leader." Lance said. "She probably should have went for that one first."

"Two down, just one more to go now!" Ashley cried out excitedly. Zapdos shook its head and started to stand up, waking up to find itself the only pokemon remaining.

"-Seems I'm at quite the disadvantage now.-" Zapdos said to itself, still fairly well off due to the only attacks landing having been status attacks and Ivysaur's Leech Seed. "-But I'm not just going to back down. Take your best shot.-" Zapdos charged electricity along its wings and fired a Thunderbolt attack. The bolt arced past Jolteon and struck Ivysaur. Ivysaur growled in pain but easily withstood the attack, shaking it off after the electricity passed through him.

"Jolteon, charge for a Thunderbolt but don't fire!" Ashley commanded Jolteon. She didn't feel the need to issue a command to Ivysaur at this point. Jolteon's fur bristled, charging with electricity in preparation for its attack.

"Now's my chance!" Zapdos thought. With a flap of its wings, Zapdos flew past Jolteon. A vacuum of air swirled around Zapdos' beak like a mini tornado. Zapdos glided in toward Ivysaur, catching the grass pokemon off guard and skewering him with its beak and tossing him back. Ivysaur growled as he hit the ground and still had strength to get back up again.

"-You'll have to do better than that...-" Ivysaur said to Zapdos.

"Scratch that then..." Ashley thought, realizing her planned attack wouldn't quite work now. However, she had already managed to come up with a different technique to use.

"Jolteon, turn and use Thunderbolt now!" Jolteon quickly turned to face Zapdos, who was now almost directly behind him, and then fired off a Thunderbolt attack at point-blank range. Zapdos screeched as the attack passed through its body, but was able to take the attack better than Articuno or Moltres could due to being an electric type as well. Zapdos was still looking fairly weak after enduring the attack, though, due to Leech Seed still draining it's strength.

"Now, Ivysaur, finish it with Double Edge!" Ivysaur quickly charged toward Zapdos and eagerly threw himself into the bird pokemon with a full body tackle attack. Zapdos grunted from the impact and was knocked to the ground, as was Ivysaur. Both pokemon started to slowly get back up shortly after, struggling through their exhaustion, but Zapdos collapsed again as Leech Seed drained the last of its strength.

"Thats it then!" Ashley took another Great Ball from her bag. "We've caught all three of the winged mirages!" Ashley lobbed the ball at Zapdos. The ball split open and pulled Zapdos inside, then closed shut without any struggling from the electric pokemon. A white light then surrounded the ball and sent it off to storage.

"WOOHOO! WE CAUGHT THEM!" Ashley cheered, pumping a fist into the air.

"-Tch, they weren't so tough.-" Ivysaur said to himself.

"-Says the pokemon barely standing.-" Jolteon said to him with a smug grin.

"Way to go, Ashley!" Rina congratulated her as she ran over, then held up a handful of pictures. "I took lots of pictures, just like you asked!"

"Good thing I had that spare roll of film then!" Ashley took the pictures from Rina and quickly looked them over. "Hehehe...I can't believe they wanted to battle me, and now I've caught all three of them!"

"Perhaps, now that you've caught them, it would be a good chance for you to find out why they wanted to battle you." Lance said to Ashley as he approached with the rest of the Elite Four. "Ashley, now that the winged mirages are your's, it is up to you to safeguard them and use their power responsibly."

"Right." Ashley nodded in agreement and smiled lightly at Lance. "No one like the hunters are getting their hands on them again."

"Glad to hear it." Lance replied, nodding to her. "I look forward to seeing how well you are able to use them in battle."

"As do the rest of us." Bruno added. "I hope you will at least consider challenging us. It would be an honor to test my abilities against the legendary pokemon."

"I am more interested in seeing what you are capable of, child." Agatha said to Ashley with a smirk on her face. "You've handled yourself well today. Let me say that your talent as a trainer is wasted if you solely pursue a career as a photographer."

"I've seen quite well what you're capable of. I look forward to a battle at the Indigo Plateau." Lorelei said to Ashley.

"At any rate...I believe it is time we got off this island." Lance said. "There will be time to talk on the trip back to Kanto." Lance turned to head out to the Sea Gallop, still waiting for them, tossing his cape behind him. Lorelei, Bruno, and Agatha followed behind him.

"I can't wait to see what my mom will say when I show up with these three." Ashley giggled to herself and pocketed her pictures. "Ok you two, lets go!" She then said to her pokemon as she took one of their pokeballs in each hand, then recalled them and placed the pokeballs back on her belt.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye then." Rina said to Mew.

"-Nooo!-" Mew replied, shaking its head furiously. "-I want to go with you!-"

"You...what?" Rina blinked in disbelief.

"-Huh?-" Pippi looked up at Mew and tilted her head to the side curiously, waiting for an explanation.

"-You seem like nice, fun people so I want to go with you!-" Mew said to Rina, smiling widely. "-So come on! Put me in one of those pokeballs!-"

"Are...are you sure thats ok?" Rina asked Mew, blinking again.

"-Aren't you supposed to be a really, really special legendary pokemon or something?-" Pippi added.

"What'd it say?" Ashley asked Rina, curious about her reaction.

"Mew wants to come with me..." Rina said to her.

Ashley was silent for a moment before finally responding in a stunned tone. "Wow."

"-Of course its ok! Why wouldn't it be?-" Mew replied. "-There's no one to tell me what to do, I do whatever I want! And I want to go with you!-"

"I think Mew really likes you Rina." Ashley said to her, patting her on the shoulder.

"Well, if you think its ok then..." Rina reached into her backpack and rummaged around a bit before pulling out a Great Ball. "Here you go." Rina held out the empty pokeball toward Mew and pressed the button. Mew held still while the pokeball opened up and fired a beam, which then pulled Mew inside. The Great Ball locked shut in Rina's hand and then glowed white before being sent off to storage.

"Looks like we both have legendary pokemon to get from storage." Ashley said to Rina.

"Well what are we waiting for then? Lets head back to Kanto already!" Rina replied. Ashley nodded in agreement and the two of them took off running toward the Sea Gallop.

* * *

Author's Notes: was acting up, as I'm sure some/all of you are aware, so finally able to post this. Anyway...

Only showed the Zapdos battle in the history part of this chapter, showing all the battles with the legendary birds followed by Ashley's battle with them seemed a bit pointless. I think I wrote enough to give a pretty good idea of what things were like anyway. For the record, Rejice's (Regice, obviously) techniques used were Icy Wind, Superpower, and Ancient Power. Zapdos used Thundershock, Drill Peck, and Detect.

I'm sure Ashley catching the three of them came as no surprise at this point, and some of you guessed Rina would get Mew too. Mew's often shown as being a playful pokemon so I decided to go with that, which made Mew a good pair with Rina. Articuno I've been treating as the leader of the legendary birds because of the whole ArticUNO thing.

Next chapter I think will be a 'downtime' chapter. Originally this was goign to jump straight into Ashley's Elite Four challenge but I think that might be rushing things a bit. Some character development and dialogue is probably due at this point anyway.


	38. Chapter 36: Final Resting Point

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Thirty Six**

**Final Resting Point**

After enduring tough battles against the last five hunters, Ashley and Rina had been dropped off in Viridian City by Lance. It was very late at night and most of the city was quiet. The girls waved as Lance and his Dragonite disappeared into the darkness. The two of them were left standing outside the city's pokecenter.

Ashley yawned and stretched her arms. "Am I ever tired now..."

"I know what you mean..." Rina replied, also letting out a yawn. "This is the latest we've been up, huh?"

"Yeah, it is." Ashley nodded to her. "The pokecenter should still be open though, so lets get this over with so we can go home and relax for a day..."

"Right...I missed out on the chance to sleep in my own bed for once..." Rina said to her, referring to the last time the two of them went their separate ways. Rina ended up stopping in Viridian City and waiting for Ashley at the gym instead of going home.

So, with that, the girls headed on inside and turned over their pokemon to the center's nightshift staff. They were quickly healed up by the nurses on staff, after which Rina used the pokecenter's PC to withdraw Mew. Ashley made a few changes to her team as well, including withdrawing all three legendary birds. She intended to spend the next day training with a specific team to battle against the Elite Four.

After retrieving their pokemon, the two girls headed over to the city's gym. It was still open, and abandoned. It made for the perfect place for their recently caught legendary pokemon to be outside their pokeballs without anyone seeing them. They were sure Lance wasn't going to be showing up again either.

"Articuno! Zapdos! Moltres!" Ashley called out as she took all three Great Balls, containing the legendary pokemon, in her hands and released them. The pokeballs opened up and Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres appeared on the gym's battlefield.

"Mew, you come on out too!" Rina called out, taking Mew's pokeball in hand and releasing it as well. Mew gave a happy little cry as it appeared, smiling widely.

"-Are we going to battle now?-" Mew asked, sounding rather excited by the prospect.

"Maybe another time, we're just hoping to find out a few things before we go home and go to bed." Rina explained to Mew. Mew's head drooped sadly.

"-Of course. I am sure you two must have many questions you want answered.-" Articuno said to Rina. "-Feel free to ask away, we shall answer as best we can.-" Rina nodded to Articuno and then looked to Ashley.

"Ok Ashley, you can start."

"Alright." Ashley nodded to Rina and then turned to address the three birds. "Ok, I want to know why you three wanted to challenge me." Articuno nodded and turned to address Rina as it began to explain, knowing full well she would have to translate. Rina nodded, listening to Articuno until it was finished, then turned to Ashley.

"Articuno says that they once fought alongside an ancestor of your's in ancient times, one that looked just like you." Rina said to Ashley. "She also had a friend that looked like me and could understand pokemon..."

"Huh?" Ashley blinked in disbelief. "So you're saying that a long time ago they basically met up with exact duplicates of us?" She asked in a disbelieving tone. Moltres quickly said something to Rina, and she translated for Ashley.

"Moltres said 'not quite' and that they were somewhat like us, personality wise, but to a more extreme degree..." Rina blinked and looked at Moltres questioningly. "Wait, whats that supposed to mean anyway?" Moltres took a moment to explain this to Rina, pausing at the end of his explanation at which point Zapdos made a quick point as well.

"Ok...so you were even more stubborn and I was even more of a pacifist..." Rina explained to Ashley. "Also, Zapdos said that, since there were no cameras back then, your past self had no interest in photography or even anything similar."

"-You all must go back a long way together!-" Mew said to the three birds. "-I remember aagggges ago I teased this guy who was trying to take pictures of me.-" Mew pondered for a moment. "-Wait...or was that just yesterday? It can be hard to tell how long ago something happened sometimes...-" Mew sighed.

"-It certainly wasn't yesterday since yesterday you, like the rest of us, were wearing a collar yesterday and enslaved by rather vicious humans.-" Moltres said to Mew.

"-Oh yeah...-" Mew smiled. "-I can't believe I forgot something like that!-"

"-I as well find that difficult to comprehend...-" Moltres shook his head and turned toward Articuno. "-Continue your explanation to the humans.-" Articuno nodded and then went back to explaining the details of their past with Ashley and Rina's past selves. Rina took a moment to take in this new information before relaying it to Ashley.

"Ok, so Articuno says your past self was the leader of what was basically Kanto at that time and stumbled upon a valley that Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres were watching over."

"Wait, wait, wait...my past self was the leader of Kanto?" Ashley asked with a stunned expression.

"Thats what Articuno says..." Rina replied, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Anyway, your past self challenged them, beat them, and gained their loyalty for it. They recognized you, so thats why they challenged you. They felt they were obligated to do so."

"Well I guess that explains a lot, even if it sounds crazy." Ashley said with a shrug. "Well what about you, Rina? Did you have anything to ask them?"

"I was going to ask why they seemed to know I'd understand them, but I guess I already have my answer." Rina replied.

"In that case, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, thanks for answering our questions." Ashley said to them. The three birds nodded to her. Ashley then took two pokeballs in her hand. "Tomorrow we'll get some training in together so we can try our luck against the Elite Four. Articuno, Moltres, you two can rest for now." Ashley recalled the two pokemon and placed their pokeballs back on her belt, leaving only Zapdos and Mew on the field.

"You know, Ashley, it IS technically 'tomorrow' already." Rina said to Ashley with a wry grin. "We've been up well past midnight battling..."

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Ashley rubbed the back of her head and shrugged.

"-Why didn't Ashley recall you?-" Mew asked Zapdos.

"-I have a pretty good idea why.-" Zapdos mumbled somewhat bitterly.

"Zapdos, since you're the only one of the three with a more normal body temperature, think you could fly me home?" Ashley asked Zapdos. Zapdos breathed out in a sigh and nodded to her.

"-Figured. Those two always got off easy for this.-" Zapdos muttered.

"You still have Knight to take you home, right Rina?" Ashley asked.

"Yep!" Rina replied with a nod. "I didn't actually use him in battle, so he can fly me home just fine."

"-Hey! Wait!-" Mew protested. "-I can fly you home too!-"

"You can?" Rina looked at Mew in disbelief. "You look kinda small for that, Mew..."

"-I do now, but watch this!-" Mew smiled gleefully and its body soon began to shift, growing and turning yellow. Mew's arms turned into wings and its legs became birdlike feet and talons. Zapdos looked on in disbelief as it soon caught on to what was happening. After a few more seconds, Mew had transformed into a complete duplicate of Zapdos. "-Tada!-"

"Wow! You can transform?!" Rina said excitedly.

"I thought only Ditto could do that..." Ashley added in disbelief.

"-I can transform into any pokemon I've seen, and in this form I can transport you easily!-" Mew replied excitedly.

"Ok, then lets go home, Mew!" Rina ran to the gym exit, followed closely behind by Mew. Mew's wings hit on the sides of the door on its first attempt to get out, not used to its new form. On the second attempt, Mew folded its wings against its body and stepped out.

"-I don't get why any pokemon would think having a human sit on you is exciting.-" Zapdos said, shaking his head.

"Well, looks like Rina's taken care of then. Lets get going, Zapdos." Zapdos nodded and followed Ashley to the door, taking care not to make the same mistake as Mew.

Once outside, Ashley and Rina said goodbye and set off toward their respective homes. Rina went straight to bed when she arrived, promising Mew she would show it around later. Ashley's mother and Rolly were already asleep when she got home, so Ashley went straight to bed as well.

* * *

It was near noontime the next day when Ashley finally woke up. She was in so tired the night before that she went to bed in her usual clothes. She quickly got out of bed and rounded up her mother and Professor Oak, dragging both of them outside to unveil her newly caught pokemon to them.

"What are these new pokemon you're so excited to show us?" Ashley's mother asked her. Professor Oak stood next to her, just outside his lab, looking on expectantly. Rolly stood between Catherine and Oak.

"Just wait and see!" Ashley replied, taking two pokeballs in one hand and one pokeball in the other. "Ok you three, come on out!" Ashley each pokemon from the pokeballs she held in her hands, sending out Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Catherine and Professor Oak gasped in shock at the sight.

"My word...I'd recognize those three anywhere! The winged mirages, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres!" Professor Oak said. "I can't believe you've managed to catch them, Ashley!"

"Winged mirages? They must be very special pokemon to have." Ashley's mother commented, not fully understanding the situation.

"-I don't get it. Aren't they just different colored birds?-" Rolly commented, blinking.

"-I feel like I'm being put on display like some kind of trophy.-" Zapdos muttered.

"-Relax, Zapdos, she's just excited.-" Moltres said. "-Remember, humans of this era are different. They mature somewhat slower. You would not see a human of Aisha's age in any position of power in these times.-"

"-Moltres is right, times have changed.-" Articuno added. "-Ashley is excited to have us with her, as any trainer her age would be.-"

"-You two are way too accepting of this.-" Zapdos said to them.

"Ashley, are these pokemon you freed from the hunters last night?" Catherine asked.

"Yep." Ashley replied.

"Hunters? I had no idea you were dealing with them!" Professor Oak said in disbelief. "Interesting...seems you have certainly become quite the capable trainer, Ashley, if you are able to handle yourself against them. They had a reputation for evading even the Elite Four, from what I understand."

"Thats why me and Rina were working with the Elite Four. We sort of drew them out, and last night we attacked their base directly." Ashley said. "One of them managed to escape and we still don't know where their leader is, but I don't think the Elite Four will need my help anymore for that."

Catherine let out a sigh. "Well thats a relief. You had me pretty worried when you still weren't home after midnight."

"You worry too much." Ashley said, waving her hand dismissively. "Anyway, I take it you want their pokedex entries, Professor?"

"Ah! Of course." Ashley took out her pokedex and then handed it to Professor Oak. Oak took a quick look over the pages for the three legendary birds. "Amazing, you always manage to..." Oak paused as an entry further down the list jumped out at him. He was quiet for a moment as he looked over the name on the screen. "WHAT?!" Professor Oak cried out in shock, nearly dropping Ashley's pokedex.

"Whats wrong, Professor?" Ashley asked.

"Ashely! Don't tell me you've found Mew!" Oak said to her. "That pokemon is only rumored to even exist!"

"Oh right...Mew..." Ashley smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. "You could say that...Rina has it actually, I just recorded it into my pokedex."

"Mew? Whats a Mew?" Her mother asked. It was another pokemon she had never heard of.

"I see...I assume this Rina is a friend of your's?" Oak asked.

"You never met her?" Ashley asked, but then she remembered. "Oh yeah, Rina was already gone by the time I went to see you..."

"Perhaps next time I will get a chance to meet her then. I would like the chance to see Mew for myself." Professor Oak glanced down at the pokedex screen again. "In any case, I would like upload these pokemon to my database, if you don't need your pokedex at the moment."

"Naw, go ahead!" Ashley replied with a quick wave of her hand. "I read it over a bit already and I can read the rest later. For now I want to train with these guys." Ashley jerked a thumb toward the three birds.

"-Training? And here I thought she was just putting us on display.-" Zapdos said, rolling its eyes. Moltres whacked Zapdos in the back of the head with its wing. Zapdos turned and shot a glare at Moltres.

"-Settle down you two.-" Articuno said sternly.

"Very well, I will be in my lab analyzing your data if you need me." Professor Oak said before heading inside to do just that.

"-So...if you guys are supposed to be special pokemon of some kind, why do you need training?-" Rolly asked the three birds.

"-Only through training can humans and pokemon become stronger.-" Moltres explained.

"-To Ashley, we are also new pokemon which she has no experience controlling in battle.-" Articuno added. "-Therefore, she needs to learn how to best use our abilities.-"

"-Oh...interesting...-" Rolly said, mentally taking notes.

"Well if you're training your pokemon then I suppose I will go home and get some lunch ready for you." Catherine said to Ashley.

"Ok, give me an hour then at least." Ashley replied.

"Ok then, I'll have something ready for you in an hour. Don't be late!" Ashely's mother then headed home with Rolly following along behind her. Ashley then turned to face the three legendary birds.

"Ok, ready guys?" Ashley asked them. All three birds nodded in response. "Ok then, lets start with some basic training. Zapdos and Articuno will battle together, and Moltres you'll fight...hmm..." Ashley thought for a moment and drew a pokeball from her belt, releasing another pokemon behind the three birds. "This guy!" Ashley called out as Aerodactyl materialized behind the three birds.

"-Damn it...where am I now?-" Aerodactyl growled, slowly raising his head to look around. He immediately spotted the three birds as they turned to face them. "-Who are you three supposed to be?-"

"-A Ptera? In this day and age?-" Moltres said in disbelief. "-I thought they went extinct?-"

"-Extinct? Just whats that supposed to mean?-" Aerodactyl asked in a bitter tone, glaring at Moltres.

"-You are correct.-" Articuno said to Moltres. "-Humans on an island near my nest have found ways to revive extinct pokemon from fossils, however. Though I am surprised Ashley managed to catch one.-"

"-HELLO! What the heck are you talking about?!-" Aerodactyl said indignantly.

"-Your species was wiped out a very long time ago and you're only alive now because humans revived you from some bit of your carcass that managed to stay intact.-" Zapdos explained rather harshly to Aerodactyl.

"-WHAT?!-" Aerodactyl cried out in disbelief. "-No way, you're lying!-"

"-Seems Ashley has training to do with this one as well.-" Articuno noted.

"Ok, lets get this started, guys!" Ashley called out. "Articuno, Zapdos, I'll give you two orders one at a time and leave you to defend yourself on your own while I'm ordering the other around. Moltres, I'll be giving you all the orders in your case since I'm sure Aerodactyl won't listen."

"-So thats the human that captured me...-" Aerodactyl said quietly to himself, then looked at the three birds. _"These guys look pretty tough, but I will only have to deal with one at first. Then I can attack my captor."_ Aerodactyl grinned to himself.

"Articuno, you're first! Attack Zapdos with Powder Snow! Moltres, you'll start with Fire Spin!" The three birds nodded and began their attacks. Articuno and Zapdos quickly took off into the air, while Moltres breathed out a cone-shaped blast of flames at Aerodactyl. A funnel formed around Aerodactyl and then rose up, creating a vertical column of flames around him.

"-Gah!-" Aerodactyl staggered back from the initial blast, raising his wings to shield himself, only to step back into the flames behind him. "-Grr...-" Aerodactyl stepped back into the center of the flames, avoiding direct damage but still feeling the intense heat. Aerodactyl looked around but saw no immediate way out without going through the flames.

Meanwhile, in the air, Articuno turned over to fly on its back and gave a strong flap of its wings, sending a light blast of snow at Zapdos. Zapdos, flying above Articuno, swiftly turned to the right to evade the technique.

"Zapdos, Light Screen! Moltres, Heat Wave and focus it around the column of flames!" Zapdos went into a glide briefly while it focused and formed a green, transparent barrier around itself. Articuno, who was still flying under Zapdos, took the time to pull off a similar maneuver. Articuno went into a glide and formed a transparent blue barrier around itself, using Reflect rather than Light Screen.

Moltres, still on the ground battling Aerodactyl, began flapping its wings to send a blast of hot air and flames toward the spiralling tower of fire. The tower wavered at first but the spinning motion caused Moltres' attack to wrap around it, increasing the intensity of the Fire Spin. The flames closed in on Aerodactyl, nipping the edges of his body and searing him with the intense heat.

"-That does it! One way or another I'm getting out of here!-" Aerodactyl flapped his wings and took off, flying straight up even as the flames continued to sear his body. Aerodactyl struggled as he flew higher and higher but eventually cleared the flames. Moltres, seeing this, gave a flap of its wings and took off into the sky after it.

_"Ok, I can try that technique with Zapdos whenever I'm ready, just have to set up for Articuno now."_ Ashley thought. "Articuno, use Agility! Moltres, attack with Flamethrower! Zapdos, charge electricity for a Thundershock attack but don't fire!"

"-Seems she has something planned.-" Articuno said to Zapdos. Articuno then went into a glide and relaxed its muscles, granting itself increased speed.

"-Seems so.-" Zapdos agreed, quickly gathering the electricity in its wings to fire a Thundershock attack. Zapdos didn't fire, though, and instead kept it stored and ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"-You will pay for that fire-tornado attack now!-" Aerodactyl declared, diving straight down toward Moltres.

"-Really now? You expect a direct assault like that to w-URK!-" Before Moltres could finish talking, Aerodactyl smashed headfirst into it and knocked Moltres toward the ground. Moltres quickly maneuvered its body as it fell in order to catch itself before hitting the ground. "-Hmph...I had forgotten how fast your kind was. Its been so long since I faced a Ptera, what with them being extinct and all.-"

"-STOP SAYING THAT!-" Aerodactyl growled, taking another dive toward Moltres. This time, Aerodactyl's attack earned it a face full of flame instead as Moltres blasted it with a Flamethrower. Aerodactyl quickly swirved out of the flames, throwing its attack off course and forcing him to circle around again.

"Use Drill Peck now, Zapdos, and combine it with Thundershock! Moltres, Fire Spin again!" Ashley called out. Zapdos quickly dove down toward Articuno, a vacuum of air forming a drill around its beak. Zapdos also focused its stored electricity to a point, forming another 'drill' around its beak from the electricity. Zapdos came close to skewering Articuno with the attack, but Articuno used its enhanced speed to quickly move out of the way and fly up higher.

Aerodactyl, meanwhile, made another attempt to attack Moltres, flying toward the fire bird with its wings stretched out. Moltres quickly ducked under Aerodactyl's attempt at a Wing Attack and then quickly turned around, firing a cone of flames at Aerodactyl. The flames knocked Aerodactyl to the ground and then formed into a twister around it, leaving Aerodactyl trapped again.

"Ok! Now, Articuno, you get above Zapdos and use Water Pulse! Moltres, get ready to attack Aerodactyl with Sky Attack!" Moltres flapped its wings, hovering near the column of fire while an orange glow began to envelope the bird pokemon. Inside the flames, Aerodactyl gave a growl and began to fly straight up out of them again.

Articuno easily gained altitude over Zapdos, now the faster of the two pokemon. Articuno then opened its mouth and fired three rings of water straight down toward Zapdos. There was quite a distance between the two, leaving Zapdos rather confident that it didn't have to move. Zapdos was sure it would have plenty of time to evade the attack.

"Now, Articuno, Ice Beam!" Articuno followed up its Water Pulse with an Ice Beam, firing the blue beam straight down at Zapdos and through the rings of water. Zapdos was caught off guard and took a direct hit, falling toward the ground. Zapdos quickly maneuvered to stop its descent but then the Water Pulse, now frozen by Articuno's Ice Beam, hit Zapdos from above. Each ring of ice hit one after the other, shattering upon impact and sending Zapdos crashing into the ground.

Aerodactyl, meanwhile, had rose out of the flames again and turned to face Moltres. Aerodactyl grinned and flew toward the fire bird on a collision course, intent on using Double Edge. By then, Moltres was finished focusing its attack. A fiery aura surrounded it as it charged toward Aerodactyl. The two pokemon collided and both of them were sent crashing to the ground hard. As soon as Aerodactyl had hit the ground, Ashley recalled it.

"Ok, thats enough for now, you guys." Ashley said to her pokemon. Zapdos and Moltres slowly got up and shook off the impact with the ground, soon joined by Articuno as it came in for a landing. "The techniques I wanted to try out worked out pretty well for the most part, so lets break for lunch."

The three of them nodded and followed Ashley as she headed back to her place. Once she was home, Ashley stopped outside and took two pokeballs in hand, releasing Ivysaur and Hypno. She then went into the house and came back with six food dishes, setting them out and filling each with pokemon food.

"-She's feeding us again? Or is this some kind of trick?-" Hypno intoned as Ashley filled the dishes.

"-Psh. You worry too much.-" Ivysaur muttered.

Once the six dishes were filled, Ashley took the last pokeball from her belt and placed it next to the only dish that one of her pokemon hadn't already claimed. "Hypno, since you're the only one with hands, I want you to open that pokeball there." She then said to Hypno, pointing to the pokeball. "Once I've had my lunch I'll be back out so we can really get to training for tomorrow. So how about you guys try to convince Aerodactyl to follow orders while I'm eating."

Everyone but Hypno nodded, and Ashley then went into the house to get her own lunch. Once Ashley was inside, Hypno turned to the other pokemon. "-Ok, what training is she talking about? Whats going on tomorrow?-"

"-She plans to challenge the Elite Four, the strongest trainers in Kanto.-" Ivysaur explained, then took a quick mouthful of food while the three birds started pecking at their's.

"-Wait...wait, wait, wait, wait...she's making ME battle against them!?-" Hypno asked in disbelief.

"-Seems so.-" Ivysaur replied with a shrug. "-Weren't you supposed to open something?-"

"-Damn...just my luck...-" Hypno muttered, already imagining the horrible pokemon that awaited him. Remembering the pokeball, Hypno looked at it and hesitated for a moment before reaching out and grabbing it. Hypno then pressed the button and released Aerodactyl, stumbling back in shock at the pokemon's appearance. "-What the?!-"

"-Damn it! What now?!-" Aerodactyl growled, quickly turning around to face the rest of the group. Noticing everyone but Hypno eating the bowl of food laid out for them, Aerodactyl looked down and saw the bowl at his feet. "-Food? Bah! I reject that human's handouts!-" Aerodactyle growled.

"-I suppose you'd rather eat a human instead?-" Ivysaur said to Aerodactyl while chewing on another mouthful of food.

"-Yes, I would! In fact, I...-" Aerodactyl paused for a moment and peered at Ivysaur curiously. "-Have we met before?-"

"-Yeah. Think big glowy beam of death.-" Ivysaur replied. Aerodactyl twitched.

"-YOU! Why I oughta!-" Aerodactyl lunged at Ivysaur, but Ivysaur quickly extended a vine to knock him back.

"-Ashley certainly has an odd collection of pokemon.-" Zapdos noted, stopping to observe the standoff. "-A cowardly yellow thing and a Ptera, excuse me, Aerodactyl, that thinks like the Aerodactyl from the past and sees humans as food.-"

"-HEY! Its not my fault!-" Hypno said to Zapdos. "-That bitch is a psycho! PSYCHO!-"

"-And just why shouldn't I eat humans?-" Aerodactyl asked Zapdos, glaring at it.

"-As we explained before, its humans who brought you back to life.-" Moltres said as it and Articuno stopped to take part in the conversation. "-Your kind died out millenia ago. You only live now because humans of this era are capable of reviving ancient pokemon from fossils.-"

"-Even if you were to choose to eat humans, as your ancestors did, you wouldn't last long before they accept that they must kill you in order to survive.-" Articuno added. "-Though few humans are even capable of getting their hands on them, humans do have devices capable of killing a pokemon.-"

"-Why should I believe you?!-" Aerodactyl growled.

"-Don't believe us then.-" Zapdos said. "-Believe yourself. Do you remember anything from before the humans brought you back to life?-"

"-Hrmph. Easy, I can remember...-" Aerodactyl thought for a moment, trying to think back. However, he couldn't remember anything earlier than his escape from the lab on Cinnabar. Faced with this fact, Aerodactyl shot the other pokemon a glare and bedgrudgingly went about eating his pokefood.

* * *

"Here's your sandwiches." Ashley's mother handed her a plate with two egg and bacon sandwiches on it. Ashley had only woken up a few hours ago, so her lunch was technically her breakfast. "You know, you missed a very interesting battle on tv while you were out."

"I did?"

"Oh yes. The final round from a tournament over in Hoenn was being broadcasted." Her mother said. "One of the trainers had a very powerful water pokemon too. I can't remember the name of it, but she lost in the end. Isn't that something?"

"-I didn't recognize any of the pokemon in that battle.-" Rolly said with a sigh, having overheard the conversation. Rolly was in the living room watching tv, something he did almost everyday.

"It takes more than just strong pokemon to win, thats why I'm spending the rest of the day training, so tomorrow I can beat the Elite Four!" Ashley said to her mother. "Anyway, thanks for the sandwiches!"

"Your welcome, dear." Her mother replied.

Ashley went up to her room and placed her sandwiches on her desk. She then took out all her pictures from her bag and spread them out on the bed.

"Well, there's not as many pictures as I'd have liked to have gotten, but there's still a lot here." Ashley noted. She grabbed one of the sandwiches to eat while she looked over the pictures. She had a tape dispenser on hand as well.

_"I could probably get a bit of money for some of these if I wanted..."_ She thought as she took a strip of tape from the dispenser while holding her sandwich in her mouth. _"But for now, I'll just stick them up on my wall. It'll be easier to look them over like this anyway." _Ashley picked up one of the pictures, the one showing the three legendary birds before she caught them, and taped it to the wall. She then stood back to admire her work.

_"After tomorrow, I'll finally have all this Kanto League stuff out of the way. Then I can really get into my photography work."_ Ashley set about pinning up the rest of the photos while she ate her sandwiches. She only managed to get a quarter of them up before she was finished, at which point she went outside to check on her pokemon. Ashley would spend the rest of the day training, preparing for her upcoming battles against the Elite Four.

* * *

"-Wow! You humans have a lot of...stuff.-" Mew commented as he floated around Rina's kitchen. Pippi followed along the ground, making sure Mew didn't get into any trouble while Rina was eating her breakfast. Like Ashley, it was around noon when she woke up. She was only having a bowl of cereal for breakfast, though, while watching Mew exploring her house.

"-Thats a...stove, right?-" Mew asked Pippi, pointing to the stove next to it.

"-Yep. Thats a stove...or oven...or whatever, humans have a lot of different names for stuff.-" Pippi replied.

"-And thats a fridge?-" Mew asked, pointing to another appliance as Pippi followed along behind it.

"-Fridge or refrigerator I think.-" Pippi replied. Mew then moved out into the hallway with Pippi quickly following.

_"Pippi seems to think she's an expert on appliances now."_ Rina thought, smiling to herself. She couldn't hear the two pokemon from the hallway, though they soon came back into the kitchen. Pippi had something in her mouth as she bounded up to Rina and jumped up on the table, dropping a white envelope in front of her.

"-That was in front of your door...mail, right?-" Pippi asked Rina, tilting her head to the side.

"Yep!" Rina nodded to her and took the envelope in her hand, quickly looking it over. "Thats odd...there's no address or return address on it."

"-Is that a bad thing?-" Pippi and Mew asked.

"I don't know honestly..." Rina opened the envelope and took out the single piece of paper that was inside. She quickly read over the message and her eyes went wide in shock.

"-Whats it say?-" Pippi asked. Rina put the paper down for Mew and Pippi to read for themselves, herself left speechless by the message.

"-Huh?-" Pippi looked down at the paper and read it out loud to herself. "-'Rina, if you want to get revenge for the murder of your parents, then come to Seven Island alone. Signed, the leader of the Grand Hunters.'-" Pippi blinked and looked over at Rina. "-Rina! This is our chance! If we take out their leader, we can put down the hunters for good!-"

"Yeah, you're right I guess..." Rina replied quietly.

"-Whats wrong?-" Mew asked her. "-Isn't this a good thing? Those hunters are nothing but meanies, so we should go kick this guy's butt!-"

"Yeah." Rina nodded and stood up from the table. "But I'm not doing this for revenge, I'm doing this to make sure the hunters are finished for good!" She then said enthusiastically. "My parents wanted to take down the hunters to make a better world for pokemon, so I'm going to do just that!"

"-So we're going then?-" Pippi asked. Rina nodded to her.

"We're going!" Rina replied. "We'll beat this guy and be back in time for Ashley's match against the Elite Four!"

* * *

Author's Notes: Relatively short chapter, not a lot happens. But I think there was a bit of necessary dialogue here, like Aerodactyl begrudgingly accepting humans. The short training scene does set up for Ashley's Elite Four match, and then there's Rina getting a challenge from the leader of the Grand Hunters.

The leader? Wait, wasn't Red supposed to beat that guy? Hmm...


	39. Chapter 37: Kanto Elite Four, Part One

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Thirty Seven**

**Part One**

**Kanto Elite Four**

The next day, Ashley, her mother, Rolly, and Professor Oak all headed to Indigo Plateau for Ashley's battle against the Elite Four. Ashley then waited in the lobby for her match while everyone else headed into the stadium to wait in the audience seats. Ashley's mother had the camera again and an extra roll of film to get pictures of Ashley's matches.

_"Whats taking her so long?"_ Ashley wondered, glancing up at a nearby clock. She had waited in the lobby for almost an hour after arriving. _"She must have slept in or something."_ She thought. _"Well, I can't wait any longer. I can just show her the pictures later to make up for it." _Ashley stepped up to the front desk and rang the bell, getting the attention of the on-duty nurse.

"Ready to begin your match?" The nurse asked cheerfully.

Ashley nodded. "Ready as I'm going to be."

"Would you like me to check up on your pokemon before you start?" The nurse asked.

"No thanks, they should be well rested as it is." Ashley replied.

"Ok then, I'll let the Elite Four know you're ready. Please go on in." The nurse left, and Ashley headed past the desk to the arena entrance. She took a deep breath, then stepped outside.

The battlefield used by the Elite Four was much larger than any gym, easily at least as large as four gym battlefields. It was also split down the center, with the right side of the field being an open pool and the left being natural terrain. The roof above the field was opened, letting the sunlight down onto the field from the partly clouded skies.

_"Well this is it."_ Ashley thought. She took a quick glanced toward the audience stands on the left side of the field. Almost all the seats were empty. Only a few Pallet Town residents had arrived to watch her alongside her mother and Professor Oak. _"This is it?"_ Ashley thought. _"I finally challenge the Elite Four, and there's only a small crowd here to watch? Lame!"_

"Welcome to the Kanto Pokemon League!" Ashley looked across the field to see Lorelei emerging from a large entrance on the other side. "We have been waiting for you, Ashley. Ever since we battled together against Fire, I've been looking forward to this chance to face you. Ashley, are you ready?"

"You bet I am!" Ashley replied, smiling widely. "I've been looking forward to this too!"

"In that case, lets cut straight to the main event." Lorelei quickly drew a pokeball, gripping it tightly in her hand. "Your pokemon will be at my mercy once they have been frozen solid by my icy attacks!"

"Well I don't plan to let that happen!" Ashley replied, also grabbing a pokeball now. "Aerodactyl, you're up first! Lets go!" She called out, releasing Aerodactyl out onto the field. Aerodactyl screeched when he appeared, sending a chill down Professor Oak's spine.

"-Hmph. This must be that big battle they were talking about.-" Aerodactyl said to himself, then cast a glance over at the audience stands. "-Looks like it'd be slim pickings if I was going to go after one of them anyway.-"

"What has gotten into that girl?" Professor Oak wondered aloud. "She should know better than to try to use that pokemon!"

"Whats wrong with her pokemon?" Catherine asked him.

"Its a vicious ancient pokemon that tried to have me for dinner!" Oak replied. "I certainly hope she knows what she's doing."

"An interesting choice." Lorelei said to Ashley. "My turn now! Jynx!" Lorelei thrust her hand out as she pressed the button on her pokeball. The pokeball opened up and released a pokemon, which happened to resemble an opera singer, out onto the field. Jynx winked at Aerodactyl and blew him a kiss.

"-The heck is that supposed to mean?-" Aerodactyl wondered.

"Jynx, use Attract on Aerodactyl!" Jynx winked at Aerodactyl and blew him a kiss, just like she did when she first appeared. However, this time the kiss she blew at him took the form of a red heart. When the heart hit Aerodactyl he felt himself overcome by attraction toward Jynx.

_"Thats going to cause trouble, but I can keep going for now."_ Ashley thought. "Aerodactyl, Ancientpower!" Aerodactyl closed his eyes and grimaced, trying to get past his infatuation and summon his inner strength. He succeeded, causing several rocks to break free from the ground beneath him. He flung the rocks across the gym, hitting Jynx and knocking her off her feet.

"-I don't know what you did to me but I won't sit here and take it!-" Aerodactyl yelled to Jynx.

"-Now, now, don't fight the love, babe!-" Jynx said as she sat up, shaking off the hit and then getting back on her feet.

"Now to send this prehistoric pokemon back to the ice age." Lorelei said with a smirk. "Jynx, attack with Ice Beam!"

"Aerodactyl, take off and charge Jynx with Take down!" Ashley called out.

Aerodactyl gave a flap of its wings and took off across the field, flying toward Jynx at full speed. Jynx cupped her hands and fired a blue beam at Aerodactyl as he approached her. Aerodactyl turned to the side to evade the attack, but the tip of his right wing still got clipped by it and a thin sheet of ice covered part of the wing. Despite the ice covering its wing, Aerodactyl kept going and crashed into Jynx, knocking her to the ground while managing a safe landing for himself.

"Ok, now follow up with Bite!" Ashley called out to Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl opened its mouth to bite Jynx, but as he looked down at her he felt himself overcome by his infatuation. He couldn't bring himself to attack her again.

"Sorry, but you're just too close now!" Lorelei said. "Jynx, throw Aerodactyl back with Psychic!" While still lying on the ground, Jynx focused her psychic powers. A blue aura surrounded Aerodactyl as a telekinetic force weighed down on him briefly, causing him to grunt in pain, and then threw him back several feet. Jynx then quickly hopped back on her feet, as did Aerodactyl. It was a powerful blow, but Aerodactyl was still ready for more.

"Aerodactyl can attack from where he is then!" Ashley said to Lorelei. "Aerodactyl, Ancientpower!" Aerodactyl focused through the haze inflicted on it by Jynx's Attract, calling out his inner power again. The ground under him shock and cracked, loosing several rocks. The rocks shot toward Jynx, giving her little time to react before they pelted her and knocked her back. Jynx doubled over in pain, taking a moment to catch her breath. She was barely hanging on now.

"Jynx, fire back with Ice Beam!" Jynx quickly straightened out and cupped her hands together, striking back at Aerodactyl with an Ice Beam attack. The beam struck Aerodactyl head on this time, throwing the ancient pokemon back with ice forming on his chest. The ice on his body shattered as he hit the ground. Aerodactyl quickly shook off the hit and started to get back up.

"Aerodactyl, strike fast with Wing Attack and finish this!" Aerodactyl nodded and spread out his wings, preparing to attack Jynx. He hesitated, however. His infatuation had sprung up again, causing him to pause.

"Jynx, once more! Ice Beam!" Jynx cupped her hands together, preparing to launch one final attack.

"-Looks like this is it, lover boy!-" Jynx chuckled to herself. A blue sphere of energy formed in her hands and then fired out in a single blue beam.

"-I AM NOT YOUR LOVER BOY!-" Aerodactyl shouted in a rage, overcoming his infatuation and quickly ducking under the beam. He then quickly charged toward Jynx and slashed her with his right wing, knocking her down and out with one quick swipe.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." Lorelei complimented Ashley as she recalled Jynx. Lorelei returned Jynx's pokeball to her belt and took another one in her hand. "Lets see if you can keep this pace up, then! Piloswine!" Lorelei called out, releasing what looked like a mountain of fur with a pair of tusks and a piglike nose. The pokemon appeared in front of Aerodactyl and gave a snort.

"Ok, Aerodactyl, thats enough for now! Return!" Ashley held out Aerodactyl's pokeball and recalled him. _"I'll try for one knock-out with each of my pokemon."_ Ashley thought as she placed Aerodactyl's pokeball back on her belt. _"I have one Full Revive but plenty of Max Potion, so its more important that my pokemon don't get knocked out than it is for them to stay at full strength."_

Ashley quickly grabbed another pokeball from her belt and sent out her next pokemon. "Moltres! Go!" She called out as she released the fire bird. Moltres called out as it appeared, earning a shocked gasp from everyone in the crowd except for Oak and Ashley's mother.

"Choosing to unveil your Moltres now, are you?" Lorelei said with a smirk. "Well, we both know how well Moltres worked out for Fire. Lets see if you can do better. Piloswine, attack Moltres with Rock Slide!"

"Moltres, trap Piloswine with Fire Spin!" Moltres flapped its wings, lifting off the ground while Piloswine reared back and slammed its front legs into the ground. A barrage of rocks were dislodged and sent rolling across the ground toward Moltres, but Moltres was safely out of reach. Moltres then struck back, spewing out flames that whipped themselves into a twister surrounding Piloswine and slowly burning it.

"-You will have to try better than that to hit me.-" Moltres said, though Piloswine couldn't hear it over the roar of the flames.

"Ok, lets step it up now! Heat Wave!" Ashley called out to Moltres. Moltres dropped back down to the ground to make it easier to use the technique, then began flapping its wings. A blast of hot air and flames erupted from Moltres and was sucked in by the Fire Spin surrounding Piloswine, further burning Piloswine and intensifying the heat of the flames surrounding it.

_"She seems to know her stuff."_ Lorelei thought to herself. _"Attempting to escape through the flames will be more painful for Piloswine than continuing to endure it, but over time the technique will likely inflict more damage overall. Piloswine's options are limited behind a wall of fire as well, looks like our best option is to escape."_

"Piloswine, charge through the flames and attack with Blizzard!" Piloswine scuffed its foot across the ground and braced itself as it charged through the flames. The intense heat seared Piloswine's body as it charged through, but Piloswine endured and came out of the fire and launched a blast of ice and snow from its body. Moltres was unable to avoid the attack, taking a direct hit that nearly knocked the fire bird off its feet. Moltres was able to use its wings to stabilize itself, however, and remained standing.

"After all that, one Flamethrower should finish it." Ashley thought. "Moltres, finish it off now! Flamethrower!"

"Piloswine, Endure it!" Piloswine focused, bracing itself against Moltres' next attack. Moltres fired a blast of flames at Piloswine, engulfing it completely in fire. The attack was more than Piloswine would have been able to take, but Piloswine was still standing when the flames died down. The tower of flames behind Piloswine finally died down as well.

"This battle isn't over yet." Lorelei said to Ashley. "Piloswine, now! Attack Moltres with Rock Slide!" Piloswine slammed its front feet into the ground, dislodging several large rocks from the field and sending them rolling across the ground toward Moltres. Moltres flapped its wings, trying to fly up to avoid it, but was too slow this time. The barrage of rocks hit Moltres hard, knocking it to the ground. It took a moment for Moltres to shake off the hit and try to get up again, giving Piloswine time to attack again.

"Piloswine, once more! Rock Slide!"

"Moltres, quick! Endure it!"

Moltres braced itself as Piloswine slammed the ground, sending another barrage of rocks toward it. The rock slide attack bowled Moltres over, easily inflicting enough damage on it to knock it out. However, Moltres endured the attack and got back up as soon as it was over, barely remaining conscious.

"Ok! This time we'll finish it for sure! Fire Spin!" Ashley called out. Moltres breathed out a spiraling stream of flames toward Piloswine. The flames surrounded Piloswine, forming into a vertical twister and quickly rendering it unconscious. The flames died down shortly after.

"Unexpected. Of course, its only natural that the winged mirages would have some tricks up their sleeves." Lorelei said to Ashley as she recalled Piloswine. "It comes down to this, then. My final pokemon." Lorelei retrieved another pokeball from her belt and held it out toward the pool of water as she release her pokemon. "Lapras!" A red beam fired out from the pokeball, materializing into a blue, dinosaur-like pokemon with a spiked shell on its back.

"Ok, Moltres, thats enough for now! Return!" Ashley recalled Moltres and then switched its pokeball for another one from her belt. "Zapdos, this one's all your's! Go!" Zapdos emerged from its pokeball with a cry and ready for a fight.

_"She's using another of her birds already?"_ Lorelei thought. _"On the other hand, I suppose she didn't take another electric type with her since she has Zapdos."_

"Zapdos, start off with Thunderbolt!"

"Lapras, block with Thunder!"

Zapdos charged electricity around its body, gathering it near the tip of its wings. A blast of electricity fired from each wing, combining into a single bolt that zipped across the field toward Lapras. Another bolt of lightning then shot out of the sky, precisely timed to meet up with Zapdos Thunderbolt. Lapras' Thunder attack struck the ground near the edge of the pool, combining with the Thunderbolt attack and dragging down as well to ground it out.

"It blocked the attack?!" Ashley said in disbelief.

"You will find my Lapras has quite the variety of techniques." Lorelei said to Ashley. "By using Thunder, Lapras can negate any electric attack. When the attack collides with Lapras' Thunder, the two bolts of electircity combine and the downward velocity of the Thunder attack causes it all to ground out."

_"Looks like a Thunderbolt attack won't work on Lapras..." _Ashley thought, then smirked to herself. _"Fortunately, Zapdos has other options."_

"Now, Lapras, put Zapdos out with Sing!" Lapras opened its mouth and began to sing a melodic lullaby, trying to put Zapdos to sleep.

"Zapdos, Detect!" Zapdos used Detect to receive a flash of insight into the Sing attack, shielding its mind from the sleep-inducing effects of Lapras' song.

_"That might not work a second time, if Zapdos falls asleep, then Lapras will hit it hard with ice attacks."_ Ashley thought. "Zapdos, use Light Screen!" Zapdos focused and spread its wings out, forming a transparent green barrier around its body.

"Lapras, Sing again. We'll get it this time for sure." At Lorelei's command, Lapras began to sing again, making another attempt to put Zapdos to sleep. Within seconds, Zapdos was beginning to feel drowsy.

"Zapdos, Charge! Gather as much electricity as you can before you fall asleep!" Ashley called out. Zapdos began charging storing electricity in its body, building up a charge to power up its next electric attack. Zapdos continued to do this until it finally collapsed, falling into a deep sleep.

"Now we will attack without restraint." Lorelei said. "Lapras, start with Ice Beam!" Lapras opened its mouth and fired a blue beam at the sleeping Zapdos. The beam only managed a light hit, striking the ground near Zapdos and landing a glancing blow as the ice formed from the strike expanded until it covered a small part of Zapdos' body. The barrier around it prevented too much ice from forming.

"Now, lift Zapdos into the air with Psychic." Lapras closed its mouth and concentrated, focusing a telekinetic power on Zapdos to lift it into the air, shattering the ice that formed on it in the process. Lapras crushed Zapdos with its Psychic attack and then hurled the sleeping pokemon straight up.

"Ice Beam again, hit it on the way down!" Lapras had already anticipated Lorelei's next orders. As Zapdos fell back toward the ground, Lapras fired an Ice Beam attack at it. Zapdos flipped over in the air as the beam struck it, ice forming around Zapdos' body from the impact. Zapdos then hit the ground hard, shattering the ice and snapping awake.

"-Damn it...that hurt...-" Zapdos muttered, slowly raising its head to glare at Lapras.

"Zapdos, Thunder!" Ashley called out once she noticed Zapdos was awake. Zapdos raised its head and let out a screech, calling down a bolt of lightning from the clear skies. Lapras cried out as the bolt struck it from above, the bolt sending a flash throughout the arena from the impact. While Lapras recoiled from the attack, Zapdos hopped up on its feet.

_"Ok, thats a good start."_ Ashley thought, then glanced over toward the pool. _"And I think I know a way to get around her Lapras' Thunder armor..." _She looked back at Zapdos in time to see the barrier around it fade, meaning Zapdos would now be exposed to the full power of Lapras' next attack. _"Better make this count..."_

"Lapras, finish it now! Ice Beam!"

"Zapdos, move out over the water!"

Lapras fired another Ice Beam attack at Zapdos, but Zapdos was able to evade it by taking to the air. Following Ashley's instructions, Zapdos flew out over the end of the pool nearest to it.

"Now! Thunderbolt, full power!" Zapdos briefly gathered electricity around its body and then fired a large bolt of electricity at Lapras. Zapdos' hadn't used its stored electricity in the Thunder attack, and was now using that electricity to power up its Thunderbolt attack.

With the attack coming from over the water, Lapras was a sitting duck. Even if it used Thunder to try to block the attack, the electricity would end up dispersed through the water and still hit it as a result. Lapras cried out as the Thunderbolt attack struck it but was quickly silenced, its head dropping to the water as it fell unconscious.

"Congratulations, it seems you've beaten me." Lorelei said to Ashley, holding out Lapras' pokeball to recall it. "I knew you had the option to attack from over the water, but even so there was little I could do. Your Zapdos is one of the few electric pokemon that can pull off such a maneuver."

Ashley let out a relieved sigh. "Even with legendary pokemon, those were some close matches."

"I hope you're not ready to quit just yet. Afterall, you've just begun to experience the true ferocity of the Elite Four." With the match over, Lorelei turned and left the arena.

"I can certainly see why they're called 'elite'." Zapdos thought.

"Ok, thats it then. You can rest for now, Zapdos." Ashley said as she took Zapdos' pokeball in her hand and then recalled it.

_"Bruno uses ground and fighting types. That means Ivysaur, Articuno, and Hypno are probably my best bets against him."_ Ashley thought while she placed Zapdos' pokeball back on her belt. _"Works out fine for me at least, I won't have to use any of my potions just yet."_

"Ashley seemed to be struggling a bit against Lorelei." Professor Oak commented thoughtfully. "If she hopes to even face Lance then she will have to step it up a notch."

"She's just off to a rocky start." Catherine said reassuringly while handing off a set of photos to Rolly. "She'll do better in her next match."

"I certainly hope so." The professor replied.

"-I've already watched the battle, so why do I look at the pictures?-" Rolly wondered aloud. He shrugged and set the pictures aside, adding to the pile sitting next to him.

"So you've managed to beat Lorelei." Bruno stepped through the arena entrance and onto the battlefield. "You've proven your strength to her, now show me what you and your pokemon are capable of!"

"Well, that IS what I'm here for." Ashley replied with a slight grin as she took a pokeball from her belt.

"Good answer." Bruno said with a smirk, also taking a pokeball from his belt. "STEELIX! You shall fight first!" Bruno called out loudly as he released his pokemon. A massive steel serpent appeared on the battlefield and gave a roar to announce its presence.

"Ivysaur, you can take this one on!" Ashley called out, releasing Ivysaur onto the field.

"-Elite Four! About time!-" Ivysaur said with a grin as he appeared on the field. He quickly spotted Steelix on the opposite side of the field. "-A giant snake, huh? Well I did just fine against an Onix when I was just a Bulbasaur, so I ain't backing down now!-"

"-You seem confident. Lets see what you can do then.-" Steelix bellowed.

"Steelix, begin with your strongest attack! EARTHQUAKE!" Steelix reared back then slammed its head into the ground. The arena shook from the impact and the ground began to crack and shake, leaving nowhere for Ivysaur to run to as he was tossed about by the movements. When the ground finally settled, Ivysaur was knocked onto his stomach. He quickly got back on his feet, looking little worse for wear after the attack.

_"Ivysaur can take that easily enough."_ Ashley thought after seeing Ivysaur shrug off the hit. "Ivysaur, start powering up with Growth!" Ivysaur focused and forced his body to expand slightly, increasing his special attack power.

"If you are not going to fight back, then we will crush you with all our might!" Bruno said to Ashley. "Steelix, again! EARTHQUAKE!" Steelix reared its head back and slammed the ground again, creating an Earthquake that shook the arena. The rising and cracking of the ground jostled Ivysaur about, bouncing him against jagged rocks until the ground finally settled down again.

_"Ok, thats about enough of that."_ Ashley thought, not wanting to risk Ivysaur having to endure a third Earthquake. _"I'll have Ivysaur heal with Synthesis and then use Solar beam."_

"Ivysaur, Synthesis!" Light began to gather around Ivysaur's flower as he drew it in, gathering as much of it as he could. The light then vanished and Ivysaur's body shimmered as he used the gathered sunlight to heal himself.

"That will be the last of that." Bruno said. "Steelix, create a Sandstorm!" Steelix gave a roar and twisted sections of its body around, sending a blast of sand swirling throughout the battlefield. The sandstorm grew quickly until it reached close to the edges of the field, surrounding Ivysaur and Steelix in the harsh blowing sand. Steelix, however, wasn't bothered in the least as the sand harmlessly bounded off its hard body.

"As I'm sure you're no doubt aware, any adverse weather will lessen your pokemon's ability to absorb light with Synthesis." Bruno said to Ashley.

_"It'll weaken Ivysaur's Solarbeam too..."_ Ashley thought, gritting her teeth. _"There goes that idea..."_

"Now, Steelix, attack with Earthquake again!"

"Ivysaur, quick! Grab Steelix's head with Vine Whip!"

Steelix raised its head back and slammed the ground again while Ivysaur extended a pair of vines from the base of his flower and wrapped them around Steelix's head. Ivysaur jumped as the shockwave shot through the ground. At the same time he reeled himself in to pull him over it while Steelix raised his head up again. When the Earthquake was over, Ivysaur was still hanging from Steelix's jaw.

_"Clever move."_ Bruno thought. "Steelix, grab it with CRUNCH!" Steelix gave a flick of his neck, tossing Ivysaur up in front of his face. Rather than trying to avoid it, however, Ivysaur twisted himself in the air. Steelix then lashed out and bit down hard on Ivysaur, grabbing him by the flower on Ivysaur's back. Ivysaur was left positioned in such a way that the tip was pointing into Steelix's mouth.

_"Well, I did my part anyway..."_ Ivysaur thought, wincing in pain. _"Lets hope she catches on then..."_

_"Ivysaur's in a bad position to attack from like that..."_ Ashley thought, not catching on initially. After a moment, though, the realization struck her. _"Wait! All Ivysaur's status-inducing attacks are fired from his flower!"_

"Ivysaur, attack with Sleep Powder!" Ashley called out, grinning to herself.

"-Whaddya know! Might be hope for her yet!-" Ivysaur said with a grin as he shot the green powder into Steelix's mouth. Steelix coughed and let go of Ivysaur. Ivysaur let go of Steelix and dropped to the ground, and Steelix soon followed suit as it landed on its side in a deep sleep.

_"Seems she's managed to take advantage of the one hole in Steelix's armor."_ Bruno thought with a slight smirk. _"There is little I can do now. It was a good move on the part of her and her pokemon."_

"Good one, Ivysaur! Now put a Leech Seed in there!" Ashley called out next. Ivysaur stood back while facing Steelix and stood on his front legs to angle the shot. He then fired a seed from his flower, hitting Steelix in the side of the head. The seed sprouted vines and latched on, managing to dig past Steelix's steel armor and start draining its health.

"Now get back and start charging for a Solarbeam attack!" Ivysaur nodded and backed away further from Steelix while the Sandstorm slowly died down around them, giving Ivysaur full access to the sun's rays again. Ivysaur began gathering light through his flower while Steelix continued to sleep. All the while, the seed attached to Steelix continued to drain its health and replenish Ivysaur's strength.

Steelix slowly began to open its eyes, snapping out of the haze from being put to sleep. By then, however, Ivysaur had finished charging for his attack. Ivysaur angled his flower toward Steelix and let loose with a radiant white beam of energy. Steelix roared in pain as the beam lanced over the top of its body, striking it near the head and again near the tip of its tail before finally dissipating. Steelix nearly dropped again after that, Ivysaur's attack took a heavy toll on the steel snake's body.

"Steelix, you must make your last stand now and give it all you've got!" Bruno called out. "IRON TAIL!" Steelix roared and flipped its body around, bringing its tail forward and striking Ivysaur like a baseball bat. Ivysaur was sent spiralling through the air and hit the ground hard near Ashley.

"Ivysaur, get back in there and hit it hard with a Razor Leaf!" Ashley commanded Ivysaur.

"-Damn it...I take back what I said...-" Ivysaur growled, slowly standing up and shaking off the hit. Ivysaur hopped forward and launched several sharp leaves across the battlefield. Steelix was too large and slow to avoid the attack, in spite of the distance. The leaves slashed across his armored hide, causing the steel snake to bellow in pain and then collapse. Between Ivysaur's Razor Leaf and Leech Seed, the last of its strength had been drained.

"For an Ivysaur, your pokemon is quite strong." Bruno said to Ashley. Bruno held up Steelix's pokeball and recalled it.

"Ivysaur is plenty strong, he's just stubborn about evolving." Ashley replied.

"-Tch, I evolved into an Ivysaur, what more do you want?-" Ivysaur growled.

Bruno nodded in understanding as he took another pokeball from his belt. "HITMONCHAN!" Bruno held out the pokeball he grabbed, releasing Hitmonchan out onto the field. Hitmonchan took a few punches at the air when he appeared and then slid into a boxing stance.

"Ok, Ivysaur, thats enough for now!" Ashley held out Ivysaur's pokeball and recalled him, then placed the pokeball back on her belt and took another one in her hand. "Articuno! Your turn now! Go!" The pokeball opened up as Ashley held it out, firing a red beam that materialized into Articuno.

"Articuno? You will find that one will give you little advantage over Hitmonchan." Bruno said to Ashley. He clenched a fist with one hand and pointed toward Articuno with the other. "HITMONCHAN! Show them the power of your Rock Slide!"

Hitmonchan slammed his fists together with a grin on his face, then punched the ground with both hands. The ground cracked into several large boulders from Hitmonchan's punches and the boulders were sent rolling across the field toward Articuno.

"Articuno, Ice Beam! Aim for the rocks!" Articuno opened its mouth and fired a blue beam at the incoming boulders. The beam struck the first boulder and then spread out to the rest, coating them all in a sheet of ice. The ice quickly shattered but the boulders had lost their momentum and skidded to a halt, coming several feet short of Articuno.

"Now, take aim with Mind Reader!" Ashley called out next. Articuno closed its eyes and focused on Hitmonchan, predicting his movements to ensure the next attack would hit.

_"She is planning something."_ Bruno thought. _"We will wait out her next move then so Hitmonchan can prepare himself for it."_

"Now lets finish this in one go! Sheer Cold!"

"Hitmonchan! DETECT!"

Articuno began flapping its wings, sending a cold chill throughout the arena. Hitmonchan watched intently, feeling the cold starting to set around him. In a flash of movement, Hitmonchan jumped back as a block of ice suddenly formed where he had been standing. The block of ice then fell over and shattered.

"He dodged it!" Ashley exclaimed in dismay.

"You will not defeat an Elite Four's pokemon so easily." Bruno said to Ashley.

_"Guess I should have expected something like that..."_ Ashley thought. "Ok then. Articuno, take to the air! Straight up and keep going!" Articuno started flapping its wings, slowly lifting off the ground.

"Hitmonchan, do not let it escape so easily!" Bruno called out. "SKY UPPERCUT!" Hitmonchan charged across the gym toward Articuno as the ice bird began to fly up. Hitmonchan jumped straight up toward Articuno as he drew near, coming up from underneath it and delivering a quick uppercut attack. Hitmonchan's fist connected with the underside of Articuno's body, knocking Articuno back and sending it plummeting toward the ground.

Articuno recovered from the blow while still falling and turned over in the air to move into a dive position. Articuno pulled up before hitting the ground, skimming over Hitmonchan's head as he came down from his attack. Articuno then angled straight up, quickly gaining altitude from its initial momentum before having to flap its wings to keep going.

"Articuno's attacks will be less effective and easier to dodge from up there." Bruno thought, completely unfazed by being unable to attack now. "It will have to come down soon enough, and then we will attack."

"Ok! Now dive and use Blizzard!" Ashley called out to Articuno. Articuno twisted in the air to pull a vertical u-turn and barreled straight down toward Hitmonchan. As Articuno plummeted toward Hitmonchan, it opened its mouth and breathed out, releasing a blast of ice and snow. However, as Articuno was falling faster than its own attack, Articuno flew through it instead.

_"That attack will have little effect on Hitmonchan, it will be too scattered."_ Bruno thought, watching curiously. _"What is she hoping to accomplish? All she's done is injure her own pokemon."_

"Now stop and use Ice Beam!" Articuno threw out its wings, coming to an abrupt stop above Hitmonchan. Articuno winced as its own Blizzard passed over it again, but quickly shook it off and fired an Ice Beam down at Hitmonchan. The weakened Blizzard attack struck Hitmonchan first. Hitmonchan shielded himself with one gloves fist but still felt a slight chill as the ice and snow pelted his body.

Articuno's Ice Beam struck Hitmonchan next, with hardly a second between the two attacks. Though the Blizzard attack had little effect on Hitmonchan, as Bruno expected, immediately following it with Ice Beam caused a sheet off ice to form over Hitmonchan's body, instantly freezing the pokemon in place.

"What? How?!" Bruno shouted in disbelief.

"Simple, I had Articuno use Blizzard beforehand to keep the air nice and cool. Combined with the ice already formed on Hitmonchan, the Ice Beam was able to build up quickly enough to freeze it in place." Ashley explained to Bruno.

"I...see..." Bruno uttered, still in disbelief that his pokemon had been disabled so easily.

"Now, lets finish the job, Articuno!" Ashley said to her pokemon. "Its not dodging this time, so use Sheer Cold!"

_"A clever tactic indeed..."_ Articuno thought. Articuno flapped its wings and breathed out, sending a strong chill through the air. More ice began to form around Hitmonchan until it was encased in a large, solid block of it. The block of ice then cracked in two and released Hitmonchan. Upon being released, Hitmonchan collapsed to the ground in a heap.

"Seems the Winged Mirage of ice is not to be underestimated." Bruno said quietly, recalling his Hitmonchan and pausing for a moment in quiet contemplation. _"I was barely able to land a hit on that one. Perhaps, after this, I should consider training more with my pokemon..."_

"You have done well thus far, Ashley." Bruno said as he drew one last pokeball. "So let us see how you stand against the might of my Machamp." Bruno held out the pokeball in his hand and released his final pokemon. A gray-skinned, muscular, humanoid pokemon with four arms appeared on the field. The pokemon was kneeling with all four hands on the ground when it appeared, then slowly stood up.

"Machamp, huh?" Ashley said to herself. "Ok, Articuno, thats enough for now! Return!" Ashley held out Articuno's pokeball and recalled it, then placed the pokeball back on her belt and took another in her hand. "Hypno, this one is all your's! Go!" She then called out, releasing Hypno out onto the field. When he appeared, Hypno quickly looked around and gulped nervously.

"-She really is making me fight the elite trainers!-" Hypno said in a shaky, dismayed voice.

_"Geez. What a wimp."_ Machamp thought, snorting.

"Machamp, no holding back! EARTHQUAKE!" Machamp nodded and struck the ground with all four arms, sending a shockwave throughout the arena. The ground began to crack and shake, knocking Hypno off his feet and jostling him around. Eventually the quake stopped, leaving Hypno lying on his back. Hypno quickly sat up and looked at Machamp with a shocked expression.

"-Damn! That guy's packing a lot of power in those muscles!-"

"Our turn now! Hypno, use Hypnosis!" Ashley called out. Hypno hesitated briefly but, remembering Machamp's power, quickly followed through. He began waving his pendulum around, using it as a focus to send hypnotic waves at Machamp. Machamp felt his eyes soon grow heavy and he fell forward, collapsing into a deep sleep.

_"More status techniques!"_ Bruno thought, gritting his teeth. _"If only I had taught Machamp the Sleep Talk technique, this would be to his advantage!"_

"Ok, first up, use Poison Gas!" Ashley ordered Hypno. Bruno relaxed a bit and even smirked to himself as Ashley called out the attack. Hypno stood up and stretched out his snout, spewing a purple cloud of gas toward Machamp. Machamp breathed in the gas while he slept, becoming poisoned in the process.

_"On the other hand, this we can most certainly take advantage of."_ Bruno thought, folding his arms over his chest. _"Perhaps she doesn't realize Machamp's special ability, which grants him increased attack power when inflicted with status such as poison."_

"Good! Now, Dream Eater!" Hypno opened his mouth and drew out Machamp's dreams, gathering them in the form of a purple ball of energy. Hypno then chomped down on the energy ball, swallowing it whole and gaining back some energy in the process. After this, Machamp quickly awoke, shaking his head and casting a glare toward Hypno for eating his dream.

"Machamp, show them your true potential now! Attack with EARTHQUAKE!" Bruno called out, clenching his fists. Machamp slammed the ground with all four of his hands, sending a massive shockwave throughout the gym. The increased power of the attack was immediately apparent as the ground's movements became more violent and lasted longer. When the attack finally ended, Hypno was laid out on the ground, badly beaten and bruised.

"Whoa! Where did it get all that power from?!" Ashley cried out in disbelief.

"Machamp's special ability, guts." Bruno explained to her. "When Machamp becomes inflicted with any sort of status effect, such as poison, his attack power is increased dramatically. Through his raw determination, Machamp has become far more powerful."

"Thats no good, but I've already weakened it at any rate." Ashley thought, then looked toward Hypno. The psychic pokemon was just starting to get back up from the attack. "Hypno, fire back with Psychic, now!"

"-Not even...a moment of peace..." Hypno said weakly. Hypno held out his pendulum toward Machamp, using the pendulum as a focus to concentrate his telekinetic powers on the fighting pokemon. Machamp growled in pain as Hypno's psychic powers crushed it from all directions. Hypno then ended the attack by slamming Machamp into the ground.

"Look like thats it then." Ashley said with a slight smirk as Machamp remained flat out on the ground. However, to her dismay, the fighting pokemon slowly picked himself up. "What?! You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Seems not." Bruno said to Ashley. "Machamp, once more! Earthquake!" Machamp stood up and raised its arms back, preparing to attack. Before he could follow through, he suddenly collapsed again. Though he was able to endure Hypno's Psychic attack, the poison remained and finished him off.

"Hmm...perhaps not..." Bruno said quietly, taking Machamp's pokeball in hand and recalling him. Bruno then looked to Ashley with a stern expression. "Having lost, I have no right to say anything. This match goes to you, Ashley." Bruno then turned around and exited the arena.

Ashley let out a relieved sigh and slumped over slightly. "Two down, two to go..." She muttered quietly to herself. "I think I need to tend to my pokemon before the next match though." Ashley straightened out and held out Hypno's pokeball.

"Thats it, Hypno. You can rest now." Ashley said as she recalled her pokemon. She then turned around and went back into the lobby to tend to her pokemon with the items she had on her.

"Well she certainly put on a better showing that time around." Professor Oak said thoughtfully. "Hmm...perhaps she might get through this afterall. I believe the next match will be the decisive one."

"What makes you say that?" Catherine asked as she handed off another set of photos to Rolly.

"The next battle will pit her against Agatha." Professor Oak explained. "Ashley has few pokemon that will be at the advantage against her ghost and poison pokemon. I wonder, how will she do without a distinct type advantage?"

* * *

Author's Notes: Whaddya know, I got this done relatively early for a change. "relatively early" meaning I'm not staying up an extra hour or two to work on it. Anyway...

As you might have noticed, I used some round two pokemon here. I wanted to add a bit more variety, though honestly I regret not having Lorelei use Cloyster now. Didn't really occur to me at the time, but oh well. Also, I almost typed "Mamoswine" instead of "Piloswine" almost everytime. I've got 4th gen on the brain...

Didn't use a dividing line until the very end there this time. Probably because there wasn't anyone to switch perspectives with. Where is she anyway? Hmm...

Slipped in a little joke from the anime there in the Zapdos and Lapras match. Also, try not to think too hard on the imagery from one of the matches. Its for the best.


	40. Chapter 37: Kanto Elite Four, Part Two

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Thirty Seven**

**Part Two**

**Kanto Elite Four**

"Well, thats everyone then..." Ashley said to herself, placing a pokeball back on her belt. She then opened her travel bag to put the half-empty Max Potion back inside.

_"Agatha uses ghost and poison pokemon, so I'll start with Aerodactyl."_ Ashley thought, looking out toward the field. Agatha was on the other side of the field already, waiting for Ashley to finish up. _"The only pokemon I even have that could take on ghost-type pokemon is Gengar. I don't even have Gengar with me, though, and it works both ways in that case. I'll use Zapdos and Hypno in this match I think."_

Ashley gripped Aerodactyl's pokeball in hand and stepped out onto the field. Agatha looked up as Ashley walked out of the preparation room, as if she could sense her arrival.

"Finally ready, are you?" Agatha intoned.

"I am." Ashley replied with a nod.

"Good, good." Agatha smirked lightly. "It seems Professor Oak has taken an interest in you, child." Agatha looked to where Oak was sitting in the audience. "Hmph. That old duff used to be young and handsome, now he just wants to fiddle with his pokedex! Pokemon are meant for battle, not research subjects!" Agatha fixed her cold gaze on Ashley.

"Ashley! I will show you how a real trainer battles!" Agatha took a pokeball out of her pocket and held it out. "Gengar, come out!" The pokeball opened in her hands and Gengar then appeared on the field with a wide grin on its face.

"She seems really bitter about Professor Oak's research for some reason." Ashley thought before sending out her pokemon. "Ok, Aerodactyl, you're up first again!" She called out, releasing the ancient pokemon onto the battlefield. Aerodactyl appeared with a screech and tried to look menacing to Gengar, but Gengar remained unfazed by this.

_"Hmm..."_ Ashley looked toward the audience seats and scanned the area. _"Rina's still not here?"_ Ashley blinked in disbelief. _"Thats weird, I hope nothing happened to her."_ Ashley shook her head and returned her attention to the battlefield. _"Nevermind, I'm sure she's ok..."_

"Gengar! Hypnosis!" Agatha's Gengar held its hands out toward Aerodactyl. Gengar sent out hypnotic waves of psychic energy toward the ancient pokemon and, at first, Aerodactyl seemed to be getting drowsy from it. Aerodactyl quickly snapped out of it though, shaking his head as he came out of his daze.

"That was close." Ashley thought, breathing a sigh of relief. "Aerodactyl, attack Gengar with Wing Attack!" Aerodactyl flapped its wings and took off, quickly crossing the gym. Aerodactyl then dropped down in front of Gengar and swiped at the ghost pokemon with his right wing, but Gengar quickly stepped back out of the way. Undeterred, Aerodactyl lunged at Gengar and struck it with his left wing instead, causing Gengar to stagger back.

"Gengar, try again with Hypnosis." Agatha commanded. Gengar straightened out and focused on Aerodactyl again, sending out hypnotic energy waves. Aerodactyl started feeling drowsy again. This time, he couldn't resist the attack and soon dropped to the ground, fast asleep.

_"She must have been awfully determined to put Aerodactyl to sleep for some reason."_ Ashley thought. She would soon realize why.

"Gengar, Curse." A dark aura surrounded Agatha's gengar, and a large, shadowy pin formed in front of it. The pin stabbed through Gengar's stomach, draining away a large portion of its remaining strength. The same aura then surrounded Aerodactyl, placing a Curse on him.

"Now...Psychic!" Gengar focused briefly and then stretched out its hands toward the sleeping Aerodactyl. A blue aura surrounded Aerodactyl, crushing him with a telekinetic force. With another gesture from Gengar, Aerodactyl was flung back across the field and landed on his back. Aerodactyl was still snoring away after hitting the ground.

"Still asleep? Then let us continue our attack." Agatha said. "Gengar, Dream Eater!" Gengar opened its mouth wide and began sucking out Aerodactyl's dreams. Aerodactyl flinched slightly and let out a pained cry, but remained flat out on the ground. A purple energy orb formed in front of Gengar's mouth, which Gengar then chomped down on and swallowed to restore its health.

Meanwhile, with the Curse still affecting it, Aerodactyl was knocked out in his sleep with only the disappearance of the cursed aura around him to hint at this. Ashley frowned as she reached for Aerodactyl's pokeball and recalled him.

_"I can't believe she defeated Aerodactyl so easily..."_ Ashley thought while she prepared to send out another pokemon. _"I'll really have to be careful now, I don't want to go into the final match with only five pokemon. At least Gengar should be pretty weak after all that..."_

"Hypno, go!" Ashley called out, releasing Hypno onto the field. Hypno looked around cautiously when he appeared and his shoulders drooped when he set his eyes on Gengar.

"-Ghost pokemon. Crap. What did I do to deserve this anyway?-" Hypno said to himself in dismay.

_"Hmm. Hypnosis won't work on that one."_ Agatha thought, contemplating her next move. _"Gengar is unlikely to survive an attack from Hypno now. Perhaps its best we ended this then."_ Agatha grinned darkly.

"Gengar, attack with Curse!" A dark aura quickly surrounded Gengar as it began to attack. A shadowy pin formed in front of Gengar, then stabbed through the ghost pokemon's stomach. Gengar fainted immediately, dropping to the ground, and was then recalled by Agatha. Hypno then shuddered as a dark aura surrounded him now, inflicting a curse upon him.

_"I guess I should have expected she wouldn't hold anything back."_ Ashley thought, gripping Hypno's pokeball in hand again, ready to recall him. _"She'll probably send out another ghost pokemon now..."_

"Misdreavus, come forth!" Agatha called out as she released another pokemon. The feminine-looking ghost pokemon Misdreavus appeared on the field with a shriek, startling Hypno.

"Ok, you can sit this one out Hypno!" Ashley said to Hypno before recalling him. She placed his pokeball back on her belt and quickly drew another one.

"Zapdos, your turn now!" Ashley held out the pokeball at arm's length and released Zapdos. Zapdos appeared on the field with a shriek, spreading its wings and sending sparks dancing across them.

_"So now I finally face one of her birds."_ Agatha thought with a smirk. _"This should prove to be much more interesting."_

"Zapdos, start this off with Thunder Wave!"

"Misdreavus, use Attract!"

Zapdos brought its wings together, channeling electricity through them to fire off a Thunder Wave attack at Misdreavus. Misdreavus, meanwhile, made kissy faces at Zapdos. The pulse of electricity struck Misdreavus and inflicted paraysis on her, but Misdreavus' attempt to attract Zapdos earned little more than a confused look from the bird.

_"Hmm. I would have thought for sure Zapdos was a male pokemon."_ Agatha stroked her chin thoughtfully. _"Perhaps Zapdos is female? Or can a gender even be applied?"_

_"We're actually off to a pretty good start!"_ Ashley thought. "Ok, Zapdos, now attack with Thunderbolt!" Zapdos charged electricity through it's wings again and stepped forward as it brought them together, casting a bolt of electricity at Misdreavus. The ghost pokemon shrieked as the bolt struck her and dropped close to the ground before floating back up again.

"Misdreavus, fire back with your own Thunderbolt attack!" Agatha commanded. Sparks danced around Misdreavus' necklace, building up until she fired a bolt of electricity at Zapdos. The bolt struck Zapdos in the chest, causing it to stagger back, but Zapdos easily shrugged it off and was ready for more.

_"Agatha can't seriously expect to beat Zapdos by using the same attack!"_ Ashley thought. _"If thats her plan, Zapdos will easily overpower her pokemon!"_

"Zapdos, lets try a Thunder attack this time!" Zapdos raised its head to the sky and gave a shriek, calling down a lightning bolt on top of Misdreavus. Misdreavus tried to move to the side of the attack, but was too slow and ended up taking a direct hit anyway. She cried out in pain as the bolt shot through her on its way into the ground.

"Attack all you want, it won't do you any good." Agatha thought, grinning to herself as the trail end of the lightning bolt subsided. "Misdreavus, Pain Split!" Misdreavus quickly shook it off and focused. A red, misty aura surrounded the two pokemon and Zapdos felt itself growing weaker while Misdreavus' health was restored. The attack was trading the overall damage dealt between them.

_"So that was her plan!"_ Ashley realized. _"She's letting me attack her Misdreavus so she can throw it back at Zapdos with Pain Split, and then she'll finish it off when Zapdos is weakened."_ She then smirked to herself. _"Too bad Misdreavus is paralyzed, she won't get off a finishing blow so easily."_

"Ok, lets take a different approach then! Zapdos, charge up for a Thundershock but don't fire!" Zapdos spread its wings and charged electricity through them. As instructed, though, Zapdos didn't fire the attack.

_"She has a few tricks up her sleeve as well it seems."_ Agatha thought. "Misdreavus, attack Zapdos with Shadow Ball!" Misdreavus began gathering a ball of shadow, but the ball quickly dispersed and she dropped to the ground as paralysis took hold of her.

"Zapdos, attack Misdreavus with Thunder!" Zapdos let out a shriek as it called down another lightning bolt to strike Misdreavus. The lightning bolt struck the ghost pokemon dead on, shocking her as the electricity moved toward the ground. Misdreavus cried out in pain as the bolt passed through her and was left looking very exhausted after.

"Misdreavus, Pain Split!" Misdreavus focused and a dark, red aura surrounded her and Zapdos. Zapdos began to look exhausted while Misdreavus regained some of her strength as Pain Split channeled Zapdos' remaining endurance to her. Misdreavus then slowly rose up off the ground as the aura faded.

_"What is she planning?"_ Agatha wondered. _"She prepared for one attack, but then used a different attack entirely..."_

"Ok, Zapdos, lets finish this!" Ashley called out. "Charge Misdreavus and use Drill Peck! You should know what to do from there!" Zapdos nodded and took off, flying quickly across the gym to face Misdreavus.

_"What on Earth is she doing?"_ Agatha wondered, raising an eyebrow.

As Zapdos barreled toward Misdreavus, a vacuum of air began to swirl around its beak like a mini-tornado. Zapdos then charged electricity around itself as it had practiced the day before, creating a swirling vortex of electricity around its beak on top of the air current. Zapdos charged straight into Misdreavus with the powered up attack, drilling her hard with an electrified Drill Peck attack. Misdreavus cried out as she was knocked back through the air, landing unconscious at her trainer's feet.

"How unexpected. Seems you have quite the talent, but I am not done yet." Agatha said to Ashley. She recalled Misdreavus and took another pokeball in hand. "Arbok!" Agatha called out, releasing the snake pokemon from its pokeball. Arbok materialized in front of Zapdos and hissed at the bird pokemon.

"-Tch. I don't have to take this from you.-" Zapdos said in a huff.

"Zapdos, thats enough for now! Return!" Ashley said. Zapdos looked a bit miffed as Ashley recalled it, upset that it wouldn't get the chance to zap Arbok. She placed Zapdos' pokeball back on her belt and took another one in her hand.

"Hypno, this one is all your's!" Ashley called out, sending Hypno back out onto the field. As usual, he didn't look at all happy about it.

"-Haven't I been beaten up enough for one day?!-" Hypno cried out in dismay.

"-I am to face this crybaby instead of the bird?-" Arbok hissed. "-How...insulting.-"

"Hypno, start off with Hypnosis!"

"Arbok, evade with Double Team!"

Hypno held his pendulum out in front of him. He then waved it around, using the pendulum as a focus to send hypnotic energy waves at Arbok. Arbok's body shimmered briefly as Hypno began his attack, and then split off into two more images of itself. Hypno ended up using his technique on a fake Arbok, leaving the real one unaffected.

_"I didn't expect an Arbok to know Double Team!"_ Ashley thought. _"Even if almost any pokemon can learn it from a TM, most trainers don't bother. Then again, Agatha is hardly a typical trainer..."_

"Now, Arbok, attack with Sludge Bomb!" The three fake Arbok's reared their heads back and then each spat a ball of sludge at Hypno. Two of the images disappeared, leaving the rightmost image the one spitting the sludge.

"Hypno, now's your chance! Use Hypnosis again!" Hypno began to focus, still holding his pendulum out. The ball of sludge struck him in the face and exploded, covering him in a burning toxin, but he braced against it and maintained his focus. After a few short seconds, Arbok dropped to the ground and was fast asleep.

"Good! Now, Dream Eater!" Hypno extended his snout toward Arbok to start drawing out the snake pokemon's dream. Arbok winced in its sleep while a purple orb formed from its dreams, waking up almost immediately after. Hypno shoveled the orb into his mouth and swallowed it whole, then winced at the taste and held his stomach.

"-Ugh. That one's going to give me indigestion.-"

"Seems you gained little for your effort." Agatha smirked and said to Ashley. "We will ensure you do not get another chance! Arbok, Wrap!" Arbok stayed low to the ground as it slithered quickly across the field. As it neared Hypno, Arbok jumped at him and wrapped its long body around Hypno to pin his arms at his side.

"Arbok, Bite!"

"Hypno, Headbutt!"

Arbok opened its moth and made an attempt to Bite Hypno from above, but Hypno leaned his head back to avoid it. He then smashed his forehead into the underside of Arbok's head, causing the snake to recoil back while shaking its head.

"Now throw Arbok off with a Psychic attack!" Hypno's eyes flashed as he began to concentrate and a blue aura surrounded Arbok. Arbok's body was forcefully unwrapped from Hypno, then levitated into the air while crushing him from all directions. Hypno finished the attack by tossing Arbok out in front of him. Arbok hit the ground hard and was left looking pretty exhausted too. It took the snake pokemon a moment to shake it off and stand up again.

_"Seems there is little chance of Arbok gaining back any ground against Hypno."_ Agatha thought, frowning. _"The best I can do now is hinder Ashley's future matches."_

"Arbok, paralyze Hypno with a Glare!" Arbok focused a piercing Glare on Hypno, sending a shiver down the psychic pokemon's spine that left his muscles weakened and prone to seize up at any moment.

"Hypno, finish this with one last Psychic attack!" Hypno managed to focus, in spite of the paralysis, and attacked Arbok with a telekinetic thrust. A blue glow surrounded Arbok and flung it backwards. Arbok hit the ground hard and skidded back until Hypno released it from his psychic grasp. Arbok came to a stop at Agatha's feet, at which point she recalled it.

"It seems you have won. I have nothing more to say, then." Agatha cast a glance toward Professor Oak and then left the arena.

_"Looks like I move on to Lance then."_ Ashley thought. _"Zapdos, Ivysaur, and Articuno. Beat Lance with those three, and then I can revive Aerodactyl before the final match with Gary." _Ashley reached into her travel bag and headed into the preparation room. _"First, though, I need to tend to Zapdos..."_

"Professor Oak, how do you know Agatha?" Ashley's mother asked.

"You could say she was an old flame of mine." Professor Oak replied with a slight shrug. "Back in the day we were both talented trainers, but I gave that life up to become a researcher and she has resented me for it ever since."

"Why should that matter to her, though?" She then asked.

"She considers it a 'waste of talent'." Professor Oak explained. "Back then, she was never able to beat my pokemon in battle, so she saw it as an insult that I would give that up to pursue a field in pokemon research."

"-Whoa! That old guy used to be a trainer?-" Rolly said in disbelief. "-I never would have guessed that!-"

"That must be where your grandson gets it, then." Catherine replied, chuckling to herself. She then handed off another pile of pictures to Rolly, who set them down next to him.

"-She's taking lots of pictures. This must be really super important.-" Rolly said.

"I wish..." Oak replied to Catherine with a sigh. "That boy is a good trainer, there is no denying that, but he has learned nothing about how he should treat his pokemon..."

While Professor Oak and Catherine were talking, Lance had arrived on the field. Seeing Ashley wasn't there, he folded his arms over his chest and waited patiently. Lance already had a pokeball in hand when Ashley finally arrived back out on the field, also holding a pokeball.

"So you have made it all the way to me, it seems." Lance said calmly as Ashley approached the field. "There is no doubt that you are a strong trainer. Your accomplishments in the short time since you first left Pallet Town with Bulbasaur are testament to that. But even with all that, do you truly believe you are ready to face me?"

"I'm as ready to face you as I am any other Elite Four!" Ashley shot back. "I had to defeat three other trainers just as strong as you to get here, so I'm more than ready to face you."

"Then give it your all. My dragon pokemon are indestructable." Lance tossed back his cape and held out his pokeball. "My pokemon and I shall be your final test! I shall begin with Gyarados!" Lance released his pokemon, sending Gyarados out into the water half of the field. Gyarados let out a tremendous roar to announce its presence.

"This will be an easy one." Ashley said to herself, thrusting her pokeball out and releasing her pokemon. "Zapdos! Go!" The pokeball opened up and a red beam shot out onto the field, materializing into Zapdos. Zapdos let out a screech as it appeared and immediately turned to face Gyarados.

"Zapdos, start off with Thunder Wave!" Zapdos charged electricity along its wings and then brought them together to fire a quick pulse at Gyarados. Gyarados growled as the electricity struck it in the face and shot through its body, paralyzing its muscles.

"Gyarados, fire back with Thunder Wave!" Sparks danced around the fin on Gyarados' forehead as it charged electricity. Gyarados then fired a static pulse from its mouth. The pulse of electricity shot across the field and struck Zapdos, paralyzing the bird pokemon's muscles.

"-I'm really getting tired of these sea pokemon using electric attacks.-" Zapdos grumbled.

_"Gyarados is at a large disadvantage against Zapdos, but at least we have managed that much."_ Lance thought. "Gyarados, power up now! Dragon Dance!" Gyarados focused and an orange aura surrounded it as it called out an ancient, draconic power from within itself, increasing its attack power and speed.

_"That won't do him any good, his Gyarados is about to go down!"_ Ashley thought, smirking to herself. "Zapdos, attack with Thunderbolt!" Zapdos charged electricity in its body and channeled it through its wings, then brought its wings together and fired a bolt at Gyarados. Gyarados roared in pain and collapsed into the water as the electricity shot through it. Gyarados was down for a moment but soon got back up, looking very weak after just one attack but still able to fight.

"Seems even Zapdos cannot take my Gyarados down in one hit." Lance said with a grin. "Gyarados, now! Strike back with Hyper Beam!" Gyarados angled its mouth toward Zapdos and gathered a small orb of energy, then fired a huge beam at the bird pokemon. The energy beam seared the field, carving a path along the ground, and blasted Zapdos with enough force to send it crashing into the wall next to Ashley.

"Zapdos, are you ok!?" Ashley asked frantically. Zapdos slowly picked itself up off the ground and nodded to her. The powered up Hyper Beam had dealt a heavy blow to it, but Zapdos could still fight.

"Ok, lets finish it then! Attack Gyarados with Thunder!" Zapdos nodded, then raised its head to the sky and let out a screech. Zapdos called down a lightning bolt out of the blue, striking Gyarados with it. Gyarados roared in pain and collapsed into the water again, this time staying down until Lance finally recalled it. Though Lance had lost the first round, he was clearly satisfied with the heavy blow his pokemon had dealt to Zapdos.

"Seems my Gyarados took a heavy toll on you. Still so confident you can win?" Lance taunted Ashley while he took out another pokeball. "Kingdra! Come on out!" Lance pointed the pokeball at the pool and released his second pokemon, a dragon pokemon looking like a giant seahorse.

"You inflicted a lot of damage on Zapdos, but it can still fight later if it has to." Ashley said to Lance as she took Zapdos' pokeball in hand. "Zapdos, thats enough for now. Return!" Ashley recalled Zapdos and placed its pokeball back on her belt, then took another one in hand.

"Ivysaur, you can take this one on! Go!" Ashley called out, releasing Ivysaur out onto the field. Ivysaur looked over his opponent when he appeared and shrugged indifferently.

_"This opponent is far less worrysome."_ Lance thought. _"Though her Ivysaur has proven itself to be fairly tough, it carries no advantage against my Kingdra."_

"Kingdra, Ice Beam!" Lance called out. Kingdra fired a blue beam from the tip of its snout. The beam lanced out across the field and struck Ivysaur head-on, forming a sheet of ice around the grass pokemon. The ice then shattered and Ivysaur staggered back in pain.

"Ivysaur, move in and attack with Leech Seed!" Ivysaur charged toward the edge of the water while prepping a seed for launch. The small seed appeared in the center of his flower and, once he was in range, Ivysaur leaned forward and fired. The seed sailed through the air and landed on the side of Kingdra's face, then started draining away Kingdra's energy and feeding it bac to Ivysaur.

"Kingdra, begin powering up! Dragon Dance!" An orange aura surrounded Kingdra as it called out to its draconic heritage, increasing its attack power and speed.

"Ivysaur, Sleep Powder!" Ivysaur angled his flower at Kingdra and fired a burst of green powder at the dragon pokemon. The powder floated through the air and landed on Kingdra, causing it to become drowsy. Kingdra's eyes slowly closed as it fell asleep.

"Ok, Ivysaur, now attack with Poison Powder!" Ivysaur fired another burst of powder, this time purple. The purple powder landed on Kingdra's body while it slept, sending a poison coursing through its body.

_"With poison and leech seed, Kingdra won't last too long."_ Ashley thought. _"So lets focus on surviving until Kingdra is knocked out."_

"Ivysaur, use Synthesis to heal now!" Ivysaur began drawing sunlight into his body, then used that light to heal any remaining damage from Kingdra's Ice Beam attack. Meanwhile, Kingdra woke up and slowly opened its eyes.

"Kingdra, attack now! Ice Beam!" Lance called out while Ivysaur had just finished healing. Kingdra fired an Ice Beam attack at Ivysaur again, blasting him head on. Ice formed around Ivysaur's body and the force of the beam knocked him back, leaving a trail of ice along the ground.

"Now, continue powering up with Dragon Dance!" Lance added hurriedly, knowing his Kingdra had little time before Leech Seed and poison would sap its remaining strength. Kingdra was already starting to look fairly exhausted.

"Not bad, but Ivysaur's still in this!" Ashley said to Lance. "Ivysaur, use Sleep Powder!" Ivysaur leaned forward to angle his flower and then fired a blast of Sleep Powder at Kingdra. Kingdra didn't stick around to get hit this time, though. Kingdra quickly moved back through the pool with its increased speed, leaving the powder to fall harmlessly into the water where Kingdra had been.

"Kingdra, now! Fire the Hyper Beam!" Kingdra quickly took aim at Ivysaur and fired. A wide beam of energy lanced out from the tip of Kingdra's snout, carving a path across the battlefield and dragging Ivysaur along with it once the beam connected. The beam dissipated before reaching the other side of the field, but Ivysaur kept going until he crashed into the wall and was knocked out.

"Shoot! I didn't see that coming at all!" Ashley said to herself before recalling Ivysaur. _"Great. Now I've got two pokemon down and only one Max Revive between them. Can't afford to make anymore mistakes, I'll send Articuno out now and set up while Kingdra recharges. Poison and leech seed should knock Kingdra out anyway."_

"Articuno, go!" Ashley called out, releasing Articuno onto the field. Articuno appeared with a shrill cry, ready to battle.

"Articuno, use Agility!" Articuno closed its eyes and relaxed, allowing its muscles to loosen up and increase its speed.

"Good choice." Lance said quietly to himself as his own pokemon succumbed to the status effects inflicting it and fainted. Lance recalled his Kingdra and then took another pokeball in his hand.

"It has come down to this, then. Dragonite!" Lance held out the pokeball and released his final pokemon. A bored-looking Dragonite appeared on the field, looking unimpressed even by the sight of the legendary ice bird.

_"This is it then, Lance's Dragonite. I'll have to be careful with this one."_ Ashley thought.

"Dragonite, paralyze Articuno with Thunder Wave!" Sparks danced between Dragonite's twin antennae briefly. The dragon pokemon then stretched out an arm toward Articuno and fired a pulse of electricity at it.

"Articuno, counter with Water Pulse!" Articuno opened its mouth and fired three small rings of water. The rings expanded as they shot across the field. The two attacks collided, and the water caused Dragonite's Thunder Wave to short out before it reached Articuno. Articuno's Water Pulse kept going and hit Dragonite in the chest, but Dragonite hardly took notice of it.

"Now, lets hit Dragonite hard! Ice Beam!"

"Dragonite, counter with Ice Beam!"

Articuno and Dragonite both opened their mouths and fired a blue beam across the field. The beams collided halfway between the two pokemon and quickly built up into a block of ice roughly the size of Dragonite before they backed off.

"Seems your Dragonite is full of surprises." Ashley said to Lance. "Ok, Articuno, take to the sky!" Articuno nodded and flapped its wings, quickly taking off into the air with its enhanced speed.

"We have only begun." Lance replied to her. "Dragonite is the best of my pokemon for a reason, afterall. Dragonite, use Agility to match Articuno's speed." Dragonite nodded then closed his eyes, relaxing his muscles to increase his speed.

_"I can beat that Articuno easily enough."_ Dragonite thought. _"I did it once already, with little trouble at that, so I can do it again just as easily."_

"Thats good enough, Articuno! Now take aim with Mind Reader!" Articuno came to a stop high over the field, flapping its wings to stay in the air. Articuno then closed its eyes and focused, reading Dragonite's mind to ensure its next attack would hit.

_"I hope Ashley won't use Sheer Cold."_ Articuno thought. _"Though its impossible for me to tell her this, I already know Sheer Cold will not work on Lance's Dragonite. It will serve only to leave me open for attack."_

_"I can wait out Ashley's next move."_ Lance thought to himself with a slight grin. _"She will undoubtedly try to go for a quick knockout with Sheer Cold, but Freeze tried the same and failed."_

_"Ok, if this works...I can end this match without any trouble."_ Ashley thought. "Articuno...use Blizzard!" Articuno breathed out a cold blast of air and flapped its wings, sending a shower of ice and snow down onto Dragonite. Dragonite tried to jump back out of the way, but was unable to judge the attack from so high up and ended up right in its path instead. The ice and snow rained down directly onto Dragonite, bringing the dragon pokemon to its knees as ice formed in places on its body.

_"She didn't use Sheer Cold?!"_ Lance thought in disbelief. _"Foolish! I allowed myself to be caught off guard!"_ Dragonite struggled to get back on its feet, still able to fight after enduring the powerful ice attack but he still took a heavy blow all the same. Dragonite's movements were initially sluggish in its weakened state, leaving it open for another attack.

"Ok, one more time!" Ashley called out to Articuno. "Ice Beam!" Articuno opened its mouth and fired a blue beam down onto Dragonite from above. Dragonite had just managed to stand up again as the beam struck him in the head, forming a block of ice around it. Dragonite staggered back, shaking his head, until he fell over onto the ground. The ice shattered when Dragonite hit the ground, knocking him out.

"This...this can't be..." Lance mumbled in disbelief. "My Dragonite has been defeated...without even landing a hit?"

"Alright! Way to go, Articuno!" Ashley cheered excitedly as Articuno dropped down in front of her to examine its handiwork.

"Seems you have managed to outwit me and earned yourself an easy victory over my best pokemon." Lance said to Ashley as he recalled his Dragonite. "For that, I would gladly crown you Champion of the Elite Four. However, as you are no doubt aware, that title has already been taken. Even the title of Champion of Kanto has been already claimed as well."

"I already know that." Ashley replied with a nod. "I have to beat Gary first, and then I'd have to beat Red."

"Unfortunately, Red is not here today for you to battle." Lance said to Ashley. "It matters not, as you may face him another day. However, you must still defeat Gary first. Good luck, Ashley." Lance turned sharply, his cape flowing behind him, then left the arena.

"I must say, I did not see that coming at all!" Professor Oak remarked with a slight grin. "Even with Articuno under her command, I never would have guessed she could beat Lance's final pokemon so easily."

"Do you think she has a chance at beating Gary?" Catherine asked the professor.

"I don't doubt it." Professor Oak replied, shaking his head sadly. "Ashley has a strong team of pokemon and shows them respect. Gary, while having strong pokemon, does not. Only after his defeat at Red's hands has he started to learn this, but I do not believe he truly understands why he lost."

"Well, I hope she's ready then..." Catherine said quietly.

_"Guess I better go prepare for my match with Gary."_ Ashley thought to herself. _"Question is though...with two pokemon fainted and one Max Revive,_

_which pokemon should I revive?"_

* * *

Author's Notes: Just to be clear, as Lance more or less explained, I treat the Champion you face in the Elite Four as being different from the regional Champion. The Elite Four Champion is basically the leader of the Elite Four (Gary's in that position, scary thought, nay?) and then the regional champion is the actual title holder.

If there is no Elite Four Champion, then the next person to beat the Elite Four could end up being the new Champion. Whoever beats the Elite Four and the Champion would be the regional champion, ie. the Champion of Kanto in this case. If someone beats the Elite Four + Champion, they can then challenge the Champion of Kanto for the title. Right now, Kanto's Champion is Red. So if Ashley beats Gary, she can challenge Red to a battle at Indigo Plateau for the title.

Think thats about all there is to say here. Next chapter, Ashley battles Gary, Rina still MIA.


	41. Chapter 38: Ashley vs Gary

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Thirty Eight**

**Champion Battle! Ashley Vs Gary!**

"You were wasting your time getting this far, Ashley." Gary said smugly. "You don't stand a chance at beating me."

_"Better not let him know I only have five pokemon..." _Ashley thought before she responded. "Why? Because I didn't beat you the last few times? Oh, wait, thats right! I did!" She shot back, sticking her tongue out at him. "I beat the Elite Four, and I beat you before too. So don't think for a second that you actually stand a chance!"

"Those two certainly are mouthy." Professor Oak commented.

"They have known each other for years, its perfectly normal for them to tease each other like this." Catherine said to him.

"Well lets see if you've got anything left in ya! Heracross, go!" Gary held out a pokeball and released Heracross, a powerful looking, blue beetle pokemon with a large horn.

"Looks like a bug type." Ashley thought. "Moltres, go!" She then called out, releasing the fire bird onto the field. Moltres shrieked and spread out its wings in an intimidating stance when it appeared.

"Heracross, attack with Rock Tomb!" Heracross slammed the ground with one foot. At first, nothing happened, but after a brief pause several rocks erupted from the ground under Moltres and shot up around it. The rocks landed on top of Moltres, pinning it to the ground.

"That attack could hurt a bit, but Moltres can avoid it in the air." Ashley thought. "Moltres, shake it off and fly up!" Moltres stood up and spread its wings, knocking the rocks off its body. It then flapped its wings and took off into the air, flying up out of range of any further Rock Tomb attacks.

"Hmph. Coward." Gary snorted.

_"Thats hardly cowardly."_ Ashley thought bitterly. "Moltres, attack from above with Flamethrower!"

"Heracross, defend with Rock Tomb!"

Heracross smashed the ground, causing several large boulders to pop up and then collapse around him. Though he harmed himself somewhat in the process, the Flamethrower attack from Moltres did little. Moltres fired a stream of flames down onto Heracross, but the pile of rocks blocked out most of the attack.

"Ok, now throw one of those rocks at Moltres!" Heracross stood up, knocking the rocks to the side. He took one of the rocks in his hands and then gave it a strong toss, throwing the rock at Moltres. The rock hit Moltres hard and knocked it out of the air, but Moltres recovered before hitting the ground and flew back up out of range of another Rock Tomb attack.

"Staying in the air won't help you! Heracross, throw another!" Heracross picked up another rock and flung it at Moltres, but Moltres was ready for it this time and flew out of the way.

"Moltres, attack with Fire Spin! Lets see your Heracross evade that!" Ashley called out. Moltres aimed down at Heracross and breathed out a spiralling column of fire. The fire surrounded Heracross and formed into a towering vortex, trapping the pokemon inside. Heracross quickly piled rocks around itself for protection.

"Tch. That won't hold Heracross for long." Gary said to Ashley.

"It'll be long enough!" Ashley shot back. "Moltres, charge up for a Sky Attack!" An orange glow formed around Moltres' body as it began gathering power and took careful aim at Heracross for its attack.

"Heracross, use those rocks as a shield and try to get out." Gary commanded. Inside the flames, Heracross picked up a particularly large rock and held it against his side. Heracross then started to walk out of the flames, with the rock protecting Heracross from the heat. The flames collapsed once Heracross was through.

"Now throw that rock at Moltres!"

"Moltres, quick! Dive!"

Heracross held the rock over his head and threw it up at Moltres. Moltres had finished preparing for its attack by then and quickly dropped down out of the way.

"Now attack! Sky Attack!" Moltres pulled out of its dive, skimming across the ground as it flew toward Heracross. A fiery aura surrounded Moltres and it took off, smashing through Heracross and sending the bug pokemon careening through the air. Heracross landed on his head when he hit the ground and was knocked out. Gary gritted his teeth angrily as he recalled Heracross.

"If that was any other fire pokemon we would have had that battle in the bag." Gary said bitterly.

_"Oh grow up."_ Ashley thought, rolling her eyes.

"Well lets see how your fire pokemon holds up against mine!" Gary said as he drew another pokeball. "Arcanine, go!" Gary held out the pokeball and released his pokemon, sending out a massive canine pokemon onto the field. The pokemon reminded her of the legendary pokemon Entei, which she had briefly encountered, only much more canine in appearance and a body covered in orange and black stripes.

_"Too bad Moltres really is the best pokemon I have to use against this one right now."_ Ashley thought.

"-Hmm. A worthy adversary indeed.-" Moltres said to Arcanine. "-Then let us see whose flame burns brighter.-"

"-I'm afraid not. You must be new to this.-" Arcanine replied in a gruff voice. "-My species, like many other fire pokemon in this age, is capable of absorbing fire attacks to power up our own.-"

"-Then...my fire attacks will be useless!-" Moltres said in disbelief.

"-Correct.-" Arcanine replied flatly.

"Arcanine, strike first with Extremespeed!" Arcanine crouched, as if it were about to pounce, and then shot forward at a blinding speed. Moltres was hovering low to the ground still from its previous attack and was smashed hard as Arcanine blew by it in the blink of an eye. Moltres hit the ground hard and skidded back several feet while Arcanine came to a stop only after crossing more than half the field.

"Moltres, take off again!" Ashley called out. "Then get ready for a Sky Attack!" Moltres shook off the hit and stood up, then flapped its wings to take off into the air. An aura surrounded Moltres as it rose up off the ground and powered up for its attack.

_"You won't get the chance to use that technique."_ Gary thought, grinning to himself. _"Arcanine's Extremespeed will take care of that."_

"Ok, now drop to the ground!" Moltres flipped in the air to point toward the ground and dove straight down. It was already fully charged and ready to attack at any moment.

"Arcanine, finish it with Extremespeed! Now!"

"Moltres, endure it and strike back with Sky Attack!"

Arcanine crouched down on its front legs and then took off toward Moltres at an extreme speed. Arcanine smashed into Moltres, sending the fire bird flipping through the air. Moltres endured the hit, and its momentum eventually put it back in front of Arcanine. Before hitting the ground, Moltres drew upon its stored energy.

A fiery aura surrounded Moltres and it then took off, slamming into Arcanine and sending the fire pokemon rolling back across the field as Moltres flew past. Arcanine landed on its side when it finally came to a stop.

"Follow up with Wing Attack, now!" Ashley called out. Moltres quickly turned around while dismissing the aura that had surrounded it. Moltres flew over Arcanine as it stood back up, whacking it in the head and continuing on. Arcanine let out a low growl and glared at Moltres as it flew past.

"Arcanine, finish it now and don't mess up this time! Extremespeed!" Arcanine crouched down and then took off toward Moltres, slamming into it from behind at high speeds. Moltres was knocked off to the side and hit the ground, falling unconscious almost immediately while Arcanine ended up standing next to its trainer again. Ashley recalled Moltres.

_"Well, Moltres softened it up anyway."_ Ashley thought as she switched pokeballs. "Articuno, go! Let's finish this one off quickly." She then called out, releasing the ice bird onto the field. Gary scoffed at Ashley's choice of pokemon.

_"Thats the best she can do?"_ Gary thought, grinning to himself_. "Legendary or not, that ice pokemon won't last long against Arcanine's flames!"_

"Arcanine, lets take this one down fast! Attack with Overheat!"

"Articuno, take to the air!"

Arcanine charged across the field while building up energy in its body, moving in to attack while Articuno flapped its wings and took off into the air. Arcanine unleashed its attack once it was in range, sending out a fiery explosion in all directions from its body. By then, however, Articuno had flown up high enough to avoid the attack altogether.

"Tch. Thats getting annoying." Gary muttered. "Made me waste a perfectly good Overheat. Should have opened with an Extremespeed to close the gap first..."

"Now attack from above with Water Pulse!" Articuno stopped in the air and flapped its wings to hover in place. It then aimed down and opened its beak to fire three small rings of water. The rings expanded as they fell toward Arcanine.

"Arcanine, block it with Flamethrower!" Arcanine raised its head to face the incoming attack and breathed out a stream of flames, engulfing the Water Pulse attack completely. The flames were diminished somewhat, but the rings were still evaporated in the process. Articuno also ended up taking a light hit from the flames, which just barely reached it.

_"Still in range of that Flamethrower..."_ Ashley thought. "Articuno, fly higher and use Mind Reader to lock on!" Articuno flapped its wings and flew up even higher over the field, out of range of any further attacks from Arcanine, then looked down and focused on its opponent. Articuno read Arcanine's mind to ensure the success of its next attack.

"I'm getting sick of these birds." Gary muttered to himself. _"Well, I've already watched her battles against the other Elite Four."_ He then thought with a smirk. _"She has no reason to try to attack with Blizzard, so she's obviously going for the win with Sheer Cold. But that technique won't have any effect on a pokemon thats too strong for it. I could have Arcanine jump and attack, but we'll wait."_

"Lets finish this now, Articuno! Sheer Cold!" Articuno breathed out and began flapping its wings. At first, nothing happened. But then a sudden cold snap struck Arcanine, encasing it completely in a block of ice.

"I think you'll find my pokemon is too strong for that." Gary said with a grin. "Right Arcanine?" Gary looked to his frozen pokemon, expecting a response. There was none. "Arcanine?!" The ice finally shattered, freeing Arcanine, but the fire pokemon collapsed to the ground. Articuno's Sheer Cold attack was successful and knocked Arcanine out in one hit.

"So much for your Arcanine being too strong for it." Ashley said, grinning to herself. _"Wonder if it helped any that Moltres weakened it a bit first?"_

"Tch. Whatever." Gary grumbled as he recalled his Arcanine. "You got lucky, thats all. That technique won't work against my next pokemon at all, though!" Gary quickly took another pokeball in his hand and released his pokemon. A yellow, humanoid pokemon with a large mustache appeared on the field. "Lets see you try that on my Alakazam!"

"Lets not!" Ashley shot back. "Articuno, thats enough for now! Return!" Ashley held out Articuno's pokeball to recall it, then took another one in her hand. "Ok, Hypno! Your turn now!" She then called out, releasing Hypno out onto the field.

"-Is there no end to this day!-" Hypno cried out when he saw Alakazam. "-Now I have to face an Alakazam too?! For psychic pokemon they're the best of the best!-"

"Heh! This will be a piece of cake!" Gary said smugly. "Alakazam, start with Calm Mind! That Hypno won't be able to keep up with your special attack power!" Alakazam closed its eyes and focused, concentrating and raising its special attack power.

_"If I try attacking that Alakazam with anything then it'll just Teleport out of the way."_ Ashley thought. _"We'll need to lure it into using Teleport first, so we can Disable it!"_

"Hypno, attack Alakazam with Poison Gas!" Hypno extended its snout toward Alakazam and breathed out a cloud of purple gas. The gas slowly floated across the field toward Alakazam.

"Alakazam, Teleport!" Alakazam shimmered briefly and disappeared, reappearing in the corner of the field and well out of the way of the Poison Gas attack.

"Ok, now's our chance! Hypno, use Disable!" Hypno nodded and held out his pendulum toward Alakazam, then began to concentrate. A yellow glow surrounded Alakazam as Hypno attacked its mind and prevented it from using Teleport again.

"What!? You stinker!" Gary growled. "You were planning that, weren't you?!"

"Yep." Ashley replied smugly. "Hypno, lets put Alakazam to sleep now! Hypnosis!" Hypno began waving his pendulum around and focused its psychic powers on Alakazam, sending out hypnotic energy waves toward it.

"Well we're not going to just stand here and take this!" Gary shot back. "Alakazam, attack with Shadow Ball!" Alakazam cupped its hands together as it felt drowsiness starting to set in. Alakazam quickly formed a ball of shadowstuff and flung it at Hypno before collapsing to the ground in a deep sleep. The ball soared across the field and struck Hypno. Despite being weak to the attack, Hypno barely flinched.

"Now use Poison Gas again, then follow it up with Meditate!" Hypno stretched out his snout and breathed out a cloud of purple gas. The cloud floated across the field, toward the sleeping Alakazam, while Hypno then closed his eyes and began to meditate. The cloud eventually reached Alakazam, poisoning it, and Hypno's meditation raised his physical strength.

By the time that was all over with, Alakazam's eyes were open again. Feeling the poison running through its body, Alakazam focused on Hypno. Hypno felt a chill go through his body as Alakazam fixed its cold gaze on him, but then felt a burning sensation go through him. Poison had manifested in its body, courtesy of Alakazam's Synchronize ability.

"Heh! You've put the ball back in my court now, Ashley!" Gary called out. "My Alakazam can use Recover, but your Hypno's poisoned as well now and can't use Recover! All Alakazam has to do is outlast your pokemon!"

_"No! He's right!"_ Ashley thought in dismay, clenching a fist. _"I need to keep up the pressure on his Alakazam! I'll have Hypno power up again, and then go on the offense with physical attacks!"_

"Hypno, use Meditate again!"

"Alakazam, set up with Reflect!"

Hypno closed his eyes and concentrated again, relaxing his mind to increase his physical strength. Alakazam, meanwhile, focused its psychic powers to form a transparent blue barrier around its body. The barrier would specifically decrease damage from physical attacks, which is what Ashley was planning to go on the offense with.

"Grr...so much for that idea..." Ashley muttered to herself.

"Now use Recover!" Alakazam focused and its body shimmered briefly. Using its psychic power, Alakazam sent a surge of energy through its body to heal itself.

"Hypno, put Alakazam to sleep again with Hypnosis!" Hypno focused on Alakazam, who still couldn't teleport away, and started swinging his pendulum. Hypnotic waves hit Alakazam, causing it to become drowsy and collapse into a deep sleep again.

"That won't do you any good, you still won't make up for the poison damage on Hypno. Not while Alakazam is still protected by Reflect." Gary said to Ashley.

"Oh yeah?" Ashley shot back defiantly. "Then what if we did this? Hypno, Nightmare!" Hypno held his pendulum toward Alakazam, focusing a strange power through it. A dark aura descended on Alakazam and the psychic pokemon looked to be in great pain while it slept. Hypno had inflicted a terrible nightmare on it.

_"That much indirect damage might be able to make up for Alakazam's head start!"_ Gary thought nervously.

_"Ok, now to finally attack."_ Ashley thought, taking a moment to consider her next move. _"With Alakazam lying on the ground, Headbutt won't be easy to pull off. We'll have to go with Pound."_

"Now lets go on the offense! Pound!" Hypno lowered his pendulum and then charged across the gym. As he neared Alakazam, he raised one hand back. Hypno stopped in front of Alakazam and brought his fist down, punching Alakazam in the gut. Almost immediately after, the psychic pokemon woke up. Alakazam slowly rose to its feet, looking to be in a great deal of pain. Hypno was starting to look very exhausted, as well, from the poison taking its toll.

"Good try, but not good enough!" Gary said smugly. "Alakazam, Recover!" Alakazam closed its eyes to focus on its recovery, but then suddenly collapsed. Alakazam was too weak to resist the poison long enough to attack. "No! Damn it!" Gary growled, furiously raising his pokeball to recall Alakazam.

"-I...I won?-" Hypno said to himself in disbelief. "-I beat...an Alakazam?-"

"Hypno, good job! You can rest now!" Ashley called out, recalling her Hypno before Gary could even send out another pokemon. She was intent on making sure Hypno wouldn't faint from the poison.

"Exeggutor, go!"

"Zapdos, go!"

Gary and Ashley sent out their replacement pokemon at the same time. An armless, humanoid grass-type pokemon with three coconut-shaped heads appeared on Gary's side of the field. On Ashley's side of the field appeared Zapdos, still paralyzed from its battle with Lance's Gyarados.

_"If Zapdos is going to fight like this, then I'll have to even the odds first."_ Ashley thought. "Zapdos, attack with Thunder Wave!"

_"Her Zapdos is still paralyzed? Looks like this is my chance to strike down another of her legendary pokemon!"_ Gary thought, grinning to himself. "Exeggutor, Sleep Powder!"

Exeggutor leaned forward and shook its heads, releasing a cloud of powder from the leaves that formed its 'hair'. The powder started to float across the gym while Zapdos slowly got into position to fire its attack. The powder soon descended on Zapdos, but not before it could fire an electric pulse at Exeggutor. Zapdos fell over, fast asleep, while Exeggutor became paralyzed from the electricity.

"Looks like its our turn to go all out on a helpless foe!" Gary said to Ashley. "Exeggutor, use Leech Seed and Poison Powder!"

Exeggutor leaned back and then thrust its heads forward, launching a seed toward Zapdos. The seed latched onto the back of the sleeping pokemon and immediately began to slowly drain away its strength. After using Leech Seed, Exeggutor kept its body bent forward and shook its head, sending a cloud of purple powder toward Zapdos. While the powder floated across the field, Zapdos began to wake up.

_"Zapdos woke up plenty early, but no chance at dodging this one."_ Ashley thought. "Zapdos, fly through the cloud and use Drill Peck!" Zapdos flapped its wings and took off, flying toward Exeggutor and passing through the cloud and becoming poisoned in the process. A vacuum of air swirled around Zapdos' beak as it approached the target, then Zapdos jabbed at Exeggutor with a strong Drill Peck attack. Exeggutor stumbled back and then fell to the ground.

"Exeggutor, put Zapdos back to sleep and use Hypnosis this time!" Exeggutor raised its three heads to look directly into Zapdos eye. Exeggutor began emitting a hypnotic energy wave at the electric bird.

"Zapdos, Detect!" Zapdos focused and quickly saw through Exeggutor's attack, allowing it to resist falling asleep.

"Now use Drill Peck again!" Zapdos raised its head back and a vacuum of air began to circle around its beak again. Zapdos then thrust its beak forward, stabbing Exeggutor's middle face and causing it to stagger back again.

_"Zapdos is putting up a good offensive so far, but I don't think it'll be enough."_ Ashley thought. _"Leech Seed and poison are wearing it down too quickly. Besides, I think another pokemon can finish this in one go now."_

"Zapdos, good enough! Return for now!" Ashley called out, holding up Zapdos pokeball and recalling it. She took another one in her hand and released her next pokemon. "Articuno, your turn again! Go!" The pokemon materialized on the field, forming into the legendary bird of ice, Articuno.

_"Hmph. She switched. There goes that idea."_ Gary thought.

"Articuno, attack with Blizzard now!" Articuno opened its beak and exhaled a blast of ice and snow while flapping its wings. The ice and snow swirled arround, forming into a narrow column to strike Exeggutor with full force. The Blizzard hit Exeggutor head on, causing the grass pokemon to stumble back as it was bombarded until eventually it fell over. Exeggutor was knocked out, and Gary quickly recalled it.

_"I don't get it, this has been way too easy."_ Ashley thought, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. _"How does a guy like Gary get past the rest of the Elite Four? Its down to four against two now and I know he definitely has Blastoise! Two of my pokemon have the advantage against that one!"_

"I'm surprised you managed to push me this far, but I've saved my best two pokemon for last." Gary said to Ashley as he took a pokeball in his hand. "Tyranitar, go!" The pokeball opened up and the pokemon began to materialize on the field. A large, lizard-like pokemon with a body hard as rocks appeared on the field and gave a menacing roar. Sand then blasted out in every direction from the pokemon's body and began to swirl around the field in a sandstorm.

_"What is that thing?!"_ Ashley wondered. _"It looks powerful, but I've never even heard of Tyranitar before! Either way, it definitely looks like a rock type. Maybe even a ground type since most rock types in Kanto are ground type as well."_

"Tyranitar, take down that Articuno with Rock Slide!" Tyranitar roared and slammed one foot into the ground. Several large rocks broke free and were sent rolling across the field, rapidly approaching Articuno.

"Articuno, quick! Fly up!" Articuno gave a flap of its wings and flew straight up, narrowly getting off the ground in time to avoid the attack.

"That was close...Articuno would have taken a beating from that attack." Ashley thought. "Fire back with Ice Beam!" She then commanded Articuno. Articuno stopped and hovered in the air while it took aim at Tyranitar, then opened its beak and fired an Ice Beam. The blue beam streaked through the air and struck Tyranitar in the chest. Ice formed on its chest briefly and then shattered, but Tyranitar hardly looked bothered by it.

"It'll take more than that to take down my Tyranitar." Gary said with a smirk. "Tyranitar played clean-up against the Elite Four and not once did it lose, now its going to do the same to you! Tyranitar, use Thunderbolt!" Tyranitar roared as electricity coursed through its body. It raised one hand toward Articuno and blasted it with a bolt of electricity, sending Articuno crashing into the ground.

_"So thats how he bested the Elite Four! He kept one strong pokemon in reserve to finish them off!"_ Ashley thought. "Articuno, quick! Get back up!"

"Finish it before it gets the chance! Rock Slide!" Articuno weakly struggled back to its feet while Tyranitar slammed one foot into the ground. Another barrage of rocks was sent rolling toward the ice bird. Articuno started to flap its wings, but was too slow. The rocks bowled Articuno over and pummeled it into the ground, knocking it out. Ashley recalled Articuno.

_"Well it can't be a ground type, thats for sure."_ Ashley thought. _"It took that Ice Beam way too easily. Must be just a rock type then. I'll try to gain some ground by having Hypno put it to sleep."_

"Hypno, you can do it! Go!" Ashley held out Hypno's pokeball and released him. Once Hypno was out on the field she wasted no time in ordering an attack, knowing Hypno wouldn't last very long. Poison was slowly draining Hypno's strength already and the blowing Sandstorm meant it had even less time.

"Hypno, attack Tyranitar with Hypnosis!" Hypno slowly raised its pendulum, eyes narrowed to shield them against the sand. Hypno used its pendulum as a focus, sending waves of hypnotic energy at Tyranitar to put it to sleep.

"Good job, but not good enough I'm afraid." Gary said smugly. "What will your Hypno do now? Or didn't you know? Tyranitar is a dark-type!"

"Its a...what type?" Ashley asked, blinking in confusion at first but then remembered hearing about them before. _"Wait, thats right, there are some pokemon that qualify as 'dark' type pokemon, but they're not native to Kanto. Other than that, I don't recall what was so special about them."_

"Well, whatever! Hypno, attack Tyranitar with Poison Gas!" Hypno slowly extended his snout and shot a small puff of purple smoke that didn't get anywhere before it dissipated. Hypno was too weak to finish his attack and suddenly collapsed, fainting from the poison and sand. Ashley let out a sigh and recalled it.

"So much for that idea then..." She muttered, taking another pokeball in her hand. "Ivysaur, you're up next! Go!" Ashley held out Ivysaur's pokeball and released the grass pokemon onto the field. Ivysaur winced as he appeared, immediately feeling the sand blasting him. On the other side of the field, Tyranitar was still asleep, buying Ashley time to attack.

"Ivysaur, move in while attacking with Leech Seed!" Ivysaur charged toward Tyranitar, quickly crossing the field while it was still asleep and preparing a seed to attack with. Ivysaur had closed to within 20 feet before finally launching the seed from the top of his flower. The seed sailed through the air, hindered somewhat by the sandstorm, and landed on Tyranitar's shoulder. The seed sprouted vines and latched on to begin sucking away Tyranitar's health.

_"Still asleep. Lets keep up the attack, then."_ Ashley thought. "Ivysaur, get closer and attack with Poison Powder!"

"I can't help but feel as though getting close to this guy is a bad idea." Ivysaur thought. Despite this, he moved in another ten feet toward Tyranitar and then fired a burst of purple powder from his flower. The sandstorm was at its weakest near Tyranitar, on whom the storm was centered. Though some of the powder was blown away, enough eventually landed on Tyranitar to poison it. Almost as soon as the poison seeped into its body, though, Tyranitar woke up and didn't look very happy with Ivysaur.

"Tyranitar, hit that wimp hard! Rock Slide!" Tyranitar slammed the ground in a rage, cracking the ground around it and under Ivysaur. Several large rocks were dislodged from the ground and sent rolling across the field, dragging Ivysaur along with them. Ivysaur was pounded against the rocks until finally deposited further away from Tyranitar. The attack hit Ivysaur very hard, leaving him weakened for a moment. A green glow surrounded Ivysaur as he became weak enough to activate Overgrow, but the energy from Leech Seed caused it to fade away as he regained some strength.

_"That one looked like it hurt, I should probably try to avoid having Ivysaur that close to Tyranitar again."_ Ashley thought. "Ivysaur, use Synthesis!" Ivysaur quickly gathered as much light as he could with the Sandstorm blocking out the sun. He then used that light to heal his body of the damage inflicted by Tyranitar.

_"Her Ivysaur can't stand up to Tyranitar for long, not with Sandstorm keeping it from healing itself."_ Gary thought with a smirk. "Tyranitar, attack with Rock Slide again!" Tyranitar slammed the ground, sending another barrage of rocks at Ivysaur. Ivysaur tried to dodge the attack, moving to the side, but was still flattened by a particularly large rock.

"Ivysaur, heal with Synthesis again!" Ivysaur hopped back on his feet and gathered light into his flower again, absorbing it and using it to heal himself. Poison and Leech Seed continued to inflict their damage as well. Tyranitar gave a low, pained growl, nearly reaching the point of being knocked out by the continuous drain on its body.

"Ok, time to get back on the offensive!" Ashley thought with a determined look. "Ivysaur, finish this now! Razor Leaf!" Ivysaur grinned and gave a nod, then fired several sharp leaves from the base of his bulb. The leaves cut through the air like rotating blades, cutting through the storm to rake across Tyranitar's body. Tyranitar let out a pained roar and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"Tch. You seem to be getting all the luck today." Gary grumbled as he recalled Tyranitar. "Well either way, I've still got one pokemon left and two of your pokemon aren't going to last long against it anyway." Gary said with a smirk as he took his final pokeball in hand.

_"I only have two pokemon left anyway..."_ Ashley thought, also taking a pokeball in her hand. "Ivysaur, thats good enough for now. Return!" Ashley held out Ivysaur's pokeball and recalled him, then placed the pokeball back on her belt and took another one in her hand.

"Zapdos, go!"

"Blastoise, go!"

Ashley and Gary sent their respective pokemon out onto the field. In Gary's case, it was also his final pokemon. The thunder bird, Zapdos, and the water pokemon, Blastoise, appeared on opposite sides of the field. Both of them felt the sand blasting their body as they materialized.

"This won't take long." Gary said, grinning to himself. "Blastoise, attack Zapdos with Ice Beam!"

"Zapdos, attack Blastoise with Thunderbolt!" Zapdos started charging electricity, its body reacting slowly due to the paralysis. Gary's Blastoise managed to take advantage of this, firing an Ice Beam from its twin cannons. The beams combined into one as they shot across the field and struck Zapdos, freezing it briefly. The ice that formed on Zapdos' body shattered, leaving the pokemon looking very weak.

Zapdos was still able to fight back, however, and had gathered enough electricity to attack by then. Zapdos brought its wings together and fired a bolt across the field. Blastoise cried out in pain as the bolt of electricity struck it, but managed to endure the attack. Zapdos, however, didn't fair as well. After taking the Ice Beam attack from Blastoise, Zapdos was left far too weak to endure the sandstorm and poison that still inflicted it. Zapdos lost consciousness and collapsed.

"And thats the last of your legendary pokemon." Gary said with a grin. "Now we can make our comeback!"

_"Well at least Zapdos got one attack in."_ Ashley thought as she recalled her pokemon. _"Looks like this one's all up to Ivysaur. We'll need to get the upperhand early on this one!"_

"Ivysaur, lets finish this! Go!" She called out, releasing Ivysaur back onto the field. Ivysaur grimaced as he found himself once again in the midst of a raging sandstorm, even though Tyranitar had already been defeated by then.

_"With that sandstorm still up, Ivysaur won't be able to use Sleep Powder without getting in close."_ Ashley thought. _"That Blastoise knows Ice Beam, so I doubt we'll get the chance. I have to think this through carefully."_ Ashley thought out her next move carefully, while Gary waited. He planned to let her make the first move with the intent of countering it. Ashley nodded to herself once she was sure she was ready.

"Ivysaur, get in closer to Blastoise!" Ashley called out to Ivysaur. Ivysaur hesitated for a moment before charging toward Blastoise.

_"She better know what she's doing..."_ Ivysaur thought.

"Thats the best you can do? Oh well, its been fun." Gary shrugged. "Blastoise, attack with Ice Beam!"

"Ivysaur! Stop!" Ivysaur suddenly came screeching to a halt as Blastoise fired off another Ice Beam. Since Blastoise had been compensating for Ivysaur's movements, the sudden stop threw it off. The beam came short of its target, freezing the ground in front of Ivysaur and forming a small block of ice.

"Ok! Now use Leech Seed!" Ivysaur leaned his flower forward and fired a seed at Blastoise. It was too soon for Blastoise to fire another Ice Beam or attempt to stop the seed, so it landed almost unerringly on Blastoise's chest.

"Hmph. Thats not going to help you now." Gary said to Ashley. "Blastoise, Ice Beam again!"

"Ivysaur, quick! Synthesis!" Blastoise trained its twin cannons on Ivysaur and fired another Ice Beam attack while Ivysaur started absorbing light energy. The beam struck Ivysaur, forming ice on him briefly. The ice then shattered, leaving Ivysaur free to continue its technique and use Synthesis to heal himself.

_"We've got him now!"_ Ashley thought with a smirk. _"In the end, its his own sandstorm thats going to do him in. With Leech Seed and Synthesis, Ivysaur is much better equipped for enduring it."_ Sure enough, Blastoise was starting to look exhausted. Ashley's techniques were starting to wear it down. _"Now, if I'm right about this, then Blastoise's next Ice Beam..."_

"Grr! Blastoise, take it down now! Ice Beam!" Blastoise focused on Ivysaur and fired yet another Ice Beam attack, as though it were the only technique Gary's Blastoise knew. The beam struck Ivysaur head-on, freezing him over. The ice then shattered, causing Ivysaur to stagger back in immense pain. A green glow then surrounded Ivysaur and his flower seemed to grow slightly. His Overgrow ability had activated again, and this time it was staying active even after the Leech Seed took effect.

"Just as I thought! Blastoise's Ice Beam is still doing more damage than Ivysaur can restore, meaning now is our chance to strike back!" Ashley grinned to herself. "Ivysaur, finish this now with Razor Leaf!"

Ivysaur nodded and fired a barrage sharp leaves from the base of his bulb. The leaves sliced through the air and cut into Blastoise's body as they flew past it. Blastoise growled in pain as it was forced to endure the attack, which had been powered up by Ivysaur's Overgrow ability. Blastoise was still standing after, but then suddenly collapsed. It didn't have enough strength left to endure the sandstorm and leech seed. Gary gritted his teeth and recalled Blastoise.

"This...this isn't happening!" Gary growled in disbelief. "I lost again? And to ASHLEY?! This isn't fair! I'm supposed to be the champion!" Gary slowly backed away from the field, then turned around and took off running back inside. Gary was in a hurry to leave the arena after his second loss as the new champion of the Kanto Elite Four. Soon after Gary had left, the sandstorm finally died down.

"ALRIGHT! We did it!" Ashley cheered excitedly, jumping up and pumping her fist into the air.

"-Thats it then... I, Ivysaur, have beaten the toughest trainers and the toughest pokemon in the region...-" Ivysaur grinned to himself. "-Well...no reason to put this off any longer then...-" Ivysaur relaxed and focused for a moment. A surge of energy flowed through his body and a white glow surrounded him as he began to evolve.

The plant on Ivysaur's back grew larger and thicker, looking more like a tree than a flower. The flower opened as Ivysaur evolved, producing broad petals. Ivysaur's own body doubled in size as well. He stood six feet tall at the top of his flower when he was finished growing. The glow then faded, revealing his new form as a fully evolved Venusaur.

"Oh sure, now you'll evolve into a Venusaur." Ashley muttered, rolling her eyes.

"-Hey, its not like we needed it.-" Venusaur replied with a shrug. "-Evolving during the match just would have been overkill at this point.-"

"Well congratulations Ashley!" Professor Oak said as he and Catherine came to greet her. "I admit, I had my doubts when you struggled against Agatha, but you and your pokemon pulled through in the end! Looks like Gary will have a lot to think about after his second loss in a row."

"Way to go, Ashley! I took plenty of pictures for you, like you asked. Here." Ashley's mother handed her camera back to her.

"Thanks but...where are the pictures?" Ashley asked. Her mother pointed down at Rolly, who was struggling under the pile. Her mother had taken pictures of just about every blow traded between her pokemon and the Elite Four's. "Oh..."

"-Why...why am I carrying these?-" Rolly wondered aloud.

"If people like you keep showing up, we're going to feel a lot less elite." Ashley looked up to see that Lance had entered the arena while they were talking. "Thats now the third loss in a row for the Elite Four, and the second loss for Gary. Gary seems to be taking it particularly hard."

"Hey! You guys were still pretty tough, you know." Ashley replied.

"Perhaps." Lance shrugged. "Regardless, I would like for you to come with me for a moment."

"Oh...sure."

"Lance, would you mind if I tagged along? I would like to have a word with that grandson of mine." Professor Oak asked Lance.

"I'm afraid he's already left the building." Lance replied. "Like I said, he's taking the loss pretty hard."

"I see." Oak sighed. "I will have to go and find him then. Ashley, congratulations again on your victory over the Elite Four and good luck should you choose to go after Red's title."

"Thanks, professor." Oak nodded to her and then left the arena to find Gary. _"I don't know if I want to go after Red's title or not, but I'd like to battle him either way..."_

"Are you ready, Ashley?" Lance asked her. Ashley nodded in response and then followed Lance across the field. Her mother stayed behind to wait for her. Ashley was lead through a corridor, where she was congratulated by the rest of the Elite Four, and eventually found herself in a large room with a computer in the center. A large screen was mounted on the wall.

"Ashley, this is the Hall of Fame, where those who manage to defeat the Elite Four are recorded." Lance said, stopping at the machine and turning to face her. "Place your pokeballs into the recorder so you and your pokemon may be added to the Kanto Hall of Fame."

Ashley walked toward the machine and took each pokeball from her belt one by one. She placed each pokeball in a rounded indent and then inserted her trainer card. The machine activated and recorded her entry into the Hall of Fame.

"Congratulations, Ashley. You and your pokemon are now recorded in the Kanto Hall of Fame." Lance said to her. "I'm curious though...do you plan to go after Red now?"

"Maybe..." Ashley replied with a slight shrug. "I mean, I want to see how I'll fare against him, but I don't think I'll go after his title..."

"I see." Lance nodded to her. "Its strange, though, how this seems to be such a somber affair for a trainer who has bested the Elite Four. Its unusual for so few people to show up to watch..."

_"I don't really mind that there weren't many there..."_ Ashley thought. _"I'm only worried about one person in particular..."_

* * *

With her battles over, and her and her pokemon recorded in the Hall of Fame, Ashley made one final stop at the Pokemon League. She stopped by the pokemon center to heal her pokemon and then switch her entire team, her newly evolved Venusaur included. She had decided that the six pokemon she brought with her to challenge the Elite Four should take a well-deserved break. After that, she met up with her mother outside and released Charizard and Pidgeot from their pokeballs.

"Mom, you can go home with Charizard for now. I want to go to Pewter City to check up on Rina."

"Rina?" Catherine thought for a moment. "Oh yes, you said she was going to watch your matches today. I didn't see her around, though..."

"Thats why I'm going to check up on her, I just want to make sure nothing happened. I should be home within the hour anyway."

"If you say so. I will wait for you at home, then." Catherine climbed up onto Charizard's back and Ashley climbed onto Pidgeot. Rolly then hopped up and latched onto the back of Charizard's neck.

"Don't be gone too long, I'll have a special lunch prepared for winning today!" Catherine said to Ashley.

"Like I said, I shouldn't be gone too long!" Ashley replied, smiling lightly. "Charizard, you take good care of my mother, got it?" Charizard nodded and gave her a thumbs up, then took off toward Pallet Town.

"Ok, Pidgeot, lets go!" Pidgeot nodded and took off into the air, heading straight toward Pewter City.

* * *

For Pidgeot, the second fastest pokemon Ashley could fly on, the trip to Pewter City from Indigo Plateau was fairly short. The city was almost directly east of the plateau, though there were no roads on the ground between the city and the plateau. Pidgeot was able to make it there in less than five minutes and dropped down in front of Rina's house. Ashley hopped off Pidgeot's back but kept him out of his pokeball incase she needed help.

Ashley immediately suspected something was wrong when she arrived. The front door was wide open and the house was quiet. She cautiously stepped inside and took a quick look around the main hallway. She didn't immediately notice anything out of place,

"Rina?" Ashley called out to the house. The only reply she heard was a pained mewling coming from the kitchen. Ashley quickly ran to the kitchen and found Mew lying out on the table, looking as though it had been injured in a fight with another pokemon.

"Mew!" Ashley cried out in disbelief. She found herself frozen in place at the sight of the injured pokemon. "What happened to you?!" Mew weakly raised one of its small hands and pointed to a letter lying nearby on the table. Ashely slowly approached the table and picked it up, then quickly read it over.

"Did she...go after him alone?" Ashley asked Mew, slowly looking up from the paper. Mew nodded weakly. Mew had managed to escape in the fight, courtesy of its Transform technique, and fled to get the letter and find help. Mew was too weak to go on by the time she got to Rina's house, however, and collapsed on the table. Mew was fortunate that Ashley found it, but was worried it would now be too late.

_"Looks like I'll have to cancel my lunch plans. Are you able to fight at all?"_ Mew slowly shook its head. _"Might need to get a Revive for Mew then. Even though its conscious, I think its injuries are too severe for a potion. Definitely couldn't bring it to a pokecenter outside its pokeball like this..."_

"Mew, wait here! I'm going to go get a Revive." Ashley said to Mew, then took off out of the house to do so.

"-Please...hurry...-"

* * *

Author's Notes: Well, I think its rather obvious what happened to Rina now. Other than that, not a whole lot to say I don't think. Venusaur was originally going to evolve to finish Blastoise with a boosted Frenzy Plant, but it seemed like he should be able to handle it without evolving. So I had Ivysaur evolve after the battle, just to have it still happen. He was going to evolve in Chapter 40 originally (or thereabouts) but I decided it would get a break for a while so Ashley's other pokemon can get back into the spotlight.

Yeesh, really procrastinated with this one though. The 7 hour road trip I had today didn't really help things either. Nearly had it finished off this morning but still wasn't finished before I had to leave. Still managed to keep it from slipping into Tuesday at least...


	42. Chapter 39: Seeing Red

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Thirty Nine**

**Seeing Red**

Ashley managed to get a Revive for Mew and used it to restore the pokemon's strength. She then returned to Pallet Town to retrieve Charizard and explain the situation to her mother. Once she had Charizard back, she went to Vermilion City and took a Sea Gallop ferry to One Island where she briefly stopped by the pokecenter before continuing on her way. Following Ashley was what looked like a Rattata, but in reality was Mew.

_"The Sea Gallop would be a faster way to get to Seven Island than flying with Pidgeot, but I don't have the right ticket."_ Ashley thought as she stepped into the pokecenter. _"I know someone who should, though, so maybe he'll let me borrow it?"_

Inside the pokecenter, Celio was standing in front of his computer as usual and looked rather perplexed by something. He glanced over toward the door when Ashley stepped inside. "Ashley! Excellent timing! Could you do me a favor?"

"Actually I..."

"I've been trying to get my computer to link to the computers in Hoenn, but it doesn't have enough power to do so." Celio said, cutting her off. "If I had two gemstones, a ruby and a sapphire, then I believe I could make the connection..."

"Wait, why a ruby and a sapphire?" Ashley asked, blinking. "Thats strangely specific..."

"I'm not sure really, but there just happens to be one of each hidden in the Sevii Islands. I believe one is hidden deep within Mount Ember, and the other in the ruins on Six Island."

"I'd like to help you but..."

"Ah! Glad to hear it. Here..." Celio handed Ashley a card with a picture of a rainbow on it. "This is my Rainbow Pass card. With this, you can access all of the Sevii Islands. You'll need it if you're going to Six Island."

"In that case..." Ashley thought, trying to hide a grin as she took the card from him. "Alright then, I'll be back as soon as I find that sapphire for you!" Ashley waved to Celio and hurried out of the pokecenter. The 'Rattata' struggled to keep up with her.

"Well she certainly seemed to be in a hurry. She must have forgotten why she even came here in the first place." Celio shrugged and went back to toying with his computer.

* * *

With the Rainbow Pass in hand, Ashley immediately boarded a waiting Sea Gallop and took off toward Seven Island. The speedy ship was able to cross the ocean at highway speeds to reach the island in no time. As the ship approached the island, Ashley could see a single tall structure looming in the distance.

"That must be the Trainer Tower." Ashley said, then looked down at the transformed Mew. "Is that where Rina is?" Ashley asked it. Mew nodded.

_"That beast will be waiting too..."_ Mew thought. _"I hope Ashley and her pokemon will be able to beat it, for Rina's sake..."_

The Sea Gallop soon docked in the Seven Island harbour and Ashley departed from there. Outside the harbour was a small town with a pokecenter, pokemart, and a few houses. The Trainer Tower lied north of the small town, which was where Ashley immediately headed for. She ended up stopping just outside the town, however, as she spotted a familiar figure blocking her path.

"Red?! What are you doing here?" Ashley asked in disbelief. Without a word, Red drew a pokeball and released his Pikachu.

"I came here for the same reason Rina did. For the same reason you did. One by one, the boss of the Grand Hunters is eliminating his greatest threats." Red said to her. "If you want to get to him, you'll have to go through me first."

"What! Why?" Ashley asked him. Mew growled at him and reverted to his normal form to float up next to Ashley.

"-Lemme at this guy! I'll take him on!-" Mew said.

"-Try it.-" Pikachu replied flatly, though with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Because when I faced him, he told me something." Red replied quietly. "There's no turning back for me now that I know where my father has been all these years. Now history is repeating itself..."

"What? What do you mean by that?"

"Nevermind." Red shot back. "Call out your pokemon now. We're battling, and I'm not holding anything back."

_"Looks like he's really serious about this!"_ Ashley thought, quickly reaching for a pokeball. _"I wanted to battle Red, but not now! I came here to rescue Rina!"_

"Snorlax, go!" Ashley called out, releasing Snorlax out onto the grassy field. Snorlax gave a yawn as she appeared, thinking nothing of the tense atmosphere between the two trainers. The sun was low in the sky, though not quite setting, as Ashley and Red prepared to battle.

_"This is it then..."_ Red thought. _"If Ashley can't beat me...then I follow in the footsteps of my father. Before my battle with the leader, the ex-Champion of the Kanto Elite Four, I had never lost a battle. I don't think she stands a chance..."_

"Pikachu, attack with Thunderbolt!" Sparks shot out from Pikachu's white cheeks, forming into a bolt of lightning that zipped across the field to strike Snorlax. Snorlax growled in pain, finding herself on the receiving end of an electric attack that rivaled even a Thunderbolt from Zapdos.

_"Red's Pikachu is undoubtedly strong, and probably agile enough to dodge most of Snorlax's attacks."_ Ashley thought. _"I'll have to think this through carefully."_

"Snorlax, Yawn!" Snorlax gave a loud yawn, releasing a white gas into the air. The gas surrounded Red's Pikachu, giving her no chance to evade it. As she breathed in the gas, she felt herself becoming drowsy.

"-Come on! Let me fight this guy! I can take him!-" Mew said, taking a few mock punches at the air. Mew stopped and hung his head sadly when it remembered Ashley couldn't understand it.

_"That won't stop us."_ Red thought. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt again!" Pikachu gathered electricity and fired another powerful bolt at Snorlax. Snorlax growled in pain as the bolt struck her and electricity flowed through her body. She was left feeling somewhat exhausted after the second Thunderbolt.

_"That pokemon...how can it be so powerful?"_ Snorlax wondered. Fortunately for Snorlax, the effect of her Yawn technique kicked in and Pikachu fell asleep after attacking her.

_"That weak after two attacks? Even Zapdos couldn't do that! Better have Snorlax rest up." _Ashley thought. "Snorlax, use Rest!" Snorlax relaxed and closed her eyes, soon falling into a deep sleep and restoring her strength completely in the process.

_"Ok, now here goes nothing..."_ Ashley took a deep breath. "Snorlax, Sleep Talk!" Snorlax mumbled to herself in her sleep and then stood up. She ran toward Pikachu and jumped into the air, though only making it a few feet off the ground, and landed hard on top of her. Pikachu let out a pained cry in her sleep, muffled by Snorlax's immense bulk.

_"Well that worked well!"_ Ashley thought with a smirk. _"Now...should I use Sleep Talk again? The chances of getting Body Slam again are pretty slim, and that should have hurt Pikachu pretty badly regardless of how strong it is. So lets try Snore instead."_

"Snorlax, attack with Snore now!" Snorlax slowly stood up, leaving Pikachu's sleeping form flattened against the ground. With her head looking down, Snorlax opened her mouth and let out a loud snore. A strong shockwave sent Pikachu rolling back across the ground and hit her hard. After one final bounce, Pikachu opened her eyes and woke up to land on her feet. She nearly fell over though, having been left in pretty rough shape by Snorlax's attacks. Meanwhile, Snorlax was waking up as well.

_"She managed to land some heavy blows. Pikachu won't be able to do much with Thunderbolt at this rate, better try Thunder."_ Red thought before ordering an attack. "Pikachu, use Thunder!"

"Snorlax, use Rest again!" Pikachu raised her head and let out a weak cry, calling down a bolt of lightning from the sky. The bolt of lightning came down on top of Snorlax, inflicting a very heavy blow in spite of Snorlax's defensive capabilities. The damage was erased as quickly as it had been inflicted, however, as Snorlax closed her eyes and went into a deep sleep again.

"Pikachu, keep it up! Knock Snorlax out with Thunder!" Pikachu nodded determinedly and called down another bolt of lightning from sky. Snorlax let out a pained growl as the electricity passed through her, falling onto her back and yet still remaining asleep.

_"Ashley...please find a way to beat Red!"_ Pikachu thought, quietly hoping for Ashley's success though she held nothing back. _"For Rina's sake, for Pippi's sake, you must win this battle!"_

"Snorlax, finish it now with Snore!" Snorlax slowly sat up, still reeling from Pikachu's Thunder attack. Snorlax then opened her mouth to let out a loud Snore while Pikachu went through the motions to call down another lightning bolt. The shockwave from the loud Snore struck Pikachu, but not before she could complete the attack. Pikachu was knocked out cold by the attack, but a second lightning bolt striking Snorlax similarly finished her off.

_"Damn it! If that first Thunder hadn't knocked Snorlax over, Pikachu wouldn't have gotten the second one off!"_ Ashley thought as she recalled Snorlax. _"Still...to be able to knock a Snorlax out with only two Thunder attacks, there has to be more to it than just being a strong Pikachu."_

"Looks like you defeated one of my pokemon." Red commented as he recalled Pikachu. "Not many have even been able to do that before..."

"Oh come off it! You're good, Red, but there's no way you're that good!" Ashley shot back.

"You'll see soon enough." Red replied calmly. Both he and Ashley took another pokeball in their hands to release their next pokemon. "Charizard, I choose you!"

"Charizard, you're next! Go!" Ashley and red held out their pokeballs, simultaneously releasing their next pokemon. A Charizard appeared before each trainer, giving a mighty roar to announce their presence and almost mirroring each other's entrance exactly.

_"Both of us are using Charizard. I should probably switch to Vaporeon."_ Ashley thought, reaching for a pokeball but then hesitating. _"Then again...neither of us has the advantage...and this would be a good chance to see where I stand against Red."_

"Charizard, attack with Dragon Rage!"

"Charizard, counter with Flamethrower!"

Red's Charizard started off the battle by firing a blast of blue flames at Ashley's Charizard. Ashley's Charizard countered with Flamethrower, spewing a stream of fire into the oncoming blue flame. The blue flame dwindled as it pushed against the flames, burning out entirely long before reaching Ashley's Charizard.

"Heat Wave!" Red commanded next. His Charizard responded by flapping its wings, sending a blast of flames and hot air toward Ashley's Charizard. Ashley's Charizard braced itself against the attack as the flames singed the grass-covered terrain.

"Charizard, push through it and attack with Slash!" Ashley's Charizard roared and charged forward, pushing through the heat and flames to reach Red's Charizard. Ashley's Charizard raised one clawed hand back and lashed out at its opponent, raking the opposing Charizard across the chest. Red's Charizard staggered back, ceasing its Heat Wave attack but easily shaking off the blow.

"Charizard, strike back with Slash and follow up with Flamethrower!" Red's Charizard raised one hand back and lashed out at Ashley's with a Slash attack, raking its claws against it's opponent's chest. Ashley's Charizard groaned in pain and staggered back, taking a far stronger blow than the one it had dealt previously. Red's Charizard then breathed a blast of flames at Ashley's Charizard, searing him at close range.

"Ok, looks like his Charizard is stronger than mine. I can still try to outsmart him, though!" Ashley thought, clenching a fist. "Charizard, take off while using Flamethrower!"

Ashley's Charizard started flapping its wings and hovered up off the ground. It then fired a blast of flames down onto Red's Charizard, distracting it from attacking. Charizard continued the attack while rising higher into the air until he was eventually too high up to keep attacking. Red's Charizard easily took the hit, though, and was ready to give chase as soon as Red gave the word.

"Charizard, take off after it and use Flamethrower!" Red's Charizard quickly gave chase, flapping its wings and taking off after Ashley's Charizard. Red's Charizard was gaining on Ashley's rather quickly and was soon opening its mouth to unleash its attack.

"Charizard, dive!" Ashley's Charizard quickly dove back down toward the ground as Red's fired a blast of flames at it. Red's Charizard cut the attack short, realizing it had missed.

"Dive after it and use Wing Attack!" Red's Charizard turned down and dove after Ashley's, again catching up rather quickly. With its wings stretched out, Red's Charizard smacked Ashley's with its right wing and then pulled out of the dive. Ashley's Charizard crashed hard into the ground and laid unmoving for a moment before slowly rising back to its feet, pain echo'ing through its body. A red glow illuminated him briefly and the fire on his tail grew larger.

_"Looks like that last blow nearly did him in!"_ Ashley thought. _"It also activated Blaze, though, so here's our chance at a comeback!"_

"Charizard, now! Attack with Blast Burn!" Charizard opened its mouth and quickly gathered a fireball while his opponent still hovered overhead. The fireball continued to expand until releasing in a massive, fiery burst. Red's Charizard tried to fly out of the way, but the blast was too wide and it swept it up anyway. Red's Charizard was incinerated briefly by the intense flames before dropping to the ground in a smoking heap.

"Alright! We got it!" Ashley cheered. Charizard grinned, also thinking he had won.

"You really think that will stop my Charizard?" Red said to Ashley. As if on cue, his Charizard rose up off the ground, looking fairly exhausted and yet not exhausted enough to trigger Blaze.

"It can still fight?!" Ashley said in disbelief.

_"Damn it...I didn't stand a chance from the start!"_ Her Charizard thought, growling quietly. Having used Blast Burn, he was in no condition to fight back now, leaving him open.

"Charizard, finish it now with Flamethrower." Red calmly commanded his pokemon. His Charizard opened its mouth and fired a blast of flames at Ashley's Charizard. In his weakened state, it was too much for Charizard to take and he soon collapsed. Ashley quickly recalled him.

"Good job, Charizard. Return." Red said to his pokemon, likewise recalling it.

_"Well now I know Red's pokemon are stronger than mine, the only chance I have of beating him is to get a clear advantage somehow."_ Ashley thought. "I'll send Vaporeon out next and go from there." Ashley took another pokeball in her hand, as did Red. Both trainers quickly sent out their next pokemon.

"Vaporeon, go!" Ashley called out Vaporeon onto the field, who appeared looking calm and collected as usual. Even at the prospect of battle, Vaporeon kept a calm demeanour.

"Blastoise, I choose you!" Red called out his usual phrase as he released his own water pokemon, Blastoise, onto the field. Blastoise let out a low growl and hunched over in preparation to fight Vaporeon.

_"Great! I have the advantage against this one!"_ Ashley thought, smiling to herself. _"Red's Blastoise won't be able to use its water attacks, wonder if that means he'll switch?"_

"Blastoise, get ready with a Skull Bash!" Blastoise planted one hand on the ground and lowered its head, looking like a marathon runner waiting for the start of the race as it prepared to attack.

_"Or...not."_ Ashley thought, blinking. "Ok then...Vaporeon, attack with Toxic!" Vaporeon opened its mouth and spat out a purple blob of poison at Blastoise. In the position it was in, Blastoise could make no move to evade the attack at all. The poison landed on its head, and Blastoise quickly shook it off. Blastoise wasn't fast enough in removing it to keep it from seeping into its body though.

_"Good, now to get ready for Blastoise's counter attack."_ Ashley thought. Soon enough, Blastoise charged across the field with its head low to the ground. "Vaporeon, evade with Quick Attack!" Vaporeon gathered himself up and shot off to the side in a blur of movement. Blastoise charged past where Vaporeon had been standing previously and then came to an abrupt stop when Blastoise realized it had missed.

"Ok, now fire back with a Shadow Ball attack!" Ashley called out next. Vaporeon turned to face Blastoise while gathering a shadowy black ball in front of him. With a jerk of his head, Vaporeon launched the ball at Blastoise. The Shadow Ball attack hit Blastoise in the side, though it barely even flinched from the impact.

_"Skull Bash won't work then."_ Red thought. "Blastoise, attack with Bite and lift Vaporeon off the ground." Blastoise turned and charged toward Vaporeon's new position. Blastoise leaned forward as it reached Vaporeon, opening its mouth and clamping down on Vaporeon's neck. Vaporeon gasped in pain and his body hanged limply as Blastoise lifted him off the ground with his powerful jaws.

_"Whoa! Even his Blastoise has that much power?!"_ Ashley thought in disbelief, then shook her head. _"No time to be amazed by that, think! Vaporeon's best shot at attacking now would likely be Ice Beam, even if it won't do much its worth a shot."_

"Vaporeon, turn and fire at Blastoise with Ice Beam!" Vaporeon turned his head to face Blastoise as much as he could and then fired a cold, blue beam. The beam struck a glancing blow along Blastoise's shoulder, briefly covering it with ice. The attack, naturally, had little effect on Blastoise.

"Launch it into the air now, Blastoise! Brick Break!" Blastoise let go of Vaporeon and then smashed him from below with its hand held sideways in a chopping motion. The impact sent Vaporeon flying up on an angle, as if Blastoise had served him like a volleyball, and briefly knocked the wind out of him.

"Vaporeon, use Shadow Ball again!" Ashley called out while Vaporeon was still in the air. Vaporeon maneuver to face Blastoise and formed a ball of shadows, then flung the ball at Blastoise with a flick of his neck. The ball struck Blastoise in the chest with seemingly little effect.

_"His Blastoise can take a lot of punishment, but then again so can my Vaporeon."_ Ashley thought.

"Again, Brick Break!" Red commanded Blastoise. Blastoise charged across the field, toward where Vaporeon was about to land. Vaporeon's hit the ground and his feet were firmly planted only momentarily before Blastoise struck Vaporeon in the head with a chopping motion. Vaporeon cried out and staggered back, shaking his head.

_"Or maybe not..."_ Ashley thought, looking between the two pokemon. Though both of them were looking quite exhausted, Vaporeon seemed to be moreso than Blastoise.

"Blastoise, finish it with another Brick Break!"

"Vaporeon, evade with Quick Attack!"

Blastoise charged toward Vaporeon again while raising one hand over its head to attack. Vaporeon ran toward Blastoise, seemingly charging straight into its attack. As Blastoise brought its hand down toward Vaporeon, however, Vaporeon shot past it in a blur of movement to move behind it. Blastoise ended up taking a useless swipe at the air.

"Ok! Now fire back with Shadow Ball!"

"Blastoise, Protect! Then use Bite!"

Vaporeon turned around and fired a Shadow Ball attack at nearly point-blank range, but Blastoise was still able to form a barrier around itself before Vaporeon's attack hit it. Blastoise then dropped the barrier and turned around to quickly descend on Vaporeon. Blastoise clamped its jaws down on Vaporeon's neck. Vaporeon let out a sharp cry and then fell unconscious from the attack.

"I can't believe Vaporeon lost, even with Blastoise denied its strongest attacks." Ashley thought as she recalled Vaporeon. She then took a quick look at Blastoise before Red recalled it and noticed it seemed to be barely hanging on as well, courtesy of the poison.

_"At least his Blastoise didn't get off scot free. Any pokemon of mine could probably finish it now. Still, I'm in rough shape here. I need to figure out a way to gain the upperhand somehow." _Ashley thought over her next move while Red was already releasing his next pokemon without waiting.

"Snorlax, I choose you!" He called out, releasing Snorlax onto the field. Ashley could immediately tell Red's Snorlax was far less lethargic than her own as it was already standing and looking ready for a fight when it appeared.

_"Red doesn't seem to really care what pokemon he sends out to fight, and he leaves them out even if they're at a disadvantage."_ Ashley thought to herself. _"He only ever switches pokemon after they beat one of mine, so maybe he'd even leave his Snorlax out against a ghost pokemon?"_ Ashley nodded to herself and reached for a pokeball.

"Gengar, go!" She called out, releasing the ghost pokemon onto the field. Gengar grinned widely and snickered mischeviously once she materialized. She looked forward to trying out her dirty tricks again after having been resting for so long.

_"I don't think she's going to let me battle this guy. I mean, not that I'd want to battle that giant there, but we really need to beat this guy so we can save Rina!"_ Mew floated out in front of Ashley and flailed its arms wildly, trying to get her attention.

"Huh? What is it Mew?" Ashley asked it. "I'm kinda busy here..." Mew growled and then turned sideways, taking a few mock punches at the air to try to get it's message across. Ashley thought for a moment, realizing what Mew was saying and considering it for a moment.

"I don't think it'd really be fair to use you in this battle, but we really do need to beat him so I'll send you in if he manages to get past the rest of my pokemon, alright?" Mew nodded and floated off to the side again, letting Ashley get back to the battle.

"Are you ready now?" Red asked in an agitated tone.

"I'm ready, but first I want you to answer something." Ashley replied. "You said you know where your father has been and that history was repeating itself, just what were you talking about?"

"I..." Red thought for a moment, considering his response, but then shook his head and pointed out toward Ashley's Gengar. "Snorlax, use Yawn!" Red's Snorlax opened its mouth and let out a loud yawn, releasing a white cloud of gas into the air. The gas surrounded Gengar, causing her to become drowsy as she breathed it in.

"-Tsk...tsk...that is supposed to be my job...-" Gengar replied quietly, followed by a yawn.

_"Guess I'm not getting a straight answer out of him unless I beat it out of him!"_ Ashley thought, angrily narrowing her eyes at Red. _"Fine then, my pokemon might not be able to beat you in a straight up fight, but Gengar never was good at that anyway."_

"Have it your way, Red! Gengar, attack his Snorlax with Will-o-Wisp!" Gengar grinned as she held her hands out toward Snorlax. A purple flame surrounded her hands and then released in a ghostly ball of fire. The wisp floated across the field until it struck Snorlax, searing it's torso and leaving a burn in the process.

"Now attack with Curse!" Ashley called out, hoping to get in another attack before Gengar fell asleep. Though her eyelids were starting to close, Gengar summoned a dark, shadowy pin. The pin stabbed through her, cutting her life force, and then disappeared. A dark aura then descended upon Snorlax, inflicting a Curse on it. After making the attack, Gengar fell to the ground and was fast asleep.

_"Snorlax won't have a chance to beat her Gengar, not while inflicted with both Curse and burn. Guess Snorlax will have to sleep too."_ Red thought. "Snorlax, use Rest!" Red's Snorlax plopped down on the ground and closed it's eyes. Snorlax drifted off into a deep sleep, restoring its health in the process. The burn on its chest likewise disappeared, leaving Snorlax perfectly healthy and both pokemon asleep.

_"Ok, now I have to keep up the pressure on it."_ Ashley thought. _"Once Gengar wakes up, we'll keep the pressure on Snorlax so it has to keep using Rest. Eventually, that'll create an opening where Snorlax is just waking up and we can attack with Torment then. Snorlax won't be able to use Rest again, and then we can use Hypnosis to keep it from attacking while the Curse finishes it. Its just a waiting game now."_

"Snorlax, Sleep Talk!" Snorlax mumbled something in its sleep and then suddenly stood up. Snorlax charged toward the sleeping Gengar, while still asleep itself, and jumped onto the ghost pokemon in a Body Slam attack. However, with Gengar being a ghost, it ended up phasing through Snorlax's attack.

_"Well that didn't work..."_ Red thought. "Try again, Sleep Talk!" Snorlax stood up and moved off of Gengar, even though it made little difference to the ghost pokemon, and then curled up into a ball with Defense Curl. _"Not bad. If Snorlax uses Rollout now, it'll be able to launch a stronger attack from the start. Snorlax should be awake now too, but that Curse is still causing a lot of damage. I'll tell him to go back to sleep."_

"Snorlax, use Rest again!" Red called out. Remaining curled up in a ball, Snorlax went back to sleep to restore the damage inflicted by Curse while it had been asleep before. It was hard for anyone to tell whether it was awake or asleep just by looking, however. Shortly after, Gengar finally woke up.

_"Could've timed that better, but at least we can keep Snorlax from doing too much while its asleep."_ Ashley thought. "Gengar, use Torment on Snorlax!"

"-Oh dear! You're not going to use the same attack over and over, are you?-" Gengar said to Snorlax condescendingly while waving her finger at him. "-Tsk, tsk, tsk, no real pokemon would ever sink that low...-" Though Snorlax was asleep, Gengar's words struck home as she tormented him into not using the same attack consecutively.

"Only going to get to use Sleep Talk once, better make it count then." Red thought to himself. "Snorlax, Sleep Talk!" Snorlax mumbled something to himself in his sleep and then suddenly uncurled. Snorlax began beating on his chest like a drum, hurting himself greatly in the process but maximizing his attack power as well. Snorlax sat back when he was done, still fast asleep.

"One Rollout will finish Gengar after that." Red thought to himself. It took a few seconds for him to realize the truth. "Wait a minute..." He then thought, looking suddenly distraught. "With that loss of health, he won't be able to resist the Curse long enough to attack!"

"Looks like I win this round." Ashley said with a smirk. "This isn't necessary at this point, but go ahead and attack Snorlax with Dream Eater, Gengar. The Curse will finish him off before he can wake up." Gengar nodded and held out her hands toward Snorlax while opening her mouth. A purple orb began to form in front of her as she drew out Snorlax's dreams into an edible form, inflicting minor damage on Snorlax. She then chomped down on the orb, restoring some health to herself in the process. Almost immediately after, Snorlax fell back. It was no longer asleep, knocked out by the Curse instead.

"Damn...well one win won't win her the match." Red thought as he recalled Snorlax. "You only got lucky there, Ashley, don't think I won't be able to make up for that loss."

_"It might only be one win, but if Gengar can somehow take out another of his pokemon then I'll be able to catch up."_ Ashley thought with a smirk. _"And I know just how to do that!"_

"Espeon, I choose you!" Red called out as he released his psychic pokemon, Espeon, from its pokeball. The Espeon had a determined look on its face as it prepared to face down Gengar.

"Espeon, finish it in one shot! Psychic!"

"Gengar! Destiny Bond!"

Gengar and Espeon both began to focus on their attacks, with Espeon moving only slightly faster than Gengar was. A blue glow surrounded Gengar as Espeon reached out with its psychic powers, and this was shortly followed by a dark shadow appearing under both pokemon's feet.

"What? No!" Red said in disbelief as he witnessed what would lead to his Espeon's demise. Gengar grimaced in pain as Espeon's psychic powers crushed it from all sides. Once Espeon's focus began to waver it released Gengar by slamming her into the ground, knocking her out. Triggering Destiny Bond, Espeon collapsed as well, its strength suddenly drained from it entirely. Red and Ashley then recalled their fallen pokemon.

"You've still got only two pokemon left against my three, Ashley, you're still not winning this." Red said to her as he took another pokeball in his hand. "Venusaur, I choose you!" Red released his pokemon, sending Venusaur out onto the field to battle next. Venusaur snorted loudly when it appeared.

_"The way I see it, Red, its two against one."_ Ashley thought with a smug grin. _"Your Blastoise and Charizard are already weakened quite a bit, and so long as I can put your Venusaur in the same condition with my next pokemon, my final pokemon can win it all!"_

Mew glanced over at Ashley, noticing her expression. _"She looks confident...does she have something planned?"_

"Pidgeot, your turn now! Go!" Ashley called out, releasing the bird pokemon Pidgeot onto the field. Pidgeot appeared in a perched position, briefly stretching its wings to get ready for the fight.

"-Beat up the eldest member of the Bulbasaur family?-" Pidgeot offset his beak in a birdlike version of a grin. "-I'm going to enjoy this!-"

"Venusaur, attack and grab it with Vine Whip!"

"Pidgeot, Quick Attack and fly up!"

Venusaur lashed out at Pidgeot with a pair of thick vines, but Pidgeot quickly flapped his wings and shot forward. Venusaur overshot its target when it made for a grab, and Pidgeot was already flying straight up and out of reach by the time Venusaur was coming back around.

"Ok, Pidgeot, now attack with Swift!" Pidgeot turned in the air and came to a stop while facing the ground. While flapping his wings, Pidgeot dropped down a few feet while making one broad motion and sending out a barrage of star shaped rays at Venusaur. Venusaur winced as the rays exploded along its back, though they didn't seem to have much effect in the end.

"Venusaur, fire back with Razor Leaf!" The large flower on Venusaur's back twitched, sending a barrage of sharp leaves spinning through the air. The leaves were able to reach Pidgeot and slash across his body, inflicting minor injuries and causing him to drop down again due to the distraction. Pidgeot gave a few strong beats of its wings to rise up and make up for lost altitude.

_"Pidgeot can't win in a ranged battle like this. Venusaur will be able to restore itself with Synthesis no doubt, while Pidgeot won't be able to heal at all."_ Ashley thought, then focused her attention on Red. _"Lets see what he's going to do next, then."_

_"Alright, lets try to hit Pidgeot with something stronger."_ Red thought. "Venusaur, start charging Solar Beam!" Venusaur started to draw sunlight to the flower on its back, emitting a glow near the center where it gathered.

_"Solar Beam? Lets get ready to dodge it then."_ Ashley thought. "Pidgeot, use Agility!" Pidgeot continued to hover in the air while he closed his eyes and tried to relax. Pidgeot took deep breaths, loosening up his muscles for increased speed.

"Now! Get ready and dodge with Quick Attack!" Pidgeot nodded and opened his eyes to watch Venusaur. Venusaur finished charging and angled the flower on its back toward Pidgeot, then fired a wide beam of solar energy. Pidgeot gave a flap of its wings and shot off out of the line of fire, distancing Pidgeot enough from the beam in one move that he couldn't even feel the heat radiating from it.

"Good! Now fire back with Swift!" Pidgeot spread his wings in a wide arc, dropping a few feet as he ceased flapping them. Several star shaped rays fired out from along Pidgeot's wings, peppering Venusaur with a series of light blows.

_"No good using Solar Beam it seems, gives her too much time to get ready for it like this."_ Red thought. _"Back to Razor Leaf then. We can win in a straight up fight with that."_

"Ok, Venusaur, back to using Razor Leaf! Fire away!" Venusaur dislodged several sharp leaves from its flower and sent them flying toward Pidgeot. The sharp leaves cut across Pidgeot's body, causing him to drop down again as pain shot through his body.

"Pidgeot, Air Cutter from above Venusaur! Then go into a dive with Wing Attack!" Pidgeot turned over as he fell to point itself toward Venusaur and then fired a v-shaped blade of air. The blade sliced down into Venusaur's back, causing it to growl in pain. Pidgeot then pulled out of his dive near Venusaur to slice across its tree with his wing, inflicting more pain on Venusaur. Pidgeot used his remaining momentum to distance himself from Venusaur, then came to a stop and turned in the air to face it.

_"Not bad. She inflicted quite a bit of damage there..."_ Red thought, narrowing his eyes. "Venusaur, use Synthesis!" Venusaur drew in light toward its flower again, with a white light emitting from the center of its flower where it gathered. Venusaur then used the gathered light to heal itself of some of the damage inflicted on it.

"Pidgeot, attack with Air Cutter again!" Pidgeot dropped down to the ground and brought his wings together, forcing air between them, then parted them and fired it in a blade. The blade struck Venusaur in the face and cut across its back from there until it hit the flower. Venusaur grimaced and growled in pain, the Air Cutter attack had landed a strong hit against it.

_"We can go all out with Pidgeot on the ground, but lets make sure it stays there!"_ Red thought. "Venusaur, attack with Sleep Powder!"

_"I was waiting for that!"_ Ashley grinned. "Pidgeot, counter with a Gust attack!" Venusaur shook its flower, releasing a green powder into the air. The powder floated through the air, toward Pidgeot, but Pidgeot flapped his wings and sent a strong gust of wind at Venusaur. Venusaur winced as the wind pushed against its body, but then soon dropped asleep. The wind blew Venusaur's own Sleep Powder back into it, putting Venusaur to sleep instead.

_"What?! Did I fall into a trap?!"_ Red wondered in disbelief. Venusaur was fast asleep now and helpless against Pidgeot's assault.

"Ok, lets finish this quick! First, use Air Cutter!" Pidgeot nodded and brought his wings together again, then opened them to fire a v-shaped air blade at Venusaur. The blade cut into Venusaur's face and then dissipated, causing Venusaur to emit a low growl. A green glow surrounded Venusaur briefly and the flower on its back grew slightly, indicating its Overgrow ability had activated.

"We've almost got it! Double-Edge!" Pidgeot flapped its wings and took off toward Venusaur at full speed. Pidgeot took aim at Venusaur's face and crashed head first into it at full speed. Pidgeot was knocked to the ground by the impact and Venusaur staggered back then collapsed as well. Though it hurt itself a bit in the process, Pidgeot managed to knock Venusaur out and forced Red to recall it.

"Looks like I've managed to win in a straight up fight. What do you say to that, Red?" Ashley asked, grinning to herself. Red said nothing as he took another pokeball in his hand. Though it seemed like he had little chance of winning now, he wasn't about to back down.

"-Woohoo! Ashley has him cornered now!-" Mew cheered.

"Blastoise, I choose you!" Red called out, finding himself in an unusual situation as he sent out Blastoise. He didn't usually have to send out a pokemon twice in the same battle. Blastoise appeared on the field and a blue glow surrounded it briefly, as it had been weakened enough in the previous battle to activate Torrent.

"Blastoise, go all out! Hydro Cannon!"

"Pidgeot, quick! Take to the air!"

Pidgeot quickly picked itself up off the ground and flapped its wings, taking off just as two wide and powerful blasts of water passed through the spot it had been lying in. Pidgeot flew straight up in an effort to evade Blastoise's attack but, even with it's enhanced speed, Blastoise eventually got a lock on. With its cannons angled high, Blastoise finally struck Pidgeot.

The initial blast was enough to send Pidgeot plummeting toward the ground, but Blastoise followed it down as well. The water pressure pushed Pidgeot further and further away as he fell, until eventually the water dwindled and Pidgeot had been pushed out of range. Pidgeot crashed into the ground near Ashley, losing consciousness upon impact. Blastoise soon collapsed as well as the poison still afflicting it finally finished it off. Ashley and Red each recalled their pokemon.

_"This is it then, our last pokemon."_ Ashley thought, reaching for her final pokemon. _"My pokemon only needs to be able to withstand one attack, because I know I can defeat his Charizard with the right attack."_

"Primeape, go!"

"Charizard, I choose you!"

Ashley and Red each sent out their final pokemon. Red's Charizard gave a loud roar as it appeared, and Ashley's Primeape screeched loudly. Both pokemon were trying to put on a tough appearance.

"Charizard, Wing Attack!" Red called out almost as soon as Charizard was on the field. After announcing its presence, Charizard flapped its wings and took off across the field toward Primeape and dropped down in front of him. Charizard then brought both wings forward, striking Primeape with the tips. Primeape shrieked as he was knocked back hard, hitting the ground and skidding to a stop at Ashley's feet. Though it didn't look like a strong attack, Primeape was feeling it.

"Nice try, but it'll take more than that!" Ashley called out to Red as Primeape quickly jumped back on its feet. He was in a lot of pain, but that wasn't going to slow him down. "Primeape, finish this now with Rock Slide!"

"-Dragon go BYE BYE!-" Primeape screeched and slammed his gloved fists into the ground. The ground cracked up, dislodging several large rocks and sending them flying into Charizard. The first rock struck Charizard in the chest, knocking it over in a pained growl. The rest of the rocks piled on top of Charizard, knocking it unconscious. Red didn't take long to realize this and recalled his fainted pokemon back into its pokeball.

"Nice work, Primeape! Thats it for now." Ashley held out Primeape's pokeball and recalled him.

"-Ashley beat Red! Now we can go rescue Rina!-" Mew cheered excitedly.

"I must be losing my touch..." Red muttered to himself. "That strategy you used...in a way, its the same plan Giovanni had..."

"Type advantage might not be everything, but sometimes it can overcome a strength disadvantage." Ashley said to Red. "Now, want to tell me what this is all about? I think I at least deserve an explanation! Why are you battling me instead of helping Rina?!" Ashley demanded angrily.

"Why? Because when I went to challenge the leader of the hunters, I found out something." Red paused for a moment. "I found out that the man behind all of this...is my father."

"WHAT?!" Ashley yelled in disbelief. "You mean your father is the leader of the Grand Hunters?"

"No." Red replied, shaking his head. "The hunters are just a front for something even bigger. A means for someone else to gather powerful pokemon, the legendary pokemon in particular."

"And that someone is...your father?" Ashley asked. Red nodded solemnly. "Wait! How do you know this guy isn't just lying? And what does this have to do with you anyway?"

"The leader of the hunters, Duke, showed me a recorded message from my father." Red explained. "Apparently, I'm a lot like him. Both of us have very powerful pokemon, and we both prefer the company of pokemon over other people."

_"Gee, there's a shocker."_ Ashley thought, rolling her eyes.

_"Why would that be a bad thing?"_ Mew wondered.

"In a way, Ashley, this involves your father as well." Red said to Ashley, leaving her momentarily stunned.

"Wait...what? Do you want to explain this from the beginning?" Ashley asked, still in disbelief. "What does all of this have to do with anything anyway?"

"Well, as you're probably aware, both our fathers were talented trainers." Red explained calmly. "They also knew each other well. One day, my father told your father of his intention to recruit the strongest pokemon and use their power to remove humans, and only humans, from the world. Your father tried to stop him. The two battled, my father won, and then he killed your father to make sure he'd never say anything..."

"Your father...my father...but then..." Ashley was at a loss for words from the initial shock. She now finally knew where her father had disappeared to. "All this time we thought he was just off somewhere in the world with his pokemon..." She mumbled to herself.

"I thought all that was left for me was to follow in my father's steps. To help him in his goal to make a world where only pokemon exist." Red continued.

"Thats just stupid!" Ashley countered, snapping out of her daze. "Red, even you should be able to see that! You're not your father, and you don't have to get involved in this!"

"You're right, I was being stupid." Red replied quietly. "Thats why I'm going to find him and put a stop to his plan instead." Red reached into his backpack to take out a sapphire plate, then walked over to Ashley and handed it to her. "Here, you might as well take this. I got it off a couple of Rockets."

Ashley took the sapphire from Red and blinked in confusion. "What are you giving me this for?"

"-Hey! Weren't you asked to find a sapphire?-" Mew asked, forgetting for a moment that Ashley couldn't understand it.

"Its connected to Hoenn somehow. Somewhere in Hoenn is where my father is." Red explained to her. "Once you've rescued Rina, you should head there as well..." Red then walked past Ashley, heading into the town behind her.

Ashley quickly turned and called out after him. "Wait! Red! Why don't you help me?!" Red stopped, but didn't turn around to face her. He remained quiet for a moment as he contemplated his answer.

"Red! This guy beat you, and he beat Rina! What if I can't face him alone either?" Ashley said to him. Red continued to remain quiet. "He obviously has a powerful pokemon or something, but we can beat him for sure if we fight him together!" Again, Red remained quiet and kept his back to her.

"...Fine. Mew, lets go." Ashley placed the sapphire in her travel bag and headed off toward the tower. She assumed that, as the tower was regularly used for battling, that there would be healing facilities there rather than going back into town to heal her pokemon. Mew followed behind her.

As Ashley continued toward the tower, Red turned to watch her as she walked away, still debating whether or not to join her...

_"Does she really need my help?"_

* * *

Author's Notes: I pretty much got what I wanted into this chapter I think, but I can't help but feel there's something missing. I mean, maybe I should have had Red talk about Duke and his pokemon? Well, I guess Duke's personal introduction can be handled when he appears anyway. Still sorta debating what to do with the next chapter at this point, so there's plenty of room for more explanations/backstory if they're needed I suppose. Starting to get a few ideas in my head now actually...

For those who have been wondering, you can probably tell we're getting close to Melany and May finally appearing. When I eventually do the Sinnoh Saga (have to finish this one first of course, I do have plans for Sinnoh and then Johto though) I'll be making sure to have the old characters appear earlier than this. There's still roughly 20 chapters left in this saga though.


	43. Chapter 40: Vs Duke

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Forty**

**Vs. Ex-Champion Duke**

"Ok, Mew, you fought this Duke guy before, right? Any way you can tell me what kind of pokemon he had?" Ashley asked Mew. The two of them were standing in front of the pc on the bottom floor of the tower. Ashley's pokemon had been fully healed and now she was making any necessary changes to her team she thought she might need.

_"How can I explain this to her? Hmm..."_ Mew thought it over for a moment, then nodded to her and pointed to itself.

"So...does he have a strong psychic pokemon then?" Ashley asked. Mew nodded.

"Well I already have Gengar...so lets grab Beedrill too." Ashley said to herself, arranging one of her pokeballs on the transfer pad. "I'll switch Primeape for Beedrill, and I think I'll switch Pidgeot for Crobat too. I might be able to make use of its speed."

_"I hope she knows what she's doing..."_ Mew thought, recalling its own battle with Duke's pokemon. _"That pokemon was...strong...very strong..."_

Ashley quickly made the necessary changes to her pokemon lineup and then took off up the tower.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the top floor of the tower, Duke himself sat cross-legged on the floor, waiting. Duke was a muscular looking man in his thirties with fairly long, black hair. He wore a pair of blue jeans and a black shirt, looking nothing out of the ordinary despite being such a renowned trainer. Several feet behind him, Rina was hanging by a rope dangling from the ceiling. She was alive, but in rough shape and hanging by her hands which had been tied together.

"It won't be much longer now." Duke said to himself.

_"No...Ashley...don't come here!"_ Rina thought, hoping somehow her plea would reach Ashley. A cloth tied around her mouth prevented her from talking at all. Though Duke's intention had been to kill Rina, he had settled for punching her once for each pokemon she had personally taken from the hunters. Rina's body still ached from the blows, and she was sure he had cracked a few of her ribs.

Duke had kept Rina alive to use as bait, knowing full well that Ashley would eventually arrive to rescue her. His plan had been to remove Ashley and Rina one at a time, and to convince Red to aid him in his efforts. His plans had worked out perfectly, leaving only one trainer left for him to deal with.

_"Once I deal with these two I will have five legendary pokemon in my possession."_ Duke thought, grinning to himself. _"The hunters may be lost, but it will not be in vain."_ Duke shot a look across the room and stood up. Ashley arrived at the top of the stairs at the other side of the room with Mew floating along behind her.

"You! So you must be Duke!" Ashley called out as she entered the room. Rina, hearing Ashley's voice, struggled against her bindings and tried to call out to her and warn her. She only managed a muffled cry with the cloth tied over her mouth.

"Thats right. Leader of the Grand Hunters, ex-Champion of the Kanto Elite Four." Duke replied. "And you must be Ashley. Come here to hand over the legendary pokemon?"

"Not a chance!" Ashley shot back in a growl. "Ex-Champion or not, I'm not going to lose to you!" Ashley looked past Duke, catching a glimpse of Rina hanging from the rope. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO RINA?!" She angrily demanded.

"Not nearly as much as I'm going to do to both of you once I've pounded your pokemon to the ground." Duke replied in a darkened tone. "As the champion of the Elite Four, I was unbeatable. That was why I quit. Yet you seem to think you can beat me. Lets see what you've got then, girlie."

_"This guy might be tough. I still have Mew with me though."_ Ashley thought, glancing over at the psychic pokemon floating next to her. _"I've gone through the gyms, the Elite Four, and even Red. I don't know how strong this guy is, but there's no way he can be that much stronger than me to be able to beat all of my pokemon as well as Mew." _Ashley looked across the room at Rina again. _"Hang in there, Rina. I'll get you down from there just as soon as I beat this Duke guy."_

_"Ashley! Run!"_ Rina thought desparately, tears running down the side of her face. _"You can't beat him! Save yourself and run! Please!"_

"Since you're not going to win anyway, I will give you the benefit of knowing what pokemon I'm going to use." Duke said to Ashley with a slight grin as he held out a pokeball. The pokeball opened up and released a blue skinned, humanoid pokemon with webbed hands and feet. Ashley immediately recognized it as Golduck, evolved form of Psyduck.

_"Well if he's going to use a water type, then I'll use one too."_ Ashley thought as she grabbed a pokeball. "Vaporeon, go!" She called out, releasing Vaporeon from his pokeball. Vaporeon materialized in his usual position, tail half curled around his body and looking rather calm despite being sent into battle.

"Vaporeon, poison Golduck with Toxic!"

"Golduck, use Psychic and block it."

Vaporeon opened his mouth and sprayed a toxic purple substance at Golduck. As the poison came toward it, Golduck focused its psychic powers on it. A blue glow surrounded it briefly and then the blob was blown apart in midair, scattering it over the floor.

_"Will have to get closer to land a hit with Toxic then."_ Ashley thought. "Vaporeon, move in with Quick Attack!" Vaporeon uncurled his tail and then shot toward Golduck in a blur of movement. Vaporeon moved in closer to the other pokemon, but stopped just short of hitting it.

"Heh. That's your move?" Duke sneered. "Golduck, blast it back with Psychic!" Golduck closed its eyes and focused, and the red gem on its forehead glowed. A blue glow then surrounded Vaporeon and he suddenly found himself thrown back by a psychic force. Vaporeon hit the ground a few feet away, but easily shook off the attack and stood up again.

"No, this is my move! Vaporeon, Toxic!" Vaporeon opened his mouth and sprayed another toxic, purple substance. Golduck had little time to react with Vaporeon being so close. The purple substance landed on Golduck's body and seeped into it, leaving Golduck poisoned.

"Even poisoned, my Golduck can still beat your Vaporeon." Duke said to Ashley. "Golduck, attack with Psychic again!"

"Vaporeon, Quick Attack!" Duke's Golduck started to focus again, but Vaporeon quickly shot into Golduck in a blur of movement. The sudden impact caught Golduck off guard, distracting it and causing it to stagger back. "Now follow up with Shadow Ball!" Vaporeon quickly gathered a shadowy ball and flung it into Golduck, who was already off balance. The Shadow Ball slammed into Golduck, knocking it off its feet.

_"Hrmph. Where were trainers like her and her friends when I was champion?"_ Duke wondered bitterly. "Red, Rina, Ashley, trainers like them would have made things interesting. No matter."

"Golduck, attack with Psychic!"

"Again? Vaporeon, Quick Attack!"

Golduck started to focus again, but Vaporeon moved too quickly for it and smashed into Golduck to distract it and pushed Golduck back a bit as it was still lying down. However, while Vaporeon was attacking, Duke called out another command to Golduck. "Disable!" Golduck focused its psychic powers on Vaporeon after enduring the attack. A yellow glow soon surrounded it, preventing Vaporeon from using Quick Attack anymore. Golduck then took the opportunity provided by the brief pause in battle to stand up again.

"Damn it! I walked right into that!" Ashley said, mentally slapping herself. She eyed Golduck briefly, seeing how it was holding up compared to Vaporeon. _"Looks like Golduck's getting steadily weaker, shouldn't be much longer before it goes down at least. Vaporeon should still be able to outlast it."_

"There shouldn't be anymore problems now, Golduck. Attack with Psychic."

"Vaporeon, try to hit first with Shadow Ball!" Vaporeon started forming a ball of shadows, but found himself unable to finish as he felt a telekinetic force suddenly weighing down on his body. The shadows dispersed, and Golduck ended its psychic attack by throwing Vaporeon back.

"Nevermind, get in and use Bite instead!" Ashley quickly issued another command. Vaporeon got back up, shaking off Golduck's attack, and then lunged forward. Golduck had no time to react before Vaporeon was upon it, sinking his teeth into Golduck's side in a light Bite attack. Golduck let out a surprised quack and growled in pain. The poison was starting to take a heavy toll as well, leaving Golduck looking fairly weak.

"Seems this one may be able to beat my pokemon as well. No surprise. So did the last two." Duke thought. "Golduck, dislodge Vaporeon with another Psychic attack!" Golduck ignored the pain that was shooting through its body, focusing it's psychic powers on Vaporeon. Vaporeon was forcefully removed from Golduck's body and lifted into the air while Golduck crushed it with its psychic power.

"You would think thats the only attack it knows." Ashley thought. "Vaporeon, attack with Ice Beam, now!" While still suspended in the air, Vaporeon was able to direct an attack toward Golduck. Vaporeon opened his mouth and fired a blue beam into Golduck's face. Ice formed from where the beam struck, quickly encasing Golduck's entire head, but then shattering just as quickly. Golduck responded to the attack by hurling Vaporeon against the ground, but then collapsed as poison drained the last of its strength.

"Hmph. Lucky shot." Duke grumbled as he recalled Golduck. He then took another pokeball in his hand and released his next pokemon. A pokemon consisting of three magnet-like pokemon with a single eye fused together appeared, using its power over electricity and magnets to hover a foot off the floor.

"An electric type. Typical." Ashley thought. "Ok, thats enough for now, Vaporeon! Return!" Ashley held out Vaporeon's pokeball and recalled him, then placed it back on her belt and took another pokeball in hand. "Charizard, you can handle this one! Go!" The pokeball opened up and released Charizard, who let out a loud roar as usual to announce his arrival.

"Just what's your goal here anyway?" Ashley called out to Duke. "Why would you go from being the Champion of the Elite Four to being a criminal!?"

"It gets boring being at the top." Duke replied offhandedly. "Magneton, attack with Thunderbolt!" Magneton gathered electricity around each of the three protruding magnets and then fired a bolt at Charizard. Charizard growled in pain as he felt the electricity shoot through him and into the floor.

"Damn it...he isn't much for conversation." Ashley grumbled to herself. "Charizard, lets finish this in one go! Attack Magneton with full power, now! Blast Burn!"

Charizard grinned, more than happy to oblige. He opened his mouth and began forming a fireball, condensing a large amount of fire into a dense sphere. He then released the gathered flames, sending a column of fire across the room. The fire engulfed Magneton completely when it reached it, scorching the magnet pokemon until the flames dispersed. Sparks shot out of Magneton's joints and then it suddenly collapsed, downed in one attack just as Ashley had planned.

"Not bad. But you've left yourself open." Duke said to Ashley, quickly recalling his fallen Magneton to send out another pokemon. He held out a pokeball and released a foxlike pokemon with nine tails onto the field.

"Ninetails, attack Charizard with Confuse Ray!" Ninetales' eyes flashed and a white orb of light appeared in front of her. The light shot across the room and then circled around Charizard. Charizard felt himself strangely drawn to the light, but his attempts to follow it left him looking confused when it suddenly vanished.

"Fine by me, I'm not leaving Charizard in against that anyway." Ashley said to herself. "Charizard, good job, but thats it for now!" Ashley held out Charizard's pokeball and recalled him, then took a moment to quickly consider what pokemon she would send out next.

_"Crobat might actually be a good choice against this one."_ She thought. _"With Taunt, Crobat will be able to stop Ninetales from using attacks like Confuse Ray. Ninetales is almost like a ghost pokemon in the amount of status-inducing attacks it has, so thats a good place to start anyway. Vaporeon is pretty weak after his battle with Golduck, too."_

Ashley nodded to herself and then took another pokeball in hand. "Crobat, go!" She called out, releasing Crobat. The bat pokemon appeared with all four wings flapping, hovering off the floor.

"-BAH! I've been away from battle for too long!-" Crobat hissed at Ashley, though he kept his gaze focused on Duke's Ninetales.

_"Ashley doesn't suspect a thing! If only I could warn her somehow!"_ Rina thought in a panic. She looked across the room and saw Mew staring back at her. _"Mew! Mew, you have to warn Ashley somehow! I don't know how, but...but...DO SOMETHING!"_

_"Is Rina trying to tell me something?"_ Mew wondered. Mew looked at the three humans in the room, recalling Rina's battle against Duke. Just like Ashley, she was having little trouble against Duke's pokemon up until the final one. _"I'll be ready for it this time...I don't know how, but I'll be ready. I'll step in as soon as that thing appears!"_ Mew looked at Duke with a determined expression. _"Even if I can't beat it, I'll soften it up for Ashley to finish it off!_

"Ninetales, burn Crobat with Will-o-Wisp!"

"Crobat, Taunt!"

Ninetales' eyes flashed and a purple fire began to form, however Crobat delivered a few paintful words before it could fire. "-Bah! An Arcanine could beat you anyday! ANYDAY!-" Ninetales' eyes turned completely red and it glared at Crobat.

"-YOU TAKE THAT BACK!-" Ninetales growled. Crobat stuck his tongue out at it.

Duke snorted. "Have it your way. Ninetales, attack with Flamethrower." Ninetales attacked Crobat in a flash, spewing out a stream of fire at the bat pokemon. Crobat tried to move to the side, but still took a direct hit to the left side of his body and was sent spiralling into the ground. Crobat quickly shook it off, though, and jumped back into the air with four wings flapping.

"Crobat, move in and attack with Poison Fang!" Crobat flew toward Ninetales, quickly crossing the gym. Ninetales' was barely able to follow Crobat's movements as it moved next to it. Crobat then opened its mouth and sunk its fangs into Ninetales' neck, delivering a poisonous bite. Ninetales growled in pain and shook it's head violently until it finally dislodged Crobat.

_"Doesn't look like that poisoned Ninetales like I had hoped."_ Ashley thought, frowning slightly. _"We'll have to try again, but lets wait out Ninetales' counter attack first."_

"Ninetales, hit it with another Flamethrower!"

"Crobat, Double Team!"

Ninetales turned its head to face Crobat and opened its mouth, firing a blast of flames at him. Crobat seemingly vanished as the attack hit him, though, as Ninetales had failed to notice that he had split off into more images of himself. Three Crobats remained, surrounding Ninetales.

"Good! Now attack with Poison Fang again!" The fake Crobats vanished as the real Crobat, directly behind Ninetales, dove in to attack. Ninetales cried out as Crobat bit into it's backside with a poisonous bite. This time, the poison seeped into Ninetales' body and remained there, leaving Ninetales badly poisoned from the attack.

"Ninetales, roll over and use Flamethrower!" Ninetales rolled over onto its back, forcing Crobat to let go in the process, and then quickly took aim to fire another Flamethrower attack. Crobat had no chance to dodge and took a direct hit. The flames engulfed him completely, searing his body. Crobat dropped to the floor when the flames finally died down, but both him and Ninetales were soon back on their feet.

"Don't let up! Blast it with another Flamethrower!"

"Crobat, Double Team and then get over here!"

Ninetales turned to fire another Flamethrower at Crobat, but the attack only hit a fake image of the bat pokemon. As all of the images moved toward Ashley's side of the gym, Ninetales' directed it's Flamethrower attack to follow and eliminated two more images. Having created five images this time, two images were still left to reach Ashley. The final fake Crobat disappeared by then, leaving the real Crobat on the opposite side of the battlefield from Ninetales.

"Dodgy bastard!" Duke growled.

"Crobat, attack Ninetales with Air Cutter!" Crobat brought its upper wings together, dropping to the ground in the process, and then pulled them apart to fire a v-shaped blade of air at Ninetales. The blade shot across the room and landed a grazing blow on Ninetales' side, causing it to growl in pain.

"Strike back with another Flamethrower!" Ninetales quickly shook off the hit and ignored the pain in its side to let loose another blast of flames at Crobat. The flames shot across the gym and engulfed Crobat entirely as he had nowhere to run while still on the ground. Crobat was knocked flat by the flames, which had left a serious burn on his body. Crobat growled and slowly stood up on its wings.

"-Bah! Again...with the fire...and the burning...-" Crobat hissed.

_"This guy certainly isn't one for creativity. I think thats the only attack it's tried, other than Will-o-Wisp..."_ Ashley looked down at Crobat, noticing the burn on the bat pokemon's body. _"Well thats not good, but Duke's Ninetales is looking pretty weak anyway."_

"Finish it now, Ninetales! Quick Attack!" Ninetales took off running across the room, and then suddenly shot toward Crobat in a blur of movement. Ninetales struck Crobat hard and at blinding speed, sending him rolling back across the gym. Crobat landed on his back at Ashley's feet and seemed to be unconscious for a moment, but then slowly opened its eyes.

"Phew...that was a close one. Figures Duke would choose now to show off a new attack." Ashley thought, shaking her head. "Crobat, finish this quickly with a Bite attack!" Crobat jumped forward and flapped his wings one he was airborn, quickly flying toward Ninetales and biting it on the neck. Ninetales cried out in pain and then collapsed to the floor, knocked out by Crobat's attack.

"Alright, Crobat! Good job! Lets get you back in your pokeball now!" Ashley quickly recalled Crobat after he delivered the attack, putting him back in his pokeball before the burn could finish him off. Duke then likewise recalled Ninetales and shot Ashley a grin.

"Not bad. Seems you're better than I am. Too bad you don't have a chance at winning."

"How can you say that now when I've got you against the ropes?!" Ashley shot back.

"Because I've only been toying with you. My old pokemon are a bit rusty, you see. They don't get much exercise anymore." Duke reached into his right pocket and pulled out a small remote. "Perhaps you might recall how your battles with the rest of the hunters went down."

_"The rest of the hunters?"_ Ashley wondered. _"Thats right...they all used one strong pokemon that they had enslaved and had no pokemon of their own. So Duke must have an enslaved pokemon too, but what? We've already freed all the legendary pokemon, haven't we? What could he possibly have to top that?"_

"-This is it! He's about to call that pokemon!-" Mew growled, quickly moving out in front of Ashley. "-Come on! I'm ready for that stupid clone this time!-" Mew took a few mock punches at the air and shot Duke a glare.

"Mew? What are you doing?" Ashley asked, staring in disbelief.

"Heh heh heh. So the little one wants another go, huh?" Duke snickered. He held out the remote and pressed a single button. A trap door suddenly opened in the middle of the room, and what sounded like a lift raising could be heard from the hole.

"ASHLEY! MEW! YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!" Rina screamed, but Ashley couldn't make out what she was trying to say with the cloth over her mouth. Ashley could hear her trying to say something to her, however.

_"I have a very, very bad feeling about this all of a sudden..."_ Ashley thought, finding her eyes glued to the hole and the collared pokemon that soon emerged. The creature almost resembled Mew, only it stood slightly taller than a typical human. While Mew looked like a nearly harmless, catlike pokemon, the pokemon Ashley was staring at looked much stronger and more dangerous as well.

"I would like you to meet Mewtwo, an upgraded clone of Mew if you will." Duke said with a grin as the lift came to a stop. The pokemon, Mewtwo, stood nearly motionless in the center of the room. "Originally created by Team Rocket on Cinnabar Island, Mewtwo escaped their lab and destroyed it in the process."

"That burnt down building...was that the cause?" Ashley wondered.

"After that, Team Rocket hired us to track it down." Duke continued, his grin widening. "We didn't find it. Or at least, thats what we told Giovanni, and instead we kept this pokemon for ourselves. Mewtwo...it is an unimaginably powerful pokemon. As strong as you are, you don't stand a chance against it."

"Powerful or not, no pokemon is unbeatable!" Ashley shot back. She looked at Mew, and then back at Duke. "You say that thing is an upgraded clone of Mew...well lets see if that holds true!"

"Funny. Your friend back there tried the same thing." Duke replied, gesturing toward Rina. "Of course, I suppose its hardly fair to you, you don't even know what Mew is even capable of." Duke snickered, but then walked over to the table with Rina's pokeballs. He took one pokeball from the table and tossed it across the room to Ashley.

"Huh?" Ashley blinked and stared at the pokeball for a moment before finally picking it up.

"Mew's pokeball. You'll need that if you're to have any chance of beating Mewtwo." Duke said to Ashley. "It hardly makes any difference though. You will still lose."

"We'll see about that..." Ashley muttered. She took out her pokedex and scanned the pokeball, reading Mew's list of known attacks. A smirk crossed her lips as she noticed one attack on the list. "I think you're going to regret giving me that opportunity!" Ashley announced then announced to Duke.

"Is that so?" Duke replied, though looking unconcerned.

_"What's he doing?"_ Rina wondered. She didn't have the same opportunity in her battle with Duke, but it didn't matter either way. She knew Mew's capabilities, and Mew still lost to Mewtwo.

"Mew, ready?" Ashley asked it. Mew nodded. "Ok then, use Transform!"

_"I hope she knows what she's doing, but this is the only way I'll be strong enough!"_ Mew thought as it's body began to shift. Mew's body quickly expanded and reshaped itself until it was an exact copy of Mewtwo.

_"You fell for it."_ Duke thought, grinning to himself.

_"Ashley! No! Thats the same thing I tried!"_ Rina thought. She struggled against her bindings, desparate to get free and help Ashley, but it was too no avail. Rina hung her head in defeat. She didn't notice the blue glow that then surrounded the rope around her wrists.

"Well then, this might make things a bit more interesting." Duke said, feigning a surprised look. "Take your best shot, then! Mewtwo, begin powering up with Barrier and Amnesia!"

"Ok then, Mew! You do the same! Barrier and Amnesia!" Mewtwo and the transformed Mew both stretched out their hands, forming a strong barrier around their bodies to decrease damage from physical blows. They maintained this stance while strengthening the barriers, maximizing their physical defense.

Once the two pokemon had maximized their physical defense, they switched to using Amnesia. They continually sacrificed small portions of their memory for a temporary boost to their defense against special attacks. With Barrier and Amnesia in effect, both pokemon had rendered themselves nearly impervious to damage.

"You realize, of course, this gives you no advantage?" Duke said to Ashley, a grin spreading across his lips. "No...the advantage is all mine!" Duke held up the remote he used earlier and pressed another button on it. A metal plate on Mewtwo's back, previously hidden from Ashley's sight, suddenly bolted up and clamped down on Mewtwo's head.

"What? What is that thing?" Ashley asked, confused.

"A simple brainwave amplifier." Duke replied. "It enhances Mewtwo's psychic powers, but specifically allows for a continuous Psychic attack." He then said with a grin. "Now how about a demonstration! Mewtwo, Psychic!"

Mewtwo's eyes flashed, it stretched out one of its three-fingered hands toward the transformed Mew and focused a strong telekinetic force on Mew. A blue glow surrounded Mew, freezing it in place. Mew grunted in pain as it felt Mewtwo's psychic power crushing it. The force was continuous and painful in spite of Mew's increased defenses, and Mewtwo showed no signs of letting up.

"Mew, use your own Psychic and break free!" Ashley called out desparately. Mew's eyes flashed briefly, but Mewtwo's constant attack was keeping it from focusing.

"Mew can't take Mewtwo on its own. Well, this battle is too important to stick to league rules!" Ashley reached for another pokeball.

_"If you don't want to see anything bad happen to your little friend here, you won't send out that pokemon."_ Duke warned Ashley, pulling out a knife and pointing it toward Rina. Ashley hesitated for a moment and looked toward Rina, but then smirked and grabbed the pokeball she was reaching for.

"Beedrill, come on out!" Ashley called out her pokemon with a bit more enthusiasm than usual, releasing Beedrill. The bug pokemon appeared hovering in the air next to Mew.

"Hmph. Suit yourself." Duke drew back the knife, getting ready to throw it, but then looked over at where his target was supposed to be and finally realized she was missing. Looking around frantically, he noticed an open window nearby. "WHAT?!" Duke cried out in disbelief.

"She's already been rescued, Duke." A familiar voice called out into the room. Duke shot a look across to the opposite side and soon Red stepped into view.

"Ashley, I've taken her somewhere safe." Red then said to Ashley. "I'm sure you can take it from here."

"Thanks, Red. I was wondering when you would show up!" Ashley replied with a smirk.

_"No! This isn't good! I didn't expect them to team up!"_ Duke thought, clenching a fist. _"How could this happen?!"_

* * *

Earlier, before Ashley reached the tower...

"Ashley, wait!" Ashley turned around to find Red running to catch up with her.

"Changed your mind?" Ashley asked him. Red stopped and remained quiet for a moment, thinking it over as though he couldn't bring himself to admit it. He then shook his head.

"Look, he has a pokemon thats just too powerful to go one on one with." Red replied. "To make matters worse, he WILL force your hand by threatening Rina's life."

"Then what am I supposed to do about it?!" Ashley shot back angrily.

"You distract Duke, and I'll try to rescue Rina without him noticing." Red replied. "After that, you can go all out on his pokemon without worrying about her.

* * *

"Now, lets level the playing field! Beedrill, Twin Needle! Aim for the device on Mewtwo's head!" Beedrill nodded and shot toward Mewtwo with one stinger held out straight in front of it. Beedrill's stinger struck the metal plating attached to Mewtwo, seemingly having no effect as Beedrill shot past and came to a stop behind it. After a few seconds, though, the device suddenly fell apart, leaving only the collar. Although feeling very weak from the assault, Mew was finally let go.

_"Target eliminated."_ Beedrill thought in his usual, one-track mindset.

_"This isn't good! I'm losing my stranglehold on them!"_ Duke thought, growling.

"Mew, use Recover now and then revert!" Mew focused briefly, filling it's body with energy. Mew's body shimmered as it was restored, and then began to change forms. It shrunk down until it had reverted back to being Mew. Though no longer transformed, Mew was able to keep the defense boosts.

"Now, who is it that has no chance of winning again, Duke?" Ashley asked Duke with a knowing grin.

"You haven't won yet!" Duke shot back. "Mewtwo, attack her Beedrill with Psychic!"

"Beedrill, Double Team! Mew, Transform into Beedrill!" Mewtwo turned it's head to face Beedrill and focused its psychic power on the bug pokemon, causing the fake image that had been left in Beedrill's place to vanish. Mew, meanwhile, used Transform, and it's body quickly shifted to form into that of a Beedrill.

"Now! Beedrill! Mew! Twin Needle!" Beedrill dropped the five fake images it had formed and positioned himself behind Mewtwo. Beedrill and Mew, transformed into Beedrill, both charged toward Mewtwo and struck the powerful psychic pokemon with both stingers. Mewtwo gasped sharply as the needles impacted it. Though Mewtwo felt little, due to it's increased defenses, it was impossible to resist the poison coursing through its body.

_"Damn it! I could have prevented that with a Safeguard!"_ Duke quickly took a small, black ball from his belt.

"You win this round, but don't let it get to your head. Our operations in Kanto might be through, but we've got much bigger plans on the go in Hoenn." Duke snickered. "Think you can stop us? Just try to find us!" Duke tossed the ball to the ground, sending a screen of smoke around himself. Mewtwo vanished, seemingly teleported away, and Duke was also gone when the smoke cleared.

"No! He got away! And with Mewtwo, too!"

"Then we'll just have to go after him." Red said to Ashley, sounding unconcerned with Duke's escape. "I was going to go to Hoenn anyway. If I have to fight him again, he won't be able to use Rina as a hostage at least."

"I guess you're right." Ashley sighed and turned to Red. "Where did you take her anyway?"

"Charizard should have taken her to a hospital on Five Island." Red replied.

"Thats good." Ashley said, nodding to him. _"Its strange, though, now that I think about it. I would have figured Red to be the type to not hold back, even if there was a hostage involved. He does seem to get pretty worked up when he's facing criminals who abuse pokemon. Maybe, deep inside, he really does care about people. Or at least, cares about Rina."_ Ashley smiled to herself.

"What are you smiling about?" Red asked Ashley, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing."

"Anyway, we should probably go check up on Rina." Red said to her.

"Right." Ashley nodded and then turned to Mew, who had reverted to it's true form, and Beedrill. "Beedrill, Mew, good job you two. That was a tough one. Beedrill, you can rest for now." Beedrill nodded in response, and Ashley then recalled him and placed his pokeball on her belt.

"Mew, as for you, you might want to transform into a Pikachu or something." Ashley said.

"-Huh? Why?-" Mew asked her. Though she couldn't understand what Mew was saying, Ashley could pretty much tell what it was trying to say.

"It'll cause too much of a commotion if people see you around." Ashley said to Mew. Mew nodded in understanding and then transformed again, it's body shrinking down to take the form of a Rattata again. Ashley turned to face Red again once Mew had transformed.

"Alright, let's go."

* * *

Red met up with his Charizard outside, already back from transporting Rina. Both Red and Ashley flew to Five Island on their respective Charizards. Once they arrived, they headed into the small hospital and were directed to the room Rina was in. Rina had bandages wrapped around her torso, which had taken the brunt of the beating.

"-RINA!-" Mew, still in Rattata form, cried out happily as it entered the room and rushed toward Rina's bed. Mew jumped up next to Rina's head, nuzzling against her and startling the two Pikachu's that were lying next to her. One of them then hopped down from the bed and ran over to Red.

"Mew...I'm glad you're ok..." Rina said, smiling weakly.

"-Me?! You're the one he punched!-"

"Rina! What were you thinking going off alone like that?!" Ashley scolded Rina, marching over to the side of her bed to look down at her. "You're lucky you got off as easy as you did!"

"-Hey! Easy!-" Pippi growled.

"It's ok Pippi, she's right...I shouldn't have run off alone..." Rina looked up at Ashley pleadingly. "I'm sorry...I just...really thought I could take this guy on my own..." Rina said to her.

"You're just lucky Red was able to help us out, or else we both would have been in trouble." Ashley looked toward the door, where Red had been standing, only to realize he was gone. "Hey! Where'd he go?!"

"You didn't think he would stick around, did you?" Rina laughed quietly. "But anyway...thanks for coming for me, Ashley...though I thought for sure the same thing would just happen to you..."

"Well I wasn't just going to sit by idly while you were in trouble." Ashley said to Rina, then looked down at her chest. "So...how bad is it anyway?"

"He shattered a few ribs..." Rina chuckled weakly. "He really hates us, you know..."

"Yeah, I kinda gathered that." Ashley replied, rolling her eyes.

"They're going to send me to Celadon for treatment, said I'd be fine in about a week after that..." Rina continued.

"-You humans seem really fragile.-" Mew commented, curling up next to Rina.

"-Thats why they need pokemon like me and you to protect them.-" Pippi said to Mew. "-Even a weak pokemon could seriously injure a human like Rina.-"

"Rina, I'm going after this guy." Ashley said solemnly. "I'm going to go to Hoenn and track him down, then bring down him and whoever else is involved once and for all."

"Ok. I'll come find you when I'm out of the hospital."

_"I hope to be finished long before then..."_ Ashley thought.

* * *

After leaving the hospital, Ashley remembered the errand she was running for Celio and the sapphire plate given to her by Red. She quickly headed over to One Island and arrived in the pokecenter to find Celio waiting along with an impatient looking young girl.

"I was wondering when you would be back! This girl here fetched the ruby plate while you were gone." Celio motioned to the brown haired girl. The girl shot Ashley a death glare.

_"Huh?! What's her problem?"_ Ashley wondered, seeing the look the girl was giving her.

"Did you manage to find the sapphire plate?" Celio asked Ashley.

"Oh, yes!" Ashley opened her travel bag and pulled out the flat sapphire, then handed it to Celio. Celio immediately placed the plate in a special slot on his computer, then started typing away.

"How is this even supposed to work anyway? Why do you need those gems?" The other girl asked Celio.

"Its hard to explain, really, but trust me, it'll work!" Celio replied.

"So...you were helping Celio too, huh?" Ashley asked the girl, earning herself another glare.

"Just what took you so long anyway?! It only took me fifteen minutes to find the ruby plate and you were gone for hours!" The girl yelled at her.

"I was...erm..." Ashley stuttered, taken back at the girl's sudden outburst but quickly getting over it. "What's it matter to you anyway!?"

"That's none of your business." The girl replied. She hopped up from the chair she was sitting in and started toward the door. "Celio, if thats all you needed, then I'm heading back to Kanto so I can find that pokemon."

"Oh, of course. I should have the system up and running in only a few moments." Celio replied. The girl nodded and then left the pokecenter.

"Yeesh...Celio, who WAS that girl?"

"Ah...I believe she said her name was May." Celio replied, still typing away at his computer. "She's originally from Hoenn, but came to Kanto to try to find a pokemon. She came here when she found out she couldn't access her pokemon storage system, which is being run from Hoenn." After a bit more typing the computer made a 'ding' sound. "Great! I've connected to Lanette's PC in Hoenn!"

_"Hoenn, Hoenn, Hoenn, that region keeps coming up all of a sudden."_ Ashley thought bitterly as she made her way over to the PC and quickly logged in. _"In any case, before I head to Hoenn I should change my team around again and..."_ Ashley looked up at the screen. hearing an annoying tone from the computer after she logged in. _"Huh? Someone sent me an e-mail?"_ Ashley brought up the e-mail message on screen and quickly read it over.

_You are hearby challenged to a battle by the strongest trainer in Hoenn! I will be waiting in the Route 111 desert!_

_"Hoenn again?!"_ Ashley thought in disbelief. She checked the e-mail's timestamp and found it had only been sent out a few hours earlier. _"It's probably just some kid who wants to challenge me because I beat the Kanto League. Then again, given everything going on over there, this could give me somewhere to start too."_

Ashley sighed and closed the e-mail. _"Just what's so special about Hoenn anyway?"_

* * *

Author's Notes: Well, needless to say, we're FINALLY starting to cross over the two plotlines. Next chapter will still focus on Ashley as she challenges this mysterious...challenger. After that, however, it'll switch around a bit, more or less jumping between May and Ashley's point of view. May might have only had a brief cameo in this chapter, but the parts of the plot not taking place in Hoenn are going to happen around her. And I think its about 50/50 for May/Ashley until they meet up again. I think...

Oh. And brief appearance of Mewtwo. And Duke gets shown for the cruel bastard he is, now that you've finally met him. He was originally going to be even worse, but I toned him down a bit.


	44. Chapter 41: The Ruby's Destiny

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Forty One**

**The Ruby's Destiny**

Ashley made one last stop at her home in Pallet Town to get ready for her trip to Hoenn. She told her mother she had been hearing a lot about the region lately and was going to photograph pokemon there. If she told her the real reason, Ashley knew her mother would worry. After taking a day to get ready, she headed to Hoenn and went straight for the desert.

The desert Ashley had been directed to turned out to be a rather nasty place. On her way there she found herself grabbing a blanket to wear as a cloak. The desert was rather infamous for nearly constant sandstorms, usually quite severe, so she found herself using said blanket to protect herself.

_"This is crazy!"_ Ashley thought in the midst of the sandstorm. _"Who would come out here for a battle? How am I even supposed to see the guy?! I'm really starting to hate this region!"_ Ashley lifted her hat slightly to try to look around, but couldn't see through the sand at all and almost immediately caught a face full of it. She quickly pulled her hat down in front of her face again.

_"My hair is going to be a mess and full of sand when this is over."_ Ashley shook her head. _"No. You know what? Forget it! I can't tell if he's here or not, and how is he even supposed to know I'm here anyway!? I bet I just fell for some stupid prank or something because no one would try to set up something like this! I'm leaving!"_

Ashley turned and started off in the direction she thought the exit was in, but she couldn't really tell. With the sandstorm raging around her, she had no way of finding out which direction would lead her out. "This is ridiculous!" She thought. _"If I ever get out of here I'm going to find that guy and drag HIM out into the middle of the desert!"_

As Ashley stumbled through the desert, trying to find her way out, the sandstorm eventually and suddenly subsided. The desert became calm and Ashley could feel the intense heat from the sun. She lowered her hat cautiously and looked around the desert, thinking at first that maybe she had found the exit. That wasn't the case, however, as she soon realized she had actually gone further in. The sandstorm simply stopped.

_"Ok, not that I'm complaining, but what just happened?"_ Ashley wondered.

"You must be Ashley." Ashley heard a young boy's voice. Looking around, she saw nothing but a very large rock jutting out of the sand. She looked up and saw a boy standing on top of it, looking to be a year or two younger than she was and wearing a khaki vest, shorts, and what looked like a typical archaeologist's hat. Looking him over, Ashley couldn't help but think he seemed somewhat effeminate.

"And you must be the so-called 'strongest trainer in Hoenn'?" Ashley asked him. _"I bet he's just a fanboy or something..."_

"That's right. The name's Alex." The boy, Alex, replied. "You could have at least replied to that e-mail, then I wouldn't have had to come out here so suddenly."

"Oh...right...guess I should have replied..." Ashley mumbled in response. A thought dawned on her and she cast a suspicious look toward Alex. "Wait! How did you even know I was here then?!"

"I have my ways." Alex replied with a shrug. "Now, here's the deal. I will be using only one pokemon. You can use all six of your pokemon to defeat mine."

"One pokemon?!" Ashley said in shock. _"Is this guy serious?! Could he be even better than Red?" _Ashley thought it over for a moment. _"No...he's just like them! The hunters! They all had only one pokemon, so maybe he's one of them? If my hunch is right, then the pokemon he'll use will likely be a legendary pokemon from Hoenn!"_ In her mind, Ashley was grinning. _"I'll get to see my first Hoenn legendary!"_

"So, are you up to the challenge?" Alex asked her.

"You bet! Let's see what that pokemon of your's is capable of!" Ashley replied with a grin, quickly reaching for a pokeball. "Ok Articuno, first shot at this thing is your's! Go!" Ashley called out, releasing Articuno from it's pokeball. Articuno shuddered when it emerged on the field, feeling the heat from the desert sun.

"Well come on then! Where's your pokemon?" Ashley asked impatiently.

"Already out of it's pokeball." Alex replied. "Groudon, show yourself!" He then called out. Ashley looked around but saw nothing, not a single pokemon in sight. Then, suddenly, the ground in front of her and Articuno began to bulge until a giant red pokemon burst from the ground with a mighty roar. The pokemon looked like a large, hulking dinosaur, and Ashley could feel some of her confidence slipping away.

_"That thing is HUGE!"_ She thought. _"How am I supposed to fight that thing!?"_

"Meet Groudon, the Titan of the Land. According to legend, in ancient times it was Groudon that created the landmasses of the Earth." Alex said to Ashley.

_"Definitely a legendary pokemon, and a serious one at that!"_ Ashley thought, quickly grabbing her camera and snapping a photo of Groudon. _"Can't let this opportunity slip by."_ She thought with a smirk. While the photo printed from her camera, she noticed Articuno fidgeting nervously. _"Huh?What's up with Articuno?"_

_"How is it this pokemon has been awakened?"_ Articuno thought anxiously as it looked up at Groudon. _"Groudon and Kyogre were both put into a deep sleep for all eternity after their conflict nearly destroyed the world! Now Groudon is awakened, and in the hands of a trainer no less?"_ Articuno looked past Groudon, toward Alex. _"Alex...just who is he?"_

_"Alright, if I'm not mistaken Articuno was the legendary bird of ice. So its and ice type."_ Alex thought. He had looked up the legendary birds after discovering they were in Ashley's possession. He found enough information to know what type of pokemon each of them were. _"Groudon can take that one down easily. You'll have to do better than that, Ashley."_

_"Is all of this REALLY necessary? Disguising yourself as Alex again? Making the dramatic entrance with Groudon? You almost seem like you're trying to impress her."_ A voice in Alex's head said to him.

_"I barely know her!"_ Alex thought in his defense. _"You can read my mind anyway, so you already know my reasons for this."_

_"Of course. But it doesn't annoy you then."_ The voice replied.

_"Ok, judging by the look of it, Groudon is a dragon pokemon. So Articuno is actually a good choice for this."_ Ashley thought. "Alright! Lets get this started! Articuno, attack Groudon with Ice Beam!" Articuno opened its beak and fired a blue beam at Groudon. The beam struck Groudon in the chest, briefly forming into a sheet of ice that then shattered and fell off. Groudon growled in pain but shook it off.

_"Ok, ice attacks seem to hurt it, I must be on the right track!"_ Ashley thought.

"You'll have to do better than that." Alex taunted Ashley. "Groudon, attack Articuno now with Fire Blast!" Groudon opened it's mouth and shot a large fireball at Articuno. The fireball expanded further, growing appendages that gave it a shape almost like a stick figure. Articuno hopped back, but the 'head' of the figure still caught it. The fireball then exploded, knocking Articuno to the ground. Despite the near miss, Articuno was heavily scorched by the blast and had trouble getting back up.

Ashley winced. _"Urk! That fireball looked pretty strong, it must be a fire type too! But if it was, then that Ice Beam wouldn't have hurt as much...is Groudon really just that powerful then?" _Ashley narrowed her eyes, examining Groudon. _"Or is there something else going on here?"_

"Now, let's finish this one. Groudon, attack with..."

"Articuno, that's enough for now! Return!" Ashley called out, recalling Articuno before Groudon could get off another attack. Groudon snorted, looking a bit upset at the missed opportunity.

_"I bet Ashley has no grasp on what she's dealing with."_ Alex thought. _"Groudon's appearance doesn't exactly give a good idea of what type of pokemon it is, and Groudon's special ability is unprecedented. There's no way she could know that Groudon is the reason the sandstorm stopped so suddenly..."_

_"If this thing really is a fire dragon, then rock attacks should still be effective on it."_ Ashley thought as she grabbed another pokeball. "Ok, Aerodactyl, your turn to take a shot at it now! Go!" Ashley held out the pokeball and released Aerodactyl onto the field. Aerodactyl gave Groudon a curious look as he appeared, having little idea what he was dealing with. Aerodactyl quickly flapped his wings and hovered straight up into the air to get ready for an attack run on Groudon.

_"Ok, Ashley, lets see if I can use this one to point you in the right direction."_ Alex thought. _"If she attacks with a rock technique, she should see how ineffective it is. I'll fight back with Solar Beam and..."_

_"HOLD IT!"_ A voice cut into Alex's thoughts. _"Where did she get a Ptera?"_

_"We call it Aerodactyl these days, Odari."_ Alex thought in response. _"And she probably got it the same way I got Armaldo and May got Cradily."_ The voice of Odari remained quiet, apparently satisfied with Alex's response.

"Aerodactyl, attack Groudon with Ancientpower!" Rocks shot up into the air and orbitted around Aerodactyl as he drew out power for his attack. He then thrust his wings forward, sending a barrage of rocks at Groudon. The rocks bounced off Groudon's body, seemingly inflicting no harm at all.

"Wh-what?! That thing didn't even flinch!" Ashley cried out in dismay. _"So much for it being a fire type..."_ She thought. _"Ok, so it seemed to be weak to ice, and resists rock attacks, so what type would match that?"_

"You won't hurt Groudon with a weak attack like that." Alex said to Ashley. "Groudon, shoot down that Aerodactyl with Solar Beam!" Ashley didn't have much time to think over Groudon's type before it went on the attack. Groudon opened its mouth and fired a wide beam of solar energy.

"WHAT THE?!" Ashley cried out in shock. She was expecting Groudon would need time to charge, as was Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl took a direct hit, being unprepared for the attack, and quickly dropped down into the sand. Aerodactyl took a strong hit, but after a few seconds he slowly stood back up and growled at Groudon. The towering legendary pokemon snorted back, unamused.

"You don't seem to have any idea what you're dealing with." Alex said to Ashley. "However, if you've been paying attention, you should have all the clues needed to figure it out. So I'll give you five minutes to put it all together."

_"What...what's going on here?"_ Ashley wondered. _"Groudon's type, that Solar Beam, and Alex's attitude...I just don't get any of it!"_ Ashley tapped herself on the side of her head.

_"Come on! Think! Think! Ok, first off, Groudon's type. Groudon didn't like Articuno's Ice Beam much, but I don't think it even flinched at Aerodactyl's Ancientpower attack."_ Ashley looked at Groudon and thought deeply. _"No pokemon are immune to rock attacks, so it must be really resistant to them instead. Strong defense definitely. So weak to ice, resistant to rock..."_ Ashley snapped her fingers.

"I've got it! Groudon is a ground type!" Ashley announced.

"Two minutes left." Alex replied coldly. "Three minutes is a lot longer than that should have taken to figure out something that simple."

"Urk...what's with this guy?!" Ashley muttered to herself. _"What does he want from me anyway? If he's just another one of those hunter goons, why should he care about making it a fair fight? Isn't that taking away his biggest advantage?"_

Ashley let out a frustrated sigh. _"In any case...I need to figure out how he got off that Solar Beam so quickly."_ Ashley looked up into the sky, with the brim of her hat shielding her eyes from the intense sunlight. _"I should have realized that one sooner..."_

"-Can we hurry this up? I want to take a chunk out of this guy.-" Aerodactyl growled.

"-Take your best shot. Or have you done that already?-" Groudon said to Aerodactyl.

"-I've got more than that to throw at you!-" Aerodactyl shot back.

"Time's up." Alex said to Ashley. "Think you've figured it out?"

"Yeah. You had your pokemon use Sunny Day before the match!" Ashley shot back, glaring at Alex. "So you've been cheating from the start!"

Alex smirked and waved his index finger at Ashley. "Not quite." He said to her. "You were on the right track though, so I'll let you in on a little secret. Groudon has a special ability."

"Most pokemon do." Ashley replied bitterly.

"Groudon's is particularly special, however." Alex said to her. "The sandstorm suddenly stopping? The blazing sun? Both those things were caused..." Alex pointed toward Groudon. "By this pokemon's very presence!"

Ashley nearly fell back from the shock of Alex's revealation. "WHAT?! You mean that thing can change the weather without actually doing anything?!"

"Exactly." Alex replied calmly.

"How powerful is that thing?!" Ashley wondered, then took a pokeball in her hand. "Well either way, Aerodactyl definitely can't beat it. Groudon obviously has strong defenses and can resist Aerodactyl's attacks."

"Aerodactyl, return for now!" Ashley called out, holding out the pokeball and recalling Aerodactyl. She then took another pokeball in her hand almost immediately after. "If Groudon is only a ground type, and causes a permanent Sunny Day effect, then I can use that to my advantage."

Ashley held out the pokeball, preparing to release her pokemon. "Ok, you can handle this one, V-" Ashley stopped herself, remembering when she tried to use Articuno earlier. "Wait! This thing might be a ground type, but it does know fire attacks!" She thought, recalling the Fire Blast attack used on Articuno. She put the pokeball back and took another one in her hand.

"Nevermind then! Moltres, you'll take this one!" Ashley released Moltres from it's pokeball. As with Articuno, Moltres was shocked to find itself standing before Groudon.

"-YOU! You're supposed to be asleep!-" Moltres said to Groudon, squawking and flapping it's wings frantically.

_"Moltres too? Do the legendary birds have some history with Groudon?" _Ashley wondered.

"-Awakened to be humiliated by a human girl, it seems.-" Groudon growled bitterly in response to Moltres.

_"So it seems this trainer has Groudon on a leash..."_ Moltres thought, then looked toward the top of the rock where Alex was standing. _"I wonder, how did she do it? Is there more to this trainer than meets the eye?"_

"Perhaps this pokemon will make a much better showing now that you understand what you're facing." Alex said to Ashley.

_"I understand what I'm facing now, but what I don't get is...who!"_ Ashley thought, staring intently at Alex. _"Alex...who are you? What are you trying to gain by doing this? How did a trainer like you even capture a pokemon like Groudon?"_ Ashley narrowed her eyes. _"There isn't even a slave collar on that pokemon!"_

"Well, if you're not going to start, then I will." Alex said, interrupting Ashley's thoughts. "Groudon, use Bulk Up." Groudon growled and flexed it's massive arms, causing them to expand and increase his body's strength and durability.

_"I'll worry about his motives later then."_ Ashley thought. "Moltres, use Heat Wave!" Moltres began flapping it's wings, sending a blast of hot air and flames at Groudon. Groudon growled, feeling the scorching heat against it's body. The heat was intensified by the effects of Groudon's own "drought" effect, inflicting more damage on Groudon than it would normally.

"Don't let up! Keep the heat on Groudon with Flamethrower!" Moltres stopped flapping it's wings and then opened it's beak to fire a blast of flames at Groudon. Groudon growled in pain as the flames scorched it's chest and nearly collapsed. Groudon was starting to buckle under the assault from Ashley's pokemon. However, Groudon still had a trick up it's sleeve.

"Groudon, use Rest now." Groudon straightened up and then closed it's eyes, quickly falling into a deep sleep. The damage inflicted on Groudon by Ashley's efforts up until then was removed in an instant, resorting Groudon to full health.

_"Rest?! Just when I was finally starting to make some progress to!"_ Ashley thought in dismay. "We're not going to back down just because your pokemon can heal itself!" She then called out to Alex. "Moltres, attack Groudon with Fire Spin! Then, follow up with Heat Wave!"

Moltres opened its beak and spewed out a spiralling cone of flames. The flames wrapped themselves around the sleeping Groudon, forming into a tornado of flames around it and trapping Groudon inside. Moltres then followed up by flapping it's wings and concentrating blasts of flames and hot air on the swirling firestorm, causing it to increase in intensity. A pained growl from within the flames at that point let Alex and Ashley know that Groudon had woken up.

_"Not bad! So is this one of those combos she's known for pulling off?" _Alex wondered with a smirk on his face.

_"I fail to see how that's anything special."_ Odari said to Alex. _"Now, don't you think you should command Groudon to attack?"_

"Yes, boss." Alex replied sarcastically. "Groudon, take down Moltres with an Ancientpower attack!" Groudon growled and began to focus it's power. The rocks that began to float around it were concealed within the flames.

_"A rock attack! After that Bulk Up, that'll knock Moltres out for sure!"_ Ashley had little time to think up a solution, but she called out a command to Moltres as Groudon was going on the attack. "Moltres, Endure it!" Moltres braced itself as several large rocks suddenly shot out of the flames, causing them to waver briefly and almost go out. The rocks smashed into Moltres hard, knocking the fire bird off it's feet. Moltres had braced itself, however, and managed to just barely keep itself in the battle. In a weakened state, Moltres slowly rose up off the ground.

_"Only going to get one shot to attack now!"_ Ashley thought. "Moltres, attack with Heat Wave again!" Moltres started flapping its wings, shaky at first due to its weakened state. Moltres' wings whipped up a blazing heat, sending a blast of flames and hot air at Groudon. The flames were pulled in by the twister, increasing their intensity. Although its body was used to extreme temperatures, even Groudon could feel itself weakening from the heat.

"Groudon, end this decisively and blast your way out with Solar Beam!" Groudon opened its mouth and fired a beam down at the base of the flames. The beam cut through the twister, quickly bringing it to an end. Groudon then kept firing while bringing the beam onto Moltres. Moltres tried to fly up to avoid it, but a glancing blow caught Moltres just before Groudon ran out of power. Moltres couldn't endure even the lightest of hits, though. It dropped to the ground and fainted.

With Moltres fainted, Ashley took out a pokeball and recalled it. "Well, guess I couldn't have expected much more out of Moltres anyway. But still, Groudon was left pretty weak. Alex won't go straight on the offense, I don't think. So maybe Poliwrath could gain the upperhand from here by changing the weather?" Ashley grinned to herself as she returned Moltres' pokeball to her belt, then took another one in her hand.

"Ok, Poliwrath, your turn now!" She called out, releasing Poliwrath onto the field. The fighting tadpole pokemon appeared with an excited cry, raising his hands into the air. The Focus Band given to him by Ashley was still wrapped around his head.

_"That pokemon...I don't recognize it at all..."_ Alex facepalmed. _"Knew I should have looked more into her pokemon! I only know of the ones she used against the Elite Four!"_

_"Well what will you do now?"_ Odari asked him.

_"Well, it's blue. Looks kinda muscular, like a fighting pokemon, but I can't help but feel its a water pokemon due to the color"_ Alex thought.

_"Pokemon. Color coded for your convenience."_ Odari replied sarcastically.

_"Either way, I don't think I'll take my chances with a direct assault. Groudon is pretty weak right now, so it's time to rest up."_ Alex thought. "Groudon, use Rest!" Groudon closed its eyes and went to sleep, completely restoring its strength.

"Poliwrath, set up Rain Dance while Groudon is asleep!" Ashley called out, though she felt some doubt that it would actually work. Poliwrath began to dance around, and stormclouds formed overhead. The clouds soon blocked out the sun, negating the effect of Groudon's drought ability. Rain began to fall onto the desert sands.

_"I can't believe that worked!"_ Ashley thought, grinning brightly. _"Alright! I can win this thing from here, now!"_

"Poliwrath, attack Groudon with Waterfall!" Ashley called out, her voice sounding somewhat shaky in her excitement. Poliwrath charged across the desert sands, looking like a football player going in for the touchdown. A watery veil surrounded him, giving him an appearance like a meteor in the Earth's atmosphere. Poliwrath then smashed shoulder-first into Groudon, causing it to grunt in paint and fall onto its back while still asleep.

_"No doubt in my mind now. Few non-water pokemon, if any, can learn Waterfall." _Alex thought. _"Groudon should be able to erase that Rain Dance as soon as it wakes up, but it'll take one more Waterfall before then and that Poliwrath is hitting hard."_

_"Seems she's having a lot less trouble with Groudon than you did."_ Odari teased Alex.

_"Hey! Cut me some slack! I'm stronger now than I was then!"_ Alex replied indignantly.

"Ok, again now! Attack Groudon one more time before it wakes up!" Ashley called out, ordering another Waterfall attack. Poliwrath quickly hopped back a few feet while water began to flow arround its body in a torrent again. Poliwrath then jumped up, turning in the air to tackle straight down into Groudon's stomach. Groudon bellowed in pain and quickly bolted up, knocking Poliwrath off in the process. The clouds quickly parted and the harsh sunlight beamed down again.

_"Well, that was a wasted effort."_ Alex thought, noticing that Groudon seemed to be in pretty rough shape. _"We'll need to knock Poliwrath out so Groudon can get a chance to use Rest again. Hope one Bulk Up will be enough."_

"Groudon, go! Show Ashley your full strength and attack Poliwrath with Earthquake!" Groudon slammed one of its large feet into the sandy ground, sending a powerful shockwave throughout the desert floor. The sand began to shake and rocks jutted up through it, striking Poliwrath and bouncing him around while the shockwaves continued. The terrain eventually settled, dropping a battered and bruised Poliwrath on the sand. Though badly injured, Poliwrath was still conscious.

"That...that looked pretty strong!" Ashley thought in disbelief. "That Groudon hits hard...but we'll put it down for good now!"

"Poliwrath, use Hypnosis!" Poliwrath quickly stood up with a determined glint in his eyes. The swirl pattern on his chest began to spin, sending out hypnotic waves at Groudon. Groudon felt its rather large eyelids starting to grow heavy, and then it fell over as it collapsed into a deep sleep.

"Wh-WHAT?! That thing knows Hypnosis!?" Alex cried out in shock. "Damn it! I didn't see that coming at all!"

_"Clearly you should have studied your target more thoroughly."_ Odari said to him.

_"Ok, lets not waste time with another Rain Dance! Lets go straight out with another attack Groudon is weak to!"_ Ashley thought. "Poliwrath, attack Groudon with Ice Punch!" Poliwrath raised one fist back, which then quickly iced over. Poliwrath charged toward Groudon and jumped into the air, bringing his icy fist crashing down into Groudon's face. Poliwrath's fist struck hard and Groudon cried out sharply and then fell silent, remaining unconscious.

"Well unless your Groudon can instantly restore itself while knocked out, this battle is over." Ashley said to Alex. "Thats what you get for putting all your eggs into one basket!"

"-Huh? Whats so special about this pokemon anyway?-" Poliwrath wondered aloud, looking at the unconscious pokemon he was standing on. Groudon disappeared under his feet, causing Poliwrath to suddenly drop down onto the sand. "-Ow! Hey!-"

"Congratulations. Looks like you've managed to win afterall." Alex said to Ashley. He then approached the edge of the rock he was standing on and slid down to the bottom, then walked toward Ashley.

"He...caught that pokemon?" Ashley thought. "I was sure he was controlling it through some unnatural means but...he actually caught it?" As Alex stopped in front of her, Ashley did a double take, finally getting a good look at him. "WAIT A MINUTE! There's no way you're a boy!"

"You noticed." Alex replied with a smirk, using a more feminine voice now. "My disguise is usually a bit more convincing than this, back when I was using it regularly. I was planning to wear it just for this battle, but you arrived so suddenly that I had to improvise. I tucked my hair under my hat and made sure you couldn't get a good look at me." Alex then removed her hat, letting her slightly longer hair fall down. Though still cut rather short, Alex's hair style did look more noticeably feminine now.

"What...just what are you getting at anyway?!" Ashley angrily demanded.

"-Whats going on now?-" Poliwrath wondered, looking over at the two. "-H-hey! You're not forgetting me are you?!-" Poliwrath looked teary-eyed at Ashley.

"Oh...err...sorry Poliwrath..." Ashley cleared her throat and took a pokeball in her hand. "Poliwrath, great work out there! That was a tough opponent, but you still took it down! You can take a well-deserved rest!" Ashley recalled Poliwrath, then placed the pokeball on her belt and looked back at Alex with a glare. "Now just who are you anyway?!"

"You...really can't tell?" Alex asked her, looking somewhat stunned. "I mean, you really don't recognize me now?"

Ashley raised an eyebrow. "No...why would I?"

"...I'm Melany Stone. Archaeologist. Daughter of President Stone of Devon Inc. Steven Stone is my brother!"

"Err...am I supposed to know any of that?" Ashley scratched the back of her head. "Cause...I don't." Melany let out a sigh.

"Nevermind then...regardless, as I said, my real name is Melany Stone." Melany said to her, folding her arms over her chest. "I thought there was a chance you might recognize me, so I planned to come in disguise. Apparently that was completely POINTLESS though!"

_"Aren't you overreacting a bit to this?"_ Odari asked Melany. _"I mean, why are you even complaining? I thought you didn't like being famous?"_

"Ok...but even so, what was the point of all this in the first place?!" Ashley demanded in a confused tone.

"That...well...you might have trouble believing it, but you're actually pretty special." Melany smirked. "In fact...you're actually descended from the leader of the Kanto tribe from ancient times, a tribe that eventually became the inhabitants of the Kanto region."

"...Thats what this is about? I mean, I already knew that." Ashley replied.

"You...you knew already?!"

_"You get a pass for the dramatic entrance, but someone beat you to the dramatic revealation it seems."_ Odari said to Melany.

"You know, in my mind, this event turned out a lot differently." Melany sighed and reached into her pocket, pulling out a red gem. "Here, you might as well take this." She said, handing the gem to Ashley. "That belonged to your ancestor, and contains her spirit. So don't be too surprised to hear it talk to you."

_"Somehow, I don't think this will surprise you at all, will it?"_ A voice said in Ashley's mind. _"The name is Aisha, by the way, but I'm sure you knew that."_

_"...A little surprised."_ Ashley thought, blinking. She gave Melany a curious look. "Why are you giving me this anyway?"

"Well, that, we need to get to a pokecenter for." Melany replied. "When I fought and captured Groudon, I made a bet with it. If I was successful in capturing Groudon, then it would obey whoever held the ruby. The ruby rightfully belongs to you, and thus control over Groudon belongs to you as well."

_"If she lost, she was going to fork over the ruby to that beast!"_ Aisha's voice said to Ashley. _"Can you believe that?! You have no idea how much trouble that would have caused! Groudon's true power is concealed in this ruby, it would have been unstoppable if it got that power!"_

"W-wait! You're just going to give me that pokemon?!" Ashley asked in disbelief, ignoring the voice in her head.

"It's only fair. Groudon's true power is sealed in that gem, and the gem rightfully belongs to you." Melany replied. "Anyway, I have a feeling we'll be needing this kind of power."

"Why do you say that?" Ashley asked.

"I have my reasons. I'll explain on the way to the pokecenter." Melany looked around the desert cautiously. "The longer we stand here, the more likely we're going to get trapped in a sandstorm."

_"Well this is getting interesting..."_ Ashley thought. _"I came to Hoenn to find Duke. Instead, it seems there's something even bigger going on. If, of course, this isn't Duke's doing somehow..."_

_"Believe me, there's been a lot going on in Hoenn."_ Aisha said to her. _"I'll let Melany fill you in on the details since she's going to anyway."_

Ashley and Melany left the desert, heading south toward Mauville. Along the way, Melany informed Ashley about the conflict between Groudon and Kyogre, Rayquaza's disappearance, and the mysterious cave paintings at the Sky Pillar.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the top of the nearby Trainer Hill...

"So you must be the final trainer I must defeat then." A teenager by the name of Vito Winstrate said to his opponent, standing on the opposite side of the indoor battlefield.

"Funny. I was about to say the same." The girl, named Jessica, replied while adjusting her glasses. "Looks like I'm not the only one that managed to fight my way to the top of the Trainer Hill."

"Ah, but I'm afraid a girl like you has no chance at beating me." Vito said to her, grinning smugly. "I am, afterall, a Winstrate."

"Funny. I recall a certain girl, by the name of Melany Stone, beat you at the Grand Prix." Jessica replied.

"Sh-she got lucky!" Vito stammered in response. "But I'll change that! By battling here, my pokemon will become stronger! Then Melany Stone won't know what her! Besides, I recall you lost to May in that same tournament!"

"Hmph." Jessica narrowed her eyes at him. "I did, and thats why I'm here. I won't learn anything from you though. Your idea of a strategy is to use your strongest pokemon and hope for the best."

"That is enough. Both of you." A hidden voice addressed the two trainers. Suddenly a cloaked man with short brown hair stepped out of a hidden doorway on the side of the field and looked between the two.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Vito asked the cloaked figure.

"That...is of no concern to you." The cloaked man replied. "I am simply someone with whom you both share common enemies. Melany Stone and May Maple."

"What about them?" Jessica asked.

"It is quite simple really...I have a proposition for the two of you." The man replied. Duke, the ex-champion of Kanto, then stepped out from behind the man.

"For you two especially we have..." Duke grinned widely. "A legendary proposition."

* * *

Author's Notes: Now, I suppose you could say, things are really starting to come together. Groudon's now with its "rightful owner", so to speak, and a bit of foreshadowing as to the involvement of two other trainers. Originally I was going to put the bit about Vito and Jessica toward the end of Legends in Hoenn, but decided to leave it out. I added it in now because it helped to set the scene. One might notice that the mysterious figure now has a 'rival' for the three gem-holding trainers. Still keeping the man's identity a secret for now, but I'm sure a few smart readers might have figured it out...

Also, this is probably the second-last time I'll be using "Alex". He still has one more role to play, however, due to something Alex has that Melany doesn't. Or technically doesn't anyway.

Think thats all there is to say. Happy Easter, folks!


	45. Chapter 42: Legends in Celadon

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Forty Two**

**Legends in Celadon**

"I can't believe its been a full week and I still no sign of Entei..."

Though trouble was stirring in Hoenn, May Maple, Hoenn's newest champion, was far from it. Instead, her journeys found her sitting in a fast food restaurant with an empty tray on the table in front of her. Having finished her meal, she was taking time to reflect on the past week.

_"Well Raikou wasn't exactly easy to find either, was it?"_ The voice of Haruka, ancient leader of the Johto tribe, said in May's mind.

"I kinda just stumbled onto Raikou and then kept following it around Hoenn. Entei I haven't even seen yet. How do we even know no one else caught it it!?" May's sudden outburst caught the attention of everyone in the restaurant, but May was too wrapped up in her current dilemma to notice.

_"You're way too exciteable..."_ Haruka said to May.

"Whatever!" May replied indignantly. Finally lifting her head and looking around the restaurant, she noticed a stack of newspapers nearby. "Hey! Maybe there's something about Entei in one of these!" May quickly grabbed several of the papers and took them back to her table, then flipped through them in search of any sightings of Entei.

_"For all we know, Melany was lying to us. She doesn't exactly come across as being particularly trustworthy."_

"Why would she lie about something like that, though? She wouldn't really have anything to gain from it." May kept flipping the pages and thoroughly checking each paper, searching for news about Entei. Seeing May still seemingly talking to herself, the rest of the customers assumed she had a headset under her bandana and went back to their business.

"Hey! This looks interesting!" May said excitedly, closely examining a news article she found.

_"That...doesn't look like it has anything to do with Entei."_ Haruka said to her.

"Hey, I only said it was interesting." May replied. "According to this, there was a criminal group operating in Kanto. The higher-ups in that group all had control over a legendary pokemon!"

_"Hmm...you think they might have caught Entei then?"_ Haruka asked.

"Maybe, but there's more here too! There's a girl staying at a local hospital that got caught up fighting them. It might not be much of a lead, but maybe we could stop by and ask her about Entei?"

_"Better than nothing."_

"Should be open for visiting still, so lets go!" May tossed the papers back to where she found them, leaving them in a messy pile as she bolted out of the restaurant.

* * *

May wasted no time in getting to the hospital, even though it would be open to visitors for hours yet. She stops by the front desk to find out what room Rina is staying in, then heads straight to it. Stopped outside the room, she took a moment to double check the room number.

"Room 151...looks like this is it..." She said to herself, then reached for the doorknob. As she opened the door, she braced herself for the sight of a young girl hooked up to a variety of machines.

Upon finally opening the door, she instead she saw a girl sitting up in bed, looking out a nearby window and seemingly perfectly healthy. A ratlike pokemon May recognized as Rattata was resting on her bed, and a Pikachu was curled up next to it. An older man with a cape and red hair was standing next to the window looking outside as well, though they all looked her way when she stepped inside.

"Err...is this the right room?" May asked. "I'm looking for a girl named Rina..."

"Thats...me." Rina replied, blinking in confusion. "But who are you?" She asked. The man standing next to the window stroked his chin thoughtfully as he looked May over.

"Oh, good! I have the right room then!" May grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. "My name's May, I was hoping to meet you and ask you a few things, Rina!"

"Oh..." Rina blinked, then smiled at her. "I can't imagine what it'd be that you'd want to ask me, but I'll answer as best I can."

"Before you do, there is something I would like to ask you, miss May." The man said to May. "I can't say I know you, but you seem familiar regardless. You don't come from Hoenn by any chance, do you?"

"Well...I don't mean to brag..."

_"Thats a lie."_ Haruka said to her. May ignored her and continued.

"But I'm actually Hoenn's current Champion! In fact, I beat the Hoenn Elite Four and their champion just last week!" May replied, grinning widely.

"I see..." The man chuckled. "I am Lance, one of Kanto's own Elite Four. To think, at such a young age, you've managed to become a regional champion. If I'm not mistaken, you were involved in 'that' incident as well, weren't you?"

"'That' incident?" Rina asked him.

"It was some time ago. I am surprised you haven't heard of it." Lance said to Rina. "Two legendary pokemon had awakened in Hoenn and began to fight. Their very presence disrupted the weather, causing inmense storms, extreme heat, and flash floods. Even Hoenn's Elite Four were unable to stop them. In the end, their rampage was stopped by a third ancient pokemon...and two young trainers."

"I guess someone was bound to notice eventually..." May smiled sheepishly. "The two trainers were me and Alex, and the third pokemon was Rayquaza."

"I see..." Lance nodded slightly. "Then your visit has something to do with legendary pokemon, correct?"

"Err...yeah..." May replied hesitantly. _"I'm like an open book to this guy!"_

_"Given what he seems to know about you, and likely the other girl as well, it was probably an easy deduction for him to make."_ Haruka said to May.

"Anyway! I know you've dealt with a lot of legendary pokemon yourself, so I was wondering if you've seen this one around..." May reached into her fanny pack and took out a folded up picture. She unfolded the picture and then showed it to Rina. Rina gasped when she saw it.

"Thats Ashley's picture! The one she submitted to the Kanto Times!"

"Ashley?" May blinked. _"Where have I heard that name before?"_ May thought about it for a moment and then gasped when she remembered. _"Thats the girl I ran into at One Island! The one that had the sapphire I needed to access my pokemon storage in Hoenn!"_

_"Interesting...I wonder if they're the same person?" _Haruka added.

"I was with her when she took that picture, we saw Entei outside of Celadon that one time. We haven't seen it since, but I doubt the hunters caught it if thats what you're worried about." Rina said. "I don't think I can be much more help than that though, sorry..."

"Don't worry about it..." May sighed. "I heard that Entei was in Kanto and I've been trying to find it since, but haven't even caught a glimpse of it."

"Oh. Well I bet Ashley would gladly help, but she's gone to Hoenn right now. Its kinda ironic when you think about it..." Rina crossed her arms over her chest as she continued. "She might not have been the champion, but she did beat the Elite Four. Then she goes to Hoenn the same time you come to Kanto..."

"That...is kinda odd, now that you mention it..." May replied.

_"The plot thickens."_ Haruka snickered.

"Excuse me, Rina?" May practically jumped when she heard the voice of an older man behind her and turned to see one of the doctors standing in the doorway.

"DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT!" May yelled, fighting the urge to hit him.

"Err...s-sorry..." The doctor replied nervously. "A-anyway, they're ready for you in the x-ray lab, Rina."

Rina nodded to him and smiled. "Ok, coming!" Rina crawled to the edge of the bed and slowly stood up, seeming to be a bit shakey on her feet.

"Rina, don't push yourself too hard." Lance cautioned her. "You'll find it hard to walk after being bedridden for so long..."

"I'm fine, really!" Rina reassured him, smiling. She then started to walk toward the door, taking slow, careful steps.

_"She doesn't look fine to me..."_ May thought.

_"She certainly knows how to put on a strong appearance though."_ Haruka noted. _"Smiling like that, its hard to tell if she's actually having any trouble at all..."_

As Rina neared the door, she suddenly stumbled forward and almost fell over. Luckily, she was near near May, and so May was able to catch Rina without even moving.

"S-sorry...I must have tripped..." Rina said to May, blushing in her embarassment. She still refused to admit she couldn't walk on her own yet.

"Don't worry about it. I think someone should go with you though." May suggested, smiling lightly.

"I will accompany you to the x-ray room, Rina." Lance said, moving to stand next to her.

"Ok...but someone needs to stay here and keep an eye on those two..." Rina said, looking over at the two pokemon still sitting on her bed.

"-Why would we need someone to stay with us?-" Pippi wondered, tilting her head to the side.

"-Phooey...I wanted to nibble on stuff.-" Rattata said with a pouty look on its face.

"-Oh yeah...-" Pippi mumbled, narrowing her eyes at Rattata. Though it was really just Mew transformed, Mew had been transformed for a while and was having trouble controlling the urge to chew on things. Rattata often had to do so to keep their large incisors from getting too long.

"Visiting hours don't end for another two hours, right? I can stay and watch over them if you want." May said to Rina.

"I can't ask you to do that! I barely know you and you probably have more important things to do anyway!" Rina replied

May shook her head. "Not really, I don't think I'll find Entei today anyway." May looked at the two pokemon and smiled. "They don't look like they'll be any trouble anyway."

"If you say so..." Rina said with a sigh. She turned to Lance and grabbed his hand. "Lead the way?"

"Of course." Lance lead Rina out of the room, helping her along as they followed the doctor down to the x-ray lab. Once they were gone, May walked over to the window and looked outside. Rina's hospital room had a perfect view of the sun setting in the distance.

_"I guess thats what they were looking at before."_ May thought, then turned back toward the bed to keep an eye on the two pokemon. _"Well, guess I should use this time to figure out my next move."_

_"Perhaps there is some chance Entei will return to Celadon at some point."_ Haruka suggested. _"Even if it doesn't, we may be able to find some clues if we find the exact location Rina and her friend Ashley encountered Entei."_

_"Clues?"_ May blinked. _"I never thought of that before..."_

_"I know."_ Haruka replied in a sour tone.

"-So why does Rina trust this May person all of a sudden anyway?-" Mew asked Pippi.

"-I don't know, but Lance seems to know her. If she wasn't trustworthy I'm sure he would have said something.-" Pippi replied.

* * *

More than half an hour had passed since Rina left to have an x-ray done, leaving May to pace about the small room in her boredom. The long wait had been entirely uneventful, with both pokemon lying quietly on the bed. There was barely a sound in the room, save for the odd twitch from Mew as it resisted the urge to gnaw. However, the quiet atmosphere was about to change drastically.

"What's taking them so long? It shouldn't take this long just to get x-rays done!" May wondered, still pacing around the room. Hearing a hissing noise she stopped and looked around for the source. Mew was on the bed hissing at the window. May turned to see what it was, but saw only the wall breaking and the window shattering. With the wall under it being pushed inward, most of the broken glass fell outside.

"WHAT THE?!" May cried out in shock. Not knowing what was going on, she quickly grabbed a pokeball from her belt. It was then that she finally caught a glimpse of the attackers floating just outside the room. "No way!"

_"What is THAT pokemon doing here?!"_ Haruka added, even more surprised than May. The large, green head of a serpentine pokemon hovered near the window, blocking out the view of the rest of its body. Floating next to it was a humanoid pokemon with a feline appearance and a long, thick tail. Both pokemon had appropriately sized black collars around their neck.

"Rayquaza?!" Rayquaza opened its mouth and gave a mighty roar, shaking the room. "What's Rayquaza even doing here?!"

"I have a feeling it has something to do with that collar around its neck." Haruka suggested.

Suddenly, a pair of yellow blurs struck each pokemon, sending out a pulse of electricity upon contact. The impact knocked Rayquaza and the other pokemon away from the building and the two blurs, both Pikachus, dropped to the ground. Rayquaza and the other pokemon then dropped down out of sight, following the two Pikachu.

"Now what? Where did that second Pikachu come from?!" May looked around the room, trying to spot the Rattata from earlier. It was nowhere in sight. May pulled at her hair and growled in frustration. "NONE OF THIS IS MAKING ANY SENSE!"

_"Nevermind that! We need to do something about Rayquaza and its new friend!"_ Haruka said to her. May nodded and ran to the hole in the wall to see what was going on below. The two Pikachu had landed safely, but the other two pokemon were already going on the attack. One Psychic attack from the catlike pokemon knocked out one of the Pikachu, and a sharp claw attack from Rayquaza nearly did the same to the other.

_"We'll need a lot of power to take those two on...maybe now is a good time to try using 'that' pokemon."_ Haruka suggested.

"'That' pokemon?" May took a second pokeball from her belt, the one she assumed Haruka was referring to, and held it in her hand. "You...you aren't suggesting I use this pokemon, are you?!"

_"We might not have much choice." _Haruka replied.

"I...I guess you're right..." May gulped nervously and pointed the second pokeball at the ground near the injured Pikachu. "Ok then! Here goes nothing!" May pressed the button, firing a red beam down toward the ground. The beam slowly began to materialize as it fell, growing larger and eventually forming into a blue whale pokemon when it hit the ground. The pokemon let out a cry and stormclouds began to gather around the city, leaving clear skies only over the hospital.

"-Its been some time since I've been called out for battle...-" The pokemon said quietly to itself, eyeing its opponents. "-Now I find myself facing you, Rayquaza? Ha! I will make your defeat quick!-"

"Where do I know that pokemon from?" The still-conscious Pikachu wondered when it saw the whale pokemon appear. After a flash of insight, it managed to remember. "That...thats Kyogre! The pokemon that shaped the world's oceans! Is it really working alongside a human now?"

Sensing movement, the Pikachu looked over at its unconscious ally. The other Pikachu was beginning to stir. "-Pippi! Are you ok!?-" Mew, transformed into a Pikachu, asked her.

"-I'm...fine...that Mewtwo's attacks really hurt though...-" Pippi mumbled as she slowly stood up. She then looked around and spotted Kyogre lying next to them. "-Another giant pokemon?!-"

"-I think this one is on our side.-" Mew said to her.

"-Think what you will, but you two are of no concern to me.-" Kyogre said to them.

"Kyogre! Attack Rayquaza with Ice Beam!" May called out as she slowly floated down, riding an insect-like dragon pokemon. Kyogre glanced over at them and snorted through its blowhole.

_"That girl must have handed over me and the sapphire to this one. Seems I don't have much choice, not that it makes any difference. I was going to do this anyway."_ Kyogre opened its mouth and fired, sending a blue beam streaking through the air toward Rayquaza. The dragon pokemon roared in pain as the beam struck it and ice formed on its body. The ice spread across almost half of Rayquaza's body and then shattered, nearly knocking it out.

"-Ah, yes. As I recall, none of you dragon-types are particularly fond of ice. You especially, Rayquaza.-" Kyogre said in a mocking tone. Rayquaza growled, hesitating for a moment while it considered its next move. Rayquaza then suddenly took off away from the city, moving so quickly it left a blurred afterimage behind it.

"-Hmph. I don't remember you being so pathetic, Rayquaza.-" Kyogre said, snorting through its blowhole again. With Rayquaza gone, the hole in the clouds overhead closed over and a heavy downpour began.

_"Well at least Kyogre will listen to me."_ May breathed a sigh of relief and then hopped down off her pokemon's back. _"Well, thats one down. That other one though...I don't even know what kind of pokemon it is. I think it was using psychic attacks?" _Kyogre suddenly growled in pain, and May's suspicions were confirmed. The catlike pokemon had one hand held out toward Kyogre and a blue glow in its eyes. A similar glow had surrounded Kyogre as Mewtwo crushed it with a telekinetic force.

"-Mew! Now's our chance!-" Pippi said to Mew. Her cheeks were already producing sparks. Mew nodded in agreement with her and followed suit. The two Pikachu stood side by side, electricity coursing over their bodies. They then took off running toward Mewtwo, nearing it just as it finished its attack on Kyogre and tossed the whale pokemon onto its back.

Seeing the two electric pokemon charging toward it, Mewtwo recalled the instructions given to it before. With the slave collar around its neck, it had no choice but to obey, crossing its arms defensively to protect the collar. The two Pikachu smashed head first into Mewtwo's arms and Mewtwo held strong, taking a heavy hit but keeping them from hitting the collar. The two Pikachu were thrown back, and one was unconscious when it hit the ground.

"-It...blocked?-" The remaining Pikachu mumbled, weakly raising its head to look at Mewtwo. "-This guy is really starting to bug me!-"

"Those two Pikachu...were they trying to attack the collar?" May wondered aloud.

_"Seems I might have been right about those collars, and Rina's pokemon know about them."_ Haruka said to her. _"I think its obvious what that implies."_

"You mean that the criminals that Rina has been dealing with...are controlling Rayquaza and that other pokemon?!"

_"Looks like thats the case. Here I was starting to suspect Melany might be behind this somehow..."_

"Wh-what's going on out here?!" Hearing a voice above them, May and the pokemon gathered looked up. Rina, finally back from her x-rays, was standing in front of the open hole in her room.

"Rina?" Seeing Rina again, everything began to come together in May's mind and she realized what was going on. "RINA! You have to get out of here! NOW!" May shouted up to her. Rina was too stunned and confused by her outburst to move.

"I believe May is right, we need to leave!" Lance, standing behind Rina, said as he grabbed her by the arm. However, by then it was too late. The psychic pokemon, Mewtwo, suddenly shot through the air. Using its psychic power to levitate, Mewtwo flew up to Rina's room in a movement almost too fast to follow.

"D-damn it!" Lance growled and reached for a pokeball, letting go of Rina in the process. Rina ran for the door, but her legs gave out and sent her tumbling onto the floor. Before Lance could get out a pokemon, Mewtwo smacked him with its tail, knocking him aside. Mewtwo then grabbed Rina before she could get back up and then took off into the air with her.

"L-let go of me!" Rina struggled against Mewtwo's grip but, upon looking down she realized being dropped wouldn't work out for her.

"NO! That thing is kidnapping Rina! Kyogre, attack it with-"

_"STOP!"_ Haruka yelled in May's mind, stunning her briefly as Haruka's voice echoed in her head. _"If Kyogre attacks, it'll hit Rina!"_

"But...but we can't just let it get away!" May replied. She watched Mewtwo fly further away, heading toward the edge of the city. "Grr...alright, Flygon, go after it!" Flygon nodded and took off after Mewtwo, but found itself unable to keep up with the psychic pokemon's pace. Flygon was soon joined by another dragon pokemon, Lance's own Dragonite. Neither pokemon were gaining any ground on it.

Mew, still in Pikachu form, was likewise trying to follow on the ground. It eventually reverted back to its normal form but, like Flygon and Dragonite, it was unable to catch up to Mewtwo. "-RINA!-" Mew called out frantically.

Just as it looked like Mewtwo would make its escape, however, a ferocious roar echoed through the darkened city and Mewtwo suddenly stopped in its tracks. Standing on top of a building near the edge of the city, out of May's sight, was the legendary fire pokemon Entei. With one mighty roar, it had caused the psychic pokemon to hesitate. Even Kyogre felt a chill go through its body.

_"I'd recognize that roar anywhere..."_ Haruka said to May. _"That would be our Entei."_

May smirked. "Well Entei's timing couldn't be any better!"

The hesitation caused by Entei's roar was enough for the pursuing dragon pokemon to catch up to Mewtwo. Flygon hit first, striking Mewtwo in a quick strike that didn't even register at first. When Mewtwo finally felt the blow, it dropped Rina. Lance's Dragonite quickly dove down, catching Rina before she hit the ground and returning to the hospital with her.

Meanwhile, Mew flew up to meet Mewtwo when it saw Rina was safe. Mew transformed again, taking the form of Mewtwo and then floated up in front of it. The real Mewtwo, realizing the tables had turned, quickly flew past Mew and Entei to retreat from the city. Mew considered giving chase, knowing full well that Mewtwo was already in a weakened state, but decided it was more concerned with Rina and reverted to its normal form again as it flew back to the hospital.

_"I do not know what is going on here tonight, but I will not leave until I figure this out."_ Entei thought as it jumped down the two storey building and ran through the city streets to meet up with the others. Mew, Flygon, and Dragonite would arrive long before it.

When Rina was brought back to the hospital, Lance was waiting outside with May. Kyogre was still out of its pokeball as well, and Pippi had finally regained consciousness and was waiting with Lance. When Dragonite dropped off Rina, Pippi immediately jumped into her arms.

"-Rina! You're ok! I was so worried about you!-" Pippi said to her trainer, nuzzling against Rina's chest.

"-RINA!-" Mew finally caught up by then as well and quickly hugged her from behind. "-I thought that evil clone was going to get away with you for sure!-" Mew said tearfully, nuzzling against Rina's back.

"I can't believe those pokemon were sent just to kidnap you!" Lance said in disbelief. "Rina! You aren't hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine now, but that was kinda scary..." Rina quietly admitted. "I thought for sure I'd be dragged off to Duke again..."

"You wanna fill me in on whats going on here?" May asked Rina. Entei then finally arrived on the scene and May immediately diverted her attention to it. "Nevermind! That'll have to wait actually!" May grinned widely and took an empty Ultra Ball out of her fanny pack.

"-Well, this is certainly an interesting sight. The legendary Kyogre, awake again.-" Entei said in a gruff voice. "-I thought there was something unnatural about this rain. Seems you've been caught by a trainer now as well.-"

"-Hmph. I can't even say I recognize you, yet it seems you know me well.-" Kyogre redplied. "-Regardless, I don't obey just any trainer, only the one who holds the sapphire. That is all I will say on that matter.-"

"-Sapphire? Interesting...-" Entei looked toward May. "-Seems we have something in common then...-"

_"Sapphire? What are those two talking about?"_ Rina wondered, then looked at May. _"Does it have something to do with why May was looking for Entei?"_

"You're mine now, Entei! I came prepared with the right pokemon to catch you!" May said as she held out a pokeball and aimed past Entei. "Cradily, go! Grab it with Constrict!" The pokeball opened up, releasing a plant pokemon with a long neck anchored to a lower body composed largely of rock. Cradily immediately bent over and grabbed Entei's hind legs with the tendrils circling her face. Entei tried to pull away, but Cradily had a firm grip on the ground.

_"This trainer has been searching for me it seems, and her tactics suggest she's already had a run-in with a similar pokemon. Surely, this is the trainer Ho-Oh wished for us to find?"_ Entei turned its head to face Cradily and opened its mouth, gathering flames within to attack. _"Regardless, I shall not be caught so easily!" _Entei attacked Cradily, blasting it with a stream of flames. With the rain still falling, however, the flames were weakened before they reached Cradily and the pokemon only took a light hit as a result.

_"This is almost too perfect, Entei showing up while I have Kyogre ready!"_ May thought, grinning sheepishly. _"Well! Let's end this then and catch Entei!"_

"Kyogre, attack Entei with Hydro Pump!" Kyogre opened its mouth and fired a wide, steady stream of water at Entei. With the rain powering it up, the attack hit Entei especially hard. Though the fire pokemon was large and heavy, it was knocked back with such a force that Cradily was pulled from the ground and dragged back with it. The attack knocked Entei out immediately, due to its type disadvantage and Kyogre's sheer power.

"If only catching Raikou had been this easy..." May sighed. "Oh well." May threw the empty Ultra Ball she was holding, hitting Entei in the side. Since Entei had already been knocked out, the pokeball pulled it inside and locked shut without any struggle. The Ultra Ball then glowed white and disappeared, sending Entei off to storage.

"ALRIGHT! We caught Entei!" May cheered. Her excitement was cut short, however, by the sound of a police siren approaching the scene. A single police car, flanked on either side by an Arcanine with two police officers riding, was quickly approaching the hospital.

"Th-the police?!" May stuttered in disbelief. "They even brought a car?!"

"Its only natural a scene like this would get their attention." Lance replied, turning to face the oncoming officers. "I will handle this. The league has ties with the police force, afterall."

* * *

Lance did explain the situation to the police officers who had arrived on scene, though May was still forced to give her own testimony due to having been on the scene first. May was left rather unnerved by being put on the spot, it felt to her as though she was being interrogated like she was a criminal herself. Once the police were satisfied they had gotten all the facts they went about investigating the damages caused by Mewtwo and Rayquaza's attack. Mew disguised itself as a Rattata, as usual.

May went to the pokecenter once the police were finished, and was joined by Rina and Lance. Rina's x-rays were to determine if she was completely healed, and so she was finally being released from the hospital. She was finally used to walking again by the time she got there and had her pokemon healed while May retrieved her recently caught Entei. While May was waiting for her own pokemon to heal, she finally had a chance to ask Rina a few questions.

"So, whats the deal with that Rattata? Or whatever that pokemon really is..." May first asked her.

"Umm...well..." Rina quickly looked around the pokecenter to see if anyone else, aside from Lance, was within earshot, and then leaned toward May to whisper to her. "Its actually Mew, it just transforms into a Rattata to hide..."

"Really!? No way!" May exclaimed in disbelief. "I thought Mew didn't actually exist!"

"You could say that about a lot of pokemon, but I guess Mew especially since its supposed to be the ancestor of all pokemon." Rina replied quietly. "Mew doesn't really act or talk like you'd expect a pokemon like that to though. Its kinda... childish and playful."

"That is odd..." May replied, blinking. After a few seconds she caught on to something else Rina had said. "Wait...Mew can talk?"

Rina shook her head. "No, not in the sense you probably mean anyway. I can understand pokemon though."

"Wow, that's quite a talent!"

_"You have that capability yourself to an extent."_ Haruka said to May. _"Kyogre could speak to you so long as you held the sapphire. There is also Ho-Oh, who can choose a single human to be capable of understanding it."_

_"Somehow, I don't think Kyogre has much it'd want to say to me." _May thought in response. "Say, Rina, think you could talk to some of my pokemon for me, then? I need to find out where to go next."

"Sure...but what do you mean by needing to find out where to go next?"

"I don't quite understand it myself, actually..." May sheepishly admitted. "I need to catch Raikou, Entei, and Suicune and it has something to do with Ho-Oh..."

_"Well thats certainly a vague explanation."_ Haruka said dryly. _"You ARE the chosen one, you know. You CAN throw your weight around a bit!"_

_"That might have worked in your time, but no one would believe that these days."_ May replied. _"Telling her I have a voice in my head telling me these things would look even worse, by the way."_

"So you want to ask Entei and Raikou about it, then?" Rina asked. May nodded to her.

"Exactly!"

"Sure, I can help you with that! Sounds pretty important anyway." Rina replied, nodding enthusiastically.

Once both of their pokemon had been healed, May, Rina, and Lance left the pokecenter and stopped just outside. May then released Raikou and Entei from their pokeballs so she could talk with them.

"-Well, well, well, looks like she's caught you too, huh?-" Raikou said to Entei with a toothy grin.

"-Only because her capture of you gave her ample time to prepare.-" Entei replied gruffly.

"-Only a few months ago I was a simple Pichu living a simple life in a simple forest. Now I meet new legendary pokemon almost every day!-" Pippi said to Rina while staring at Entei and Raikou in amazement.

"OK! There's something I want to ask you two!" May announced to Entei and Raikou with a determined look on her face. Her announcement was followed by a long pause.

"...Aren't you going to ask them something?" Lance said to her.

"I...I'm not sure how to put it..." May replied hesitantly, her demeanour quickly shifting from determined to embarassed. Lance shook his head in dismay.

"Ok! I've got it now!" May announced, looking determined again as she pointed a finger at the two pokemon. "WHERE IS SUICUNE?!"

"-All that build-up...and thats what she asks?-" Raikou hung his head in shame.

"-I doubt it matters, she can't understand us as it is.-" Entei said to Raikou. "-Without Ho-Oh, there is no one to translate for her.-"

"Actually, I can understand you just fine!" Rina cut in. Entei and Raikou blinked and looked at her in disbelief.

"-I...see.-" Entei cleared its throat. "-Very well then. All I can tell you, unfortunately, is that Suicune is in Johto. Ho-Oh is also in Johto, and only after catching all three of us will you be able to meet it.-" Rina nodded and then explained what Entei said to May.

"So I have to go to Johto then?" May sighed. "That figures, why do I have to be the one to run all over the world to catch you guys?!"

"If that is all you needed to know, then we should be leaving now." Lance said to May. "I must take Rina somewhere safe, or else those pokemon may come back for her."

"Huh? Where are you going to take me?" Rina asked, having only heard Lance's intentions for the first time herself.

"Indigo Plateau. It is the only place in Kanto you would be safe now."

"As if!" Rina shot back. "That and my house would be the first places they'd look!"

"Oh? Then what do you suggest?" Lance asked challengingly.

"Well, umm..." Rina thought for a moment, having no answer ready for him. She looked over at May, who seemed to be confused about what was going on, and then got an idea. "I know! Why don't I go to Johto with May!"

May nearly fell over in shock from Rina's suggestion. "Wh-what?! You want to come with me!?"

"Sure!" Rina replied with a nod. "They'd never think to look for me in Johto, and even if they did they'd have to split up to find me! So if they did find me, you'd be able to beat them with your pokemon."

"I...I guess that makes sense..." May replied, though she still had her doubts about the idea.

_"A translator could certainly be helpful to have with us."_ Haruka added.

"...I had a feeling you might say something like that." Lance reached into his pocket and took out a small device with a single button on it, then handed it to Rina. "Here. This is a pager with a built-in GPS. If you push the button, it will automatically alert me to your current location. Since Johto is next to Kanto, and Indigo Plateau is near the border, it should make no difference which region you're in."

Rina took the device and stared at it in disbelief for a moment, then looked back at Lance questioningly. "You mean you..."

"May, for a trainer who is only ten years old, you have an impressive record. I'm counting on you to protect Rina."

"Err...right! You can count on me!" May replied to Lance, trying to sound confident.

"Great! This is going to be..." Rina blinked, and then looked at May with a shocked expression. "You're only TEN?!"

"What do you mean 'only' ten?! Thats old enough to be a trainer anyway!" May replied, confused by Rina's sudden outburst. "Its not like you're any older!"

"I'm twelve..."

"Oh..." May blinked.

"Regardless of her age, she's quite experienced, Rina." Lance said to her. "At any rate, I believe it would be best we all found somewhere to spend the night. You two can leave in the morning."

"Right..." May nodded slightly in agreement. "I could definitely use a rest after all this..."

And so, everyone gathered up their pokemon and found a place to stay for the night. They needed to get a good rest. May and Rina would be leaving for New Bark Town the next day.

* * *

Author's Notes: Sorry about the lateness. Usual procrastination + new job + several chapter revisions = one late update.

Next chapter will be May and Rina again, then we'll be looking back at Hoenn. Kinda interesting how Rina is actually older than May, isn't it? By the way, for those of you keeping track, Rina did indeed skip over her birthday.


	46. Chapter 43: Suicune's Revealations

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Forty Three**

**Suicune's Revealation**

New Bark Town, a town not unlike Pallet Town in Kanto. Just like Pallet Town, it was a small town by the coast. Also just like Pallet Town, there was little there, aside from people's houses and a pokemon lab. The day May and Rina would be arriving at that very town, a group of kids were playing with a ball near the town's edge. One of the boys in the group gave the ball a good, hard kick, sending it into the tall grass of route 29.

"Hey! You kicked it that hard on purpose!" A blue haired girl said to the boy.

"Heh..." The boy grinned and rubbed his index finger under his nose. "I can't help it if I'm that strong! Either way, you were supposed to catch it, so now you have to go get it!"

"Showoff!" The girl called back again and then stormed off to retrieve the ball. The red and white pokeball-shaped ball was plain to see, even in the tall grass. She hesitated at the edge of the grass, recalling her mother's words of warning.

_"Don't go near the tall grass! Wild pokemon will ambush you if you do!" _Remembering what her mother said to her, the girl carefully scanned the nearby grass for any signs of pokemon. The grass swayed in a gentle breeze, but no suspicious movements to suggest the presence of a pokemon.

_"I don't see any pokemon, and I'll only be in the grass for a sec, so I'll be fine!"_ The girl walked through the grass, moving quickly to grab the ball in the hope of getting out before anything could happen to her. Unfortunately for her, rather than avoiding trouble, her quick movements alerted a nearby Rattata to her presence. Seeing the girl holding the large, pokeball-lookalike ball, the pokemon assumed she intended to catch it.

"-YOU WILL NEVER CATCH ME!-" The Rattata hissed and jumped up out of the grass to attack the girl.

"KYAAAA!" The girl shrieked, dropping the ball in a panic as she raised her arms to defend herself. The wind then suddenly picked up around in front of her, sending a strong gust into the Rattata and knocking it off to the side. The Rattata hit the ground hard and was knocked out almost instantly. The girl blinked and looked around disbelief when she realized she was still ok. Seeing the Rattata unconscious, she quickly grabbed the ball and ran back into the town with it.

Once the girl and her friends had moved away from the edge of town, fearing another accident, a blue, four-legged pokemon with a long, purple mane stepped into view. "-You should have known better than to enter the tall grass. Had I not been here, that Rattata could have seriously harmed you.-" The pokemon said quietly, shaking its head. The pokemon watched over the town from its position until it saw two older girls approaching and quickly hid itself.

"So you were originally from Johto, but this is your first time in New Bark Town?" Rina asked May. The two girls had arrived only recently in New Bark Town and were setting out on foot from there in search of Suicune. Pippi, Rina's Pikachu, was back to following her trainer on foot.

"I never left Goldenrod City much at all." May replied with a shrug. "I know my way around the region, but mostly from maps. I know how to get from New Bark Town to Goldenrod anyway."

"What do we do when we get to Goldenrod then?" Rina asked. The two girls came to a stop just as they were leaving the town and officially entering route 29.

"I don't know honestly..." May replied, rubbing the back of her head. "I'm just kinda figuring that Goldenrod is my best chance at finding Suicune." May sighed. "It would be nice if Entei or Raikou could help a bit more..."

"This is my first time in Johto at all, so I guess I can't really say whether you're right about Goldenrod or not."

The pokemon from before watched the two girls from its hiding place, crouched down in a distant patch of grass, eavesdropping on their conversation. _"Interesting. Seems these two are looking for me. The one with the winged hair looks familiar as well, and she has caught Entei and Raikou?"_ The pokemon, Suicune, narrowed its eyes at the two. _"She has come sooner than I had expected, I may not be able to escape her for long..."_

"-Hey! Rina! Look over there!-" Pippi called out excitedly, pointing to something hiding in the grass while tugging on Rina's pant leg. Though Pippi wasn't pointing at Suicune, it tried to duck down lower to the ground.

"Huh?" Rina followed Pippi's direction and saw the Rattata, recently defeated by Suicune. Rina frowned when she saw it. "Its just a Rattata. Some beginner probably came by and knocked it out for practice and then left it here!"

May snickered. "Well you're the pokemon whisperer here, so why don't you wait for it to get up and ask it what happened?" She suggested jokingly.

"Maybe I will!" Rina shot back, surprising May with her sudden hostility.

Hearing the conversation between them, Suicune quickly stood up. "-Did I hear you right? Can you really understand what we pokemon say?-" Suicune asked Rina. May, Rina, and Pippi turned and looked upon Suicune in shock.

"May, is that..."

"I think so..."

_"That would be Suicune. Certainly made this easy for you."_ Haruka informed May.

Suicune looked at Rina expectantly. "-Well?-" May and Rina blinked, and May looked over at Rina when she realized Suicune was addressing her.

"Umm...yeah, I can..." Rina blinked again. "Are you Suicune?"

Suicune nodded. "-That is correct. I overheard the two of you talking. Your friend there...-" Suicune gestured toward May with its snout. "-She came all the way to Johto to find me, correct?-" Rina nodded to Suicune and then began to translate for May.

"-I can't believe we found Suicune that easily...-" Pippi mumbled in disbelief while Rina translated. She then reached back and scratched behind her ear. "-I guess this means we don't have to run all over Johto afterall?-"

When Rina finished translating, May nearly snapped. "You bet I came to Johto looking for you!" May growled, shaking her fist at Suicune. "First I had to chase Raikou all over Hoenn, and then searched across Kanto for Entei! Why couldn't you all stick to one region and STOP RUNNING AWAY?!"

"May! Calm down, you should be thankful you found Suicune this early!" Rina said to her. May did seem to calm down a bit, but only slightly.

After hearing May's response, Suicune chuckled. "-I see. Part of your trials, of course.-" Suicune began. "-However, should you grant me one request, then I will battle you without forcing you to chase me.-" Again, Rina translated for May.

"Well, if Suicune's going to make it easier on me then thats definitely fine by me." May replied, grinning slightly. "Ok then, what's this 'request'?" Suicune paused briefly before replying, casting a longing look toward the town before looking back to May and Rina.

"-I do not wish to battle near this town.-" Suicune replied. "-It is a...long story. Perhaps I will explain should you manage to catch me.-" Suicune paused and shook its head. "-No, I suppose I will have no choice but to explain should that happen. Regardless, we will have our battle outside of...I believe you humans call it 'Union Cave'. Do you accept?-"

Rina translated for May. May took a moment to considerate and then nodded. "Union Cave isn't far from here, just west of Cherrygrove City. If thats it, then fine!" May pointed a finger at Suicune. "Suicune! I, May Maple, accept your challenge!"

Suicune grinned lightly and nodded. "-Then I will see you there.-" Suicune then took off running, heading west from their current position.

"Now I'm really curious about why Suicune didn't want to battle here..." May said, looking off toward New Bark Town.

"Well Suicune said it'd tell you why if you caught it." Rina said to her.

"True." May replied with a nod. "Ok, let's get going then. If Suicune isn't going to run then I can change my team before I battle it." May set off toward Cherrygrove, and Rina and Pippi followed behind her.

"I've only seen three of May's pokemon so far..." Rina said to Pippi while they were walking, recalling May's Flygon, Cradily, and Kyogre that she saw briefly just last night. "I never saw pokemon like those before though. I wonder what other pokemon May's caught in Hoenn?"

"-I want to see her electric pokemon!-" Pippi said excitedly. "-I've never met an electric pokemon from another region before!-"

_"What makes her think May has electric pokemon?"_ Rina wondered.

May, Rina, and Pippi crossed route 29 completely on foot. The distance between Cherrygrove and New Bark Town was relatively short anyway, so it only took them a little under an hour. Once they were in Cherrygrove City, they headed into the local pokecenter so May could use the pc there. Fortunately for her, the connection she helped establish in the Sevii Islands also served to connect Johto to Hoenn.

"You know, I never thought of it until now, but I could make an entire team of electric and grass pokemon." May said to herself. She pondered over what pokemon she should take with her while looking over the display screen, which showed animated images representing each pokemon she had stored. There were twenty-two pokemon in total for her to choose from, counting the six she had with her, which included four grass-type pokemon and three electric-type pokemon.

Overhearing her, Rina crept closer to sneak a peek at May's screen of pokemon and found herself in disbelief at the number of pokemon she had. "Wow! That's a lot of pokemon! Are you really raising them all or did you just catch them for a pokedex?"

"Both, actually." May replied, smiling lightly. "I wanted to catch a lot of pokemon to help Professor Birch with his pokedex, but I didn't want to catch them just for that."

"Must be pretty hard to raise all of them..."

May nodded. "It is, I have to set aside time to train everyday just to keep their strength up!" May took a quick look over her selection and then pressed a few buttons. "Think I'll withdraw two grass pokemon and two electric pokemon, just incase one type is better than another against Suicune. I'll keep Raikou too, just to be on the safe side." May thought for a moment and then pressed a few more buttons.

"I'll switch Flygon for Salamence too I think. Flygon's probably tired from the flight over here." With her selections made, May then proceded to place one pokeball on the transfer pad after another. One by one, all but one of her pokemon were exchanged for one of the ones she had selected.

_"If you had all those pokemon with you against Kyogre, it would have been a much easier fight for you."_ Haruka said to May. _"Why is it you're limited to six pokemon? I don't think you ever explained that..."_

_"Pokemon league regulations."_ May replied. _"The only way you could even have more than six pokemon with you was if you didn't keep them in pokeballs or if the pokeballs were hacked. Even the Elite Four or the gym leaders aren't allowed to have more than six pokemon."_

_"Interesting, but doesn't that simply leave you vulnerable against those who don't follow the rules?"_

_"I guess it does, but there's nothing we can do about that."_

"To have so many pokemon and still be able to raise them all, she must be pretty dedicated." Rina thought, blinking in disbelief. Both her and Pippi waited anxiously, curious to see May's pokemon. Once all the switches were made, the three of them left the pokecenter and stopped just outside.

"Ok, the fastest way to Union Cave from here is to cross the water." May said, pointing to the beach front to the west. "Which was why I brought Salamence." May turned to Rina and grinned. "She can probably fly both of us across if you think your 'Knight' would be too tired, Rina."

Rina nodded. "Ok." May then took a pokeball in her hand, one that Rina remembered seeing before and gasped when she realized what it was. "May! Isn't that a Masterball?!"

"That's right! It was an emergency, sort of, so I caught my Salamence with it." May replied, then reached into her fanny pack and pulled out another Masterball. "I still have this one too if I ever need it."

"Wh-WHAT?!" Rina cried out in disbelief. "Do those things just grow on trees in Hoenn or what?!" She asked, flailing her arms wildly.

"-What's so great about those things again?-" Pippi asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Of course not!" May replied. "I found the first one when I raided a criminal hideout, and the second was a prize for winning a tournament." May reached back and put the Masterball away. "It can catch any pokemon without fail, so I plan to keep it just incase of an emergency where I need to catch a pokemon on the first try."

_"In my day, there was no such thing as a guaranteed capture. If you wanted to catch a pokemon, you had to beat it to within an inch of its life or hope it'd come willingly."_ Haruka said to May.

_"I guess thats a good idea. I think I'll save mine too then."_ Rina thought.

"Anyway!" May turned away from Rina and held out the Masterball in front of her. "Salamence, come on out now!" The Masterball opened up, releasing a dragon pokemon that looked almost like something straight out of a medieval fairy tale. The dragon pokemon roared and looked around. She seemed a bit put off when she realized she wouldn't be fighting anything.

"-No opponent, no food...let me guess, I'm going to fly you and your friend somewhere?-" Salamence looked between May and Rina and then snorted. "-Being caught is embarassing enough, but now I have people riding me too? Dragons are supposed to be powerful, fierce! Not just pokemon for some trainer to boss around!-"

_"I wonder what kind of conditions May caught that pokemon under..."_ Rina thought.

"Ok, Salamence, I need you to fly me and Rina across the water to a cave on the other side." May said to Salamence. Salamence rolled her eyes.

"-Figures.-" Salamence turned to face the water. "-Get on then and let's just get this over with.-"

"-She seems grouchy...-" Pippi whispered to Rina. Rina nodded in agreement.

May climbed into Salamence's back first, followed by a hesitant Rina and Pippi. Salamence then took off across the water, crossing it in a matter of minutes. My kept Salamence flying though, moving a bit further south to the Union Cave entrance. Just outside, they could see Suicune waiting. Salamence landed near Suicune and everyone hopped off.

"-You finally arrive. Shall we begin?-" Suicune said to them, tensing its body and looking ready to pounce. May didn't need a translation to understand what Suicune was thinking.

"Salamence might not be the best pokemon to fight Suicune with, but she's already out and it might be good to see what I'm dealing with first." May thought. "Salamence, you'll fight first!" She then informed Salamence. Salamence nodded and walked out in front of May, positioning herself for the fight.

"-This is a bit better at least.-" Salamence grumbled.

"Well you two aren't wasting any time." Rina commented.

"Salamence, attack Suicune with Dragon Claw!" Salamence raised her roght foreleg back and flexed her claws. The claws extended, turning orange and doubling in length. Salamence then jumped and gave a flap of her wings to charge toward Suicune and slash it across the face. Suicune staggered back, shaking its head, but quickly regained its balance and then closed its eyes. To everyone else, Suicune didn't appear to be doing anything at all. Suicune was using Calm Mind, meditating to increase its special attack power and defense.

"Is Suicune powering up with something?" May wondered. "The only technique I can think of that Suicune might be using is Calm Mind. Let's use physical attacks then!"

"Salamence, stay on it! Attack with Headbutt!" Salamence moved toward Suicune again while lowering her head. She then lifted her neck once her head was positioned under Suicune's, hitting Suicune in the lower jaw with a Headbutt attack. Suicune growled and staggered back, moving closer to the cave entrance behind it. Again, however, Suicune shook off the attack and meditated.

_"May's putting up a strong offensive, but Suicune just keeps meditating! I wonder if Suicune has something planned?"_ Rina wondered.

"Keep attacking with Headbutt!" May called out.

"-What? Just headbutt it?-" Salamence growled. "-Fine, whatever, you're the 'trainer' here.-" Salamence rushed Suicune to attack again, this time flapping her wings and flying a foot off the ground. Salamence made the attack from above this time, smacking the top of Suicune's head with her forehead. Suicune's head was forced down by the impact, nearly hitting the ground.

When Suicune tried to lift its head again, it felt a sharp pain. It left Suicune distracted long enough for Salamence to attack again. Dropping back down to the ground, Salamence moved her head under Suicune and brought it up in another Headbutt attack. Suicune's head snapped back, causing it to stagger back again. Suicune was able to recover quickly this time, though, and took a moment to meditate again. Suicune was starting to look a bit exhausted, but still had plenty of fight left in it.

"Umm...May...is that really all you're going to do?" Rina asked May.

"Hey! Its the best option Salamence has right now!" May shot back. "Salamence's best attack is Dragon Claw, but Suicune has been increasing its defense against that. I think. Anyway..." May turned her attention back to the battle. "Alright then, we'll try a different approach! Salamence, attack with Fly!" Salamence nodded and flapped her wings, flying straight up into the air. Seeing its opponent wasn't attacking immediately, Suicune continued to use Calm Mind.

"Wouldn't that have been a better choice from the start?" Rina suggested.

May winced. "Err...well...maybe..."

"-Isn't she supposed to be a champion or something?-" Pippi asked.

"She apparently is." Rina whispered back. "I don't think she thinks ahead too much though..."

"-Kinda like Ashley?-" Pippi asked. Rina nodded in agreement.

Salamence rapidly approached a high altitude and then pulled a u-turn in the air to dive straight down again. Salamence shot down through the air near Suicune, rather than over it, and then pulled out of the dive to strike Suicune across its backside. Putting all of its momentum into the attack struck a heavy blow against Suicune, knocking it over in the process.

Suicune quickly got back up after being knocked over, looking quite exhausted but finally going on the attack. As Suicune stood up, it turned its head to face Salamence. From the crystal-shaped crest on the top of its head, Suicune fired a multicolored beam at Salamence. Salamence, still flying, was facing away from Suicune at the time and didn't see the beam coming. The attack struck Salamence from behind and brought her crashing into the ground, knocking her out immediately.

"Should have expected something like that I guess, but at least we weakened Suicune quite a bit." May said, holding out the Masterball and recalling Salamence. She then put the Masterball back on her belt and took a regular pokeball in her hand.

"Ok, lets keep on the attack! Plusle, go!" She called out, releasing a pokemon that looked similar to a Pichu. The pokemon, Plusle, had a tail that seemed to end in the shape of a red plus sign and had red tipped ears and hands. Even the red circles on its cheeks had plus signs in the middle.

"-WOW! She looks a lot like me! She's even an electric type!-" Pippi cried out excitedly when she saw Plusle. Plusle, hearing Pippi, looked back at her. Plusle smiled widelty and waved her hands at Pippi.

"-HIYA! Sorry, can't talk now! Battle time!-" Plusle said to Pippi, then turned back to face Suicune.

"I think I remember reading once that pretty much every region is known for the discovery of a pokemon species thats similar or related to the Pikachu species." Rina commented.

_"I am not likely to win at this point, I wasted too much of my strength against her Salamence."_ Suicune thought. _"Even so, I won't give up!"_

"Plusle, call down a Thunder attack!" Plusle nodded and then pointed a finger at Suicune. Electricity gathered in the air and then fired straight down toward Suicune, but the water pokemon moved off to the side to evade it. Though Suicune managed to evade it completely, Suicune still felt a burning sensation from the near miss. The effect it had on Suicune, however, was incredibly minimal.

"We missed?!" May cried out in disbelief. Suicune then struck back, opening its mouth and firing a stream of water. The stream started out narrow, but spread out and widened into a stream larger than Plusle's body. Plusle was swept up and thrown back by the high pressure of the water, pushing her into a nearby rock formation that sealed off that particular area from the sea. Plusle was knocked out almost instantly.

"Urk! Bad follow up!" May held out Plusle's pokeball and recalled her, then got ready to send out another pokemon.

_"You know, isn't this the same mistake everyone keeps making against Melany? Letting pokemon power up?"_ Haruka said to May. _"I'm sure you could have thought of a better approach than just attacking with that dragon. I can assure you, Suicune is no pushover."_

"Well neither am I! I still have a few tricks up my sleeve! I didn't become champion just because I was lucky, afterall!" May shot back, then called out her next pokemon. "Ludicolo, you can do this! Go!" The pokeball in May's hand opened up, releasing her next pokemon. The pokemon that materialized was already dancing and looked like a pineapple with a duck's bill and a sombrero on its head.

"Wh-what is that thing?!" Rina stammered in disbelief.

"Ludicolo, a water and grass type pokemon." May explained with a grin. "It has no weaknesses to any of Suicune's attacks and..."

As May spoke, a strong gust of wind suddenly struck Ludicolo. Suicune, a pokemon of the north wind, conjured a Gust attack to strike it. Ludicolo cried out in a shrill, surprised voice and fell over onto its back. Even with Suicune's increased power, however, Ludicolo was just barely able to endure the normally weak attack. Ludicolo got up as quickly as it could in its weakened state, looking determined and ready to fight back.

"Ok, I wasn't expecting that at all..." May mumbled, blinking in disbelief. She quickly shook her head and returned her thoughts to the task at hand. "Ludicolo, attack Suicune with Mega Drain!" Ludicolo held out its hands toward Suicune, drawing out a small amount of energy from it. Suicune barely seemed to feel it, despite the type disadvantage, and struck back with a rainbow beam from its crest. The beam, an ice attack called Aurora Beam, struck Ludicolo head on and knocked it flat out.

"This...this just isn't my day." May mumbled, recalling Ludicolo. Yet another pokemon of her's had been taken out and barely laid a scratch on Suicune.

"Maybe if you weren't showing off for your new friend, you wouldn't be having this problem." Haruka said to her.

"I-I'm not showing off!" May replied, slamming her foot against the ground and clenching her fists.

"Are you ok May?" Rina asked her. May blinked, realizing what she was doing. She quickly straightened out and grinned sheepishly as she turned to face Rina.

"I'm fine, really! I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve! I'll catch Suicune yet!" May assured her.

"-Really? Because I'm starting to have my doubts..." Pippi said to Rina. Rina nodded to her in agreement.

_"I wish I knew what Pippi was saying to her sometimes. Anyway..."_ May took another pokeball from her belt. "Manetric, your turn now! Go!" She called out, releasing another electric pokemon to battle Suicune. This time, the pokemon that appeared almost seemed to resemble a poodle with the way the yellow, static-charged fur was covering its blue body. Manetric looked determined, ready for battle, not knowing it would only get a single attack in before Suicune would knock it out.

"Manetric, hit Suicune hard! Thunderbolt!" Manetric nodded and quickly began to attack, discharging electricity across its body. The electricity gathered at the front of Manetric's body and then shot out in a lightning bolt, striking Suicune. Suicune growled as the electricity passed through it and nearly collapsed. Suicune was already pretty weak and Manetric's Thunderbolt had managed to strike a pretty decent hit despite Suicune's buffed defense.

"-Not bad...have you been holding back, I wonder?-" Suicune said to May, though she didn't understand and Rina didn't plan to translate. "-It makes no difference now, I'm afraid.-" Suicune straightened up and opened its mouth, firing a powerful Hydro Pump attack at Manetric. Manetric yelped as the water struck it, throwing it back hard as it had done with Plusle earlier and knocking it out instantly. May, having expected this, recalled Manetric with a slight grin.

"...Ok, I'll admit it. I might have been showing off just a bit." May thought, speaking to Haruka.

_"So you're finally ready to use that pokemon you've been holding back then? The one you knew all along could beat Suicune?"_ Haruka asked her. May nodded, drawing a pokeball in her hand.

"Ok, I hope you're ready, Suicune! The kid's gloves are coming off now!" May called out to Suicune, extending her hand and holding out her pokeball. "Roselia, your turn now! Let's go!" May released Roselia from its pokeball, sending out a tiny grass pokemon with flowers for its hands. The tiny grass pokemon, roughly a foot tall, bowed to Suicune.

"That...that's supposed to beat Suicune now?!" Rina blinked and shook her head. "I don't see how..."

"-I concur. I already defeated one grass pokemon of your's and this one certainly doesn't appear to be any stronger.-" Suicune said.

"Hehehe...you shouldn't judge a pokemon by its size, you know!" May said to Rina, wagging her finger at her. "Just watch!" May pointed her finger toward Suicune. "Roselia, Grasswhistle!" Roselia nodded and brought its flower-tipped hands to its lips, then began to whistle. A soothin tune filled the air and soon reached Suicune's ears. As Suicune listened, it felt itself growing tired, its eyelids growing heavy. Suicune collapsed to the ground, falling into a deep sleep.

"I guess I should have known better." Rina said, blinking in disbelief. "But after seeing how easily the rest of your pokemon went down..."

"Err...honestly, I just wanted to show them to you..." May admitted, looking off to the side. "A-anyway!" She quickly reached into her fanny pack and took out an empty Ultra Ball. "Time to catch it now!" May threw the pokeball at Suicune and watched as it bounced off Suicune's back and then opened up, firing a red beam at Suicune and then pulling it inside. The ball began to shake on the ground, but soon burst into pieces and released the sleeping Suicune.

"Ok, let's try again..." May reached into her fannypack to retrieve another Ultra Ball and threw it at Suicune again. The ball struck Suicune and pulled it inside, then fell to the ground and began to shake as Suicune tried to break free while it slept. The ball shook once, twice, three times, and then finally locked shut with Suicune in side. Suicune was caught, and the Ultra Ball disappeared as it was sent off to storage.

"Finally! That's the last one!" May exclaimed, making a 'V' with her fingers. "Great job, Roselia! Knew you could do it!"

"-But all I did was put it to sleep...-" Roselia replied in a confused tone. She then gave a shrug, just before May recalled her.

"So...wait...you could have just done that the whole time?" Rina asked May. May nodded.

"Yep! Put it to sleep, poison it, and use Leech Seed on it. Then it wouldn't have mattered how much Suicune powered up since it didn't have any techniques to heal." May replied. "Anyway, now that that's over with, let's keep going. I'm pretty sure Azalea Town isn't too far past Union Cave."

_"She really is just a child..."_ Rina thought with a sigh.

* * *

After catching Suicune, May, Rina, and Pippi continued on their way across Johto on foot. They passed through the Union Cave with little trouble to eventually arrive in Azalea Town. As expected, they went straight to the pokecenter. May healed her pokemon and then made several changes to her team, including withdrawing Suicune. With Suicune in her team, they went into Ilex Forest to talk to Suicune in private.

"Ok, Suicune, come on out now!" May called out, releasing Suicune from its pokeball. Suicune was fully healed when it appeared, thanks to a trip through the storage system.

"-Hmm. Looks like you caught me afterall. I believe congratulations are in order.-" Suicune said, nodding to May. "-I believe I owe you some answers now...-" Rina explained to May. May nodded in response and turned to Suicune to ask it a few questions.

"Ok! First off, where do I go from here? Where's Ho-Oh hiding?" May asked.

"-Ho-Oh is waiting for you at the top of the tower near...I believe you call it Ecruteak.-" Suicune replied. "-When you get there, Ho-Oh will explain the rest.-"

_"I'm starting to wonder about all of this too, first Ashley's connection to the legendary birds, and now May and Ho-Oh?"_ Rina hmm'd thoughtfully. _"It can't be just a coincidence that this is coming up now."_ Rina turned to May and translated for her, repeating what Suicune had explained.

"Ecruteak? That's pretty close to Goldenrod actually..." May nodded slightly. "Ok then...now how about explaining the reason you didn't want to battle near New Bark Town?"

"-Ah...that...-" Suicune chuckled lightly. "-This might require a bit more explanation. You see, I have a daughter there...-"

"Suicune says it has a daughter in New Bark Town..." Rina said to May, and then looked curiously at Suicune. "I didn't think pokemon like you could have babies."

"That would explain it though, Suicune was probably worried that its child would get caught up in the battle somehow." May said, nodding thoughtfully, then looked at Rina. "Though, now that you mention it, I didn't think legendary pokemon could breed either..."

"-I don't get it, what's so odd about Suicune having a baby?-" Pippi asked them.

"-I'm afraid its not quite that simple.-" Suicune said, shaking its head. "-You see...she's a human girl.-"

The group fell silent after Suicune made its revealation. A look of shock slowly spread across Rina's face and Pippi's jaw dropped in utter disbelief. Left out of the loop, May looked between the two in confusion and then clenched her fists tightly as she turned to Rina.

"HEY! Don't leave me out of the loop!" May yelled at her. "What did Suicune say that was so shocking?!"

"S-s-s-s-Suicune's child is...is..." Rina swallowed hard and turned to face May. "A human...a human girl..."

"Wh.....WHAT?!" May yelled in disbelief and fell back. "BUT THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

"-Nothing is impossible when you have the right connections.-" Suicune said quietly. "-Perhaps I should explain how this came to be?-"

"Y-yeah...you should..." Rina replied, still stuttering. Pippi nodded in agreement with her and finally closed her mouth.

"-It all started seven years ago.-" Suicune began. "-I was watching over a well when a lonely woman came by. She tossed a coin into the well and made a wish. A simple wish, she wished for a daughter. While she made her wish, she explained why it could not be. I would rather not go into detail, but suffice to say I was rather moved by her plight.-" Suicune paused in its explanation, giving Rina a chance to quickly explain what it had said so far before it continued.

"-After she had made her wish, I went straight to Ho-Oh and explained my feelings on the matter. Ho-Oh was, to my surprise, willing to help, but on one condition. I would be the one to...deliver the child to her, so to speak.-" Suicune paused for a moment. "-I hope you will understand if I say I am most definitely not going into detail on that endeavour.-"

"Err...that's fine! Really! Don't need to know!" Rina replied nervously. May seemed to get the idea as well, as she didn't bother asking.

"-Of course. I will say this, however. I first had to become human.-" Suicune continued to explain. "-To do this, and to gift the woman with a child, the help of a specific pokemon was required. A pokemon which, under the right circumstances, had unlimited power. It could do anything and everything, so long as it was requested in the form of a wish.-"

"So you got help from a pokemon that could grant wishes?" Rina asked, a question which also served to explain what Suicune had said to May. "So then...you must have passed on her wish to this pokemon, and then you were turned into a human to carry it out?"

"This just gets weirder and weirder..." May commented sourly.

"-Yes. This pokemon also only awakens once every millenium, and would be awakening only this coming year. The request therefore had to go through a time travelling pokemon, who made the wish in the past when it was previously awakened."

Rina explained the situation with the wish granting pokemon to May, then asked Suicune another question. "That sounds kinda complicated for just one wish, why did you go through all of that trouble anyway?"

"-Ho-Oh and I both felt that the resulting child would be a strong step in bridging the gap between human and pokemon. In fact, like you Rina, she may even have a limited understanding of what pokemon are saying.-"

"Hey, I understand pokemon perfectly fine!" Rina shot back, as if she had been insulted.

"-So...are you saying its a good idea for humans and pokemon to have babies together?-" Pippi asked Suicune. An awkward silence fell over the group until Pippi finally got the message. "-Umm...nevermind then...-" She mumbled.

"-In any case...to be honest, I fear for this child's future.-" Suicune said. "-As I am sure you have noticed, there has been a sudden appearance of humans who wish to abuse the power of pokemon, and specifically the power of what you call legendary pokemon. -"

"Like the Grand Hunters..." Rina nodded and then explained to May.

"Now that you mention it...there was also Team Aqua and Team Magma back in Hoenn." May said, blinking as she turned to Suicune. "I don't like where this is going..."

"You've figured it out too then?" Rina asked May. May nodded slightly.

"-Figured out what? What are you two talking about?-" Pippi asked.

"-I believe what they are thinking is that there is no coincidence between their connections to the legendary pokemon and the appearance of those who wish to abuse their power.-" Suicune explained. "-In other words, they themselves will find themselves caught up trying to protect these powerful pokemon.-"

"Well I guess this is as good a time as any to go to Ecruteak then..." May said.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Hoenn...

_"You're not looking up more of those nude images are you?"_ Odari asked Melany, who was at home sitting in front of her computer.

"I told you already, that was an accident!" Melany shot back. She typed the words 'champion trainer May' into the search engine she had up on her screen and hit go. In less than a second, thousands of matches were returned. "I'm looking for any news on May's progress, and I'm making sure I get the results I want this time. There might be a lot of May's in the world, but only one is a regional champion."

"If you say so. I don't understand any of this." Odari replied.

Melany scrolled down the results screen until she found what looked like a promising link. Clicking it, she found what looked like a recent news article from Kanto and quickly read it over. "Hey! Here's something interesting! It says..."

_"You know I'm technically reading it at the same time as you don't you?"_ Odari asked, cutting in. _"'Green serpent-like dragon' certainly sounds like Rayquaza, which means May ran into it and it was after that girl Rina."_

"Right. And now Rina's gone 'somewhere'." Melany added. "I'm sure it was that guy that took Rayquaza too. Which means there's some connection between him and that girl."

_"So you're planning to lay a trap, using that girl as 'bait'?"_ Odari asked her.

"More or less. I'll spread a rumor over the internet that she's coming here, and make sure the rumor gets out. That way, if they're looking for her, they'll come here." Melany replied. "The trap will be set without any actual bait, and I'll fight them on my terms to free Rayquaza and get back at that guy." Melany recalled the shady figure she fought at the Spear Pillar.

"Powerful or not, I have a plan that he won't be able to overcome!"

* * *

Author's Notes: Suicune being a father probably came out of nowhere but I've been planning this for a while. It'll probably be fairly easy to guess who, exactly, is Suicune's daughter. You can probably also guess that the upcoming awakening of a certain wish granting pokemon will be an important event as well. There's two important characters right now who have major plans revolving around Jirachi.

Next chapter is back to Hoenn, as you probably also guessed. I made this chapter easy to figure out, huh? At least, toward the end. Ashley will be making an appearance next chapter, and Melany will be enacting that plan of her's. That might not be until the chapter after, though. Depending on how long Ashley's part goes on for since its important that that part comes first.


	47. Chapter 44: Melany's Gambit

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Forty Four**

**Melany's Gambit**

Ashley held her camera carefully, focusing the lens on her target pokemon. Far ahead of her was a yellow, four-legged pokemon with a long neck. The pokemon looked relatively normal, aside from the strange black head it had for a tail. The pokemon was munching on some leaves from a tree branch, and the rear head could be seen making a chewing motion as well.

"What a weird pokemon..." Ashley mumbled to herself. "Makes a great photo op' though!" Ashley snapped a photo and then waited for it to print out so she could admire her handiwork. "So many interesting pokemon in this region, even has a Safari Zone." Ashley looked around, seeing many more unique pokemon in the surrounding wilderness, then let out a sigh.

"I'm glad I left that stupid ruby with Melany when I left this morning. If I didn't, Aisha would be hounding me about wasting time now..." Ashley lowered her camera and then scanned the surrounding area again. While there were many unique pokemon around, Ashley had already been in Hoenn's Safari Zone for a while and had gotten pictures of most of them.

"Guess I'm done here...hmm...where else can I look?" Ashley crossed her arms over her chest and thought for a moment, then recalled a sign she saw when she had entered the Safari Zone. "That's right! There's supposed to be a new section opening today! I'll go there!"

Ashley headed back toward the Safari Zone entrance to find out where the new extention was. She then continued on to the east, eventually reaching the new extention. It hardly looked any different from the rest of the Safari Zone, but Ashley could tell that the new zone had something that was different there. She didn't recognize any of the pokemon she could see.

"Wow! They added an entire new section with new pokemon to it! This Safari Zone is way larger than the one back in Kanto!" Ashley held up her camera, getting ready to snap a few photos. Looking around, she noticed a group of yellow grass pokemon with a propeller-like leaf on the top of their heads standing nearby. The group was watching her curiously.

"Doesn't look like the pokemon in this section are very well trained either." Ashley noted. She quickly took aim at the group with her camera. "Makes it easy to get a close-up photo then!" Ashley snapped a picture of the group of pokemon, sending them running as her camera startled them. The picture came out perfect, though, and Ashley quickly put it in an envelope with the other pictures.

"Or maybe those ones are just a little slow..." Ashley shrugged and continued on through the Safari Zone extention. She only had fifteen minutes left after the time she spent in the main zone, so she wanted to keep moving and get as many pictures as she could. She came across a monkey-like pokemon with a hand on its tail and snapped a picture before it scampered off through the trees. Climbing over a small hill, she then came across a group of black canine pokemon with horns on their heads.

"Those pokemon definitely don't look very nice, but I'll be safe taking a picture from up here." Ashley quietly said to herself, kneeling down at the top of the hill. She took aim at the three pokemon gathered below. She snapped a photo of the group and then waited for the picture to print off. Unknown to her, however, the picture alerted the three pokemon to her presence. The three looked up the hill at her with a menacing glare.

"-...we have been found...-"

"-...we cannot be caught...-"

"-...we must destroy the trainer...-"

The three pokemon began barking in a demonic sounding tone as they took off up the hill. Ashley shuddered when she first heard the barking and then spotted the three pokemon. "ACK! They spotted me!" Ashley quickly got up and took off running back the way she came, with the three evil looking pokemon chasing after her and quickly gaining.

"What gives?! I thought these pokemon were supposed to AVOID trainers!" Ashley cried out as she ran. The three pokemon drew closer and closer until they were almost nipping on Ashley's heels. Suddenly, a blur shot past Ashley and struck one of the pokemon in passing. The pokemon was knocked off its feet and the other two stopped as well.

Realizing she was no longer being chased, Ashley looked back to see what had happened and then came to a stop herself. The blur that had attacked the pokemon moved past them again, positioning itself between them and Ashley. Ashley could finally see what it was now. A purple pokemon looking like a scorpion with wings had been the one to save her.

"-Villainous cur! Thou shall go no further, for now you face the great Gligaro!-" The pokemon called out to the three, pointing a clawed hand at them. "-Attack at your own peril, for against the force of justice that is Gligaro you cannot win!-"

"What...what's going on here?!" Ashley said in disbelief. "Are these pokemon trained at all?"

"-...you fool...-"

"-...you cannot win...-"

"-...you are outnumbered...-"

"-HA! I scoff at the very notion! Observe the power that is Gligaro!-" The Gligar struck the ground with its claws, sending out a powerful shockwave toward the three canine pokemon. The ground shock and cracked, and the pokemon yelped in surprise as they were jostled about. They hit the ground hard when it finally stopped shaking and then quickly ran away.

"-Yes, flee! For no villain can surpass my might!-" Gligaro called out, shaking his claw at them.

"What just...happened?" Ashley wondered in disbelief. The wild Gligar then turned to her and bowed.

"-Allow me to introduce myself, fair maiden. I am the claw that stalks the night, striking down evil where it stands. Like a deadly assassin, I swoop in and deliver my wrath before they know what hit them!-"

"You know I have no idea what you're saying, right?" Ashley said to Gligaro.

"-Ah, but a minor setback!-" Gligaro replied, waving a claw at her.

_"The pokemon here really can't be very well trained."_ Ashley thought. _"Those grass pokemon didn't flee until I took a picture, the demonic dog things actually attacked me, and this one swooped in to save me from them and now its trying to talk to me..."_

"Hey! Are you ok?" A boy called out to Ashley as he arrived on the scene. He stopped in his tracks when he got a good look at her, suddenly looking a bit nervous. The boy was dressed in a black and green outfit and wore a white hat on his head.

"I'm fine, thanks to this pokemon here..." Ashley replied. Looking back at the boy, she noticed he seemed nervous. _"What's wrong with him?"_ She wondered.

"-HA! You give me too much credit, I was merely doing my job!-" Gligaro grinned widely and set his claws on his sides. "-Wherever there is a damsel in distress, you will find GLIGARO!-"

"Oh...well...uh...glad to hear that..." The boy reached back to rub the back of his neck. "I'm...err...that is...my name..." He cleared his throat and then moved closer to Ashley, holding out his hand in greeting. "I'm Brendan, a pokemon researcher working for Professor Birch, who happens to be my father by the way." Brendan grinned widely, as if expecting a reaction from his statement.

"Oh! Nice to meet you then." Ashley smiled and reached out to shake his hand. "My name's Ashley, I'm sort of helping Professor Oak in Kanto with his research."

"Professor Oak? You mean you work for THE Professor Oak?!" Brendan asked her in disbelief, releasing her hand in shock. "Then...you must be here to research Hoenn's pokemon?"

"Actually I came to Hoenn to try to find someone, but I decided to stop by the Safari Zone and get a few pictures anyway." Ashley replied. "I'm not technically his research assistant, I got my first pokemon from him in exchange for recording pokemon in a pokedex."

"So is that your...uh..." Brendan took out his pokedex and scanned Gligaro. "Gligar?"

"I think its one of the park's pokemon actually..." Ashley replied, glancing over at Gligaro. "It swooped in out of nowhere to fight off the pack of pokemon that were chasing me."

"-Those foul miscreants will think twice before attacking an innocent young lady again!-" Gligaro said, sounding quite pleased with himself.

"So thats why the ground shook just now, but I would have figured that pokemon was your's the way its hanging around you." Brendan shrugged. "Maybe it wants to go with you? Though that really doesn't look good for the extention's opening day if the new pokemon are behaving like this."

"The pokemon here aren't very well trained at all I don't think." Ashley replied, shaking her head. "Anyway, I'm just about out of time, so I should probably be going."

_"That figures, I was going to ask her if she wanted to go through the park together too."_ Brendan thought in dismay.

Ashley took one of her Safari Balls, which she still had a full belt of six of, and then turned to Gligaro. "So, did you want to come with me then? Is that why you're still here?" Ashley asked him.

"-Ah, if the good lady is requesting my assistance, I would gladly accompany her.-" Gligaro replied, bowing toward her.

"I guess thats a yes?" Ashley shrugged and threw the Safari Ball at Gligaro. The ball bounced off him harmlessly and then opened up. A red beam fired out and struck Gligaro, pulling him inside. It then closed and locked shut without any struggle and was then teleported off to storage.

"Looks like that pokemon wanted to go with you afterall." Brendan noted. The brief distraction had also given him time to think about what to say to Ashley. "So...anyway...where are you staying?" He asked her. "Maybe we could get together and talk about the research we've been doing?"

_"I bet thats exactly what you want to talk about, too."_ Ashley thought, rolling her eyes. She was starting to figure him out. Of course, with where she was staying, it made no difference anyway. After their first meeting, Melany offered to let Ashley use one of the guest rooms. Ashley wasn't one to turn down free accomodations and, after Melany's explanation of what had happened in Hoenn up until that point, she also felt she would need to stay connected with Melany.

"I'm staying at the Stone mansion, actually." Ashley eventually replied, looking somewhat smug about it.

"Figures..." Brendan muttered. _"First May, now Ashley? Why is she always involved when I find a girl I'm interested in?! Its as if...wait a minute!"_ Brendan thought for a moment, recalling something he had heard about earlier.

"I thought the name of the girl staying with Melany was Rina, not Ashley?" Brendan asked, then crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. "If you don't want to tell me where you're staying then you can just say so instead of lying to me."

"I'm not lying!" Ashley shot back, glaring. "Where did you even hear that from anyway? There's no way thats true!"

"Of course its true, it has to be. It was on the internet afterall." Brendan replied. "According to a leaked piece of news, that Rina girl that was attacked in Kanto is going to be staying at the Stone mansion for protection starting tonight."

"Wh-WHAT?!" Ashley yelled in disbelief. She didn't hear anything about Rina getting attacked, or even that Melany was having anyone else stay there. It did, however, make sense to her that Melany might do something like that. _"I don't know if thats true or not, but I better go find out!"_ She thought.

"If you really were staying with Melany, you'd think you'd have at least heard of that..."

"Good point. Think I'll go ask her about that." Ashley replied, moving past Brendan and heading for the park entrance without another word.

"Did I make a bad first impression?" Brendan wondered to himself.

It was late in the afternoon when Ashley was leaving to see Melany. It would take her until the evening to reach her. The same time that Rina would supposedly be going there for protection...

* * *

That evening...

The psychic pokemon Mewtwo, still enslaved, sped through the air toward the Stone Mansion in Rustboro. Below, standing outside the mansion facing away from Mewtwo, was a young girl with long yellow hair tied back into a ponytail and a small, yellow electric pokemon standing next to her. Mewtwo immediately recognized its target and swooped in to attack.

As Mewtwo dove down through the air, a blue beam suddenly shot out from the direction of the mansion. Mewtwo quickly moved to avoid it and pulled out of its dive. It then scanned the building, searching out its attacker, but couldn't see anything. The attack, however, had alerted the girl and the pokemon below, who quickly turned to face Mewtwo.

"That's it? Funny, I was expecting Rayquaza." The girl commented, throwing off the wig. Mewtwo could see now that it wasn't Rina at all, but rather Melany. With her back to it, Mewtwo couldn't tell the difference. The pokemon next to her removed several roughly-molded pieces of yellow plastic that had been covering its ears, hands, and tail, aimed to disguise it as a Pikachu when it was really a Minun.

"Guess we'll just have to take this one out instead!" Melany called out, pointing toward Mewtwo. "Minun, attack with Thunderbolt! Porygon, use Ice Beam again!" Minun nodded and fired off a bolt of electricity. Mewtwo had moved out of the way by the time the attack had reached it, but it didn't even see the Ice Beam coming toward it. The beam struck Mewtwo in the chest, briefly forming into a sheet of ice that resembled a suit of armor before shattering and inflicting minor damage on Mewtwo.

Mewtwo scanned the mansion for any sign of its attacker again, but Melany's Porygon was nowhere to be seen. Realizing what pokemon it was dealing with, Mewtwo quickly caught on. It reached out its hand toward the house and focused its psychic power, causing a security camera on the corner of the building to suddenly shatter into pieces.

_"Seems like it caught on, not that it makes any difference."_ Melany thought. _"Porygon can attack from any piece of computerized equipment, and since all of the mansion's cameras are on the same network it can just move to another one to attack."_

"Again! Thunderbolt and Ice Beam!" Melany called out, grabbing another pokeball from her belt as she did. She could tell she was dealing with an intelligent pokemon, and the slave collar didn't seem to hinder that intelligence any, so she wanted to be ready with another pokemon.

Minun gathered electricity in its cheeks and fired off another bolt at Mewtwo. Mewtwo moved to avoid the attack again, its distance from the ground giving it plenty of time to react, but this time was unable to avoid taking a glancing blow to the side. It was likewise unable to avoid the Ice Beam attack that followed, firing out from another security camera on the other side of the building. Ice formed around Mewtwo's body briefly.

Mewtwo's eyes flashed in a rage, shattering the ice and shaking off the attacks. Mewtwo then focused on Minun, stretching out one of its three-fingered hands toward it and gripping Minun's body with a telekinetic force. A blue aura surrounded Minun and he cried out in pain as he felt that power crushing his body.

"Metagross, go! Meteor Mash!" Melany released a massive steel pokemon into the air from the pokeball she grabbed. The pokemon, a four-legged, robotic creature with a mouth on the bottom of its body, began to hover almost immediately and then shot toward Mewtwo. Metagross left a blazing trail behind it as it streaked through the air.

Mewtwo was too late in releasing Minun, Metagross' fist struck true. One of its steel, claw-tipped limbs connected with Mewtwo's face, landing a crippling blow. Mewtwo was knocked out of the air and crashed into the ground hard. It wasn't even on the ground for a second, though, before it started to sit back up again.

_"Shouldn't take much more..."_ Melany thought. _"Minun, get in there with Quick Attack and then nail Mewtwo with Iron Tail!" _Minun nodded and took off running toward Mewtwo, then shot toward it in a blur of movement. Minun struck Mewtwo in the face, landing a light hit, then bounced off and prepared to strike with Iron Tail. Minun's blue tail had already adopted a silvery glow.

Minin jumped toward Mewtwo again, aiming to finish it with an Iron Tail attack while it was still too weak to strike back. Suddenly, another pokemon appeared between them. An Alakazam teleported in and took Minun's Iron Tail to the chest in Mewtwo's place. The Alakazam fell back, letting go of an object that was in its hand as it fell on top of the enslaved Mewtwo.

"That...! When did it...?" Melany quickly checked the pocket of her shorts, where she usually kept the emerald. Instead, she found a piece of paper that read 'IOU 1 Emerald'. She grimaced as she looked back toward the object the Alakazam held, her emerald, which now laid on the ground.

"Should have realized it was too quiet! She thought. "Minun, grab the emerald!" Minun nodded and moved toward the emerald, passing the two psychic pokemon that lied in a tangled heap. Minun stopped in front of the emerald and reached down to pick it up, but suddenly a twister formed around Minun and tossed him into the air.

"-KYAAA!-" Minun cried out as he was flung straight up and came crashing down on top of the two psychics.

"What now?!" Melany cried out in frustration. Looking up, she saw the source of her trouble.

"What a wonderful little trap you have here." Vito Winstrate said smugly as he and Rayquaza descended toward the ground, near where the emerald laid. "Unfortunately for you, we're not quite so guilable."

"Vito! What are you doing here and why do you have Rayquaza?!" Melany yelled. Minun quickly got up and ran to Melany's side, realizing it wouldn't be able to get past Rayquaza to grab the emerald. Metagross likewise dropped down to the ground next to her.

"My new...employer...requested that I pick up a certain item for Rayquaza. Speaking of which, oh Rayquaza?" The massive, serpentine dragon nodded and gave a low growl. The emerald on the ground began to glow as Rayquaza drew power from it. Rayquaza growled and roared throughout the process, gaining the same power that Kyogre and Groudon had when they fought at Sootopolis. When Rayquaza was finished, the once vibrant green emerald was left dull and lifeless.

"NO!"

"Oh I'm afraid it only gets worse from here." Vito said to her, grinning widely. "You see, now there's nothing to..." Vito paused mid-sentence and tapped against a small earpiece he was wearing as part of a headset, then started talking into a mouthpiece on the collar of his shirt. Mewtwo, Rayquaza, and Alakazam all stood ready to attack.

_"There's no way I can beat this guy now! What the heck just happened here?! Vito couldn't possibly have seen through my plan, he's not smart enough for that!"_ Melany thought to herself. _"That doesn't matter now I guess."_ She looked at the ground under Rayquaza, where the de-powered emerald lay. _"If I'm to have any chance at getting Rayquaza's power back in the emerald I'll need to get it somehow..."_

"Ha...that fool..." Vito, the conversation seemingly over and now addressing Melany again, said as he snickered to himself. "He seems to honestly believe in some prophecy and claims fate will intervene on your behalf."

"Prophecy...?" Melany repeated the word to herself. Remembering the pictures on the wall in Sky Pillar, and her encounter with the mysterious trainer there, she quickly realized who she was dealing with. _"So he's behind all of this, and he's the one who recruited Vito...I bet I can figure out the rest of the players in this 'prophecy' then. That just leaves one question then..."_

"Just who is your 'employer' anyway?" Melany asked Vito.

Vito shrugged. "I'm afraid even I don't know much about him. He simply made me an offer I couldn't refuse..." Vito grinned. "Revenge!"

"Was hoping for a name..." Melany thought, then shrugged. "Guess he must have been the one that saw through my plan. I know it definitely wasn't you at any rate." She then said to him.

"Ha! Awfully smug for someone about to die!" Vito shot back.

Melany smirked. "Am I? You heard what your boss said, afterall. Fate will intervene on my behalf."

"Ha..." Vito reached back and ran his fingers through his hair. He then pointed that same hand toward Melany. "If you're so sure, then lets see how you deal with this! Mewtwo, Alakazam..."

Before Vito could finish calling out his attack, the three pokemon under his command were suddenly bombarded by blasts of fire, ice, and electricity. Mewtwo, having yet to use Recover due to Vito's oversight, collapsed almost immediately. The three Winged Mirages, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, then descended from the sky and landed in front of them. A Pidgeot carrying Ashley then landed next to Melany and she hopped off.

"Looks like I got here just in time!" Ashley announced with a wide grin, then turned to Melany. "You could have let me in on whatever it was you were planning, you know!"

"Neglecting to include anyone but myself in my plans is a fairly typical oversight of mine." Melany replied.

"I hope you don't think her arrival changes anything. You still have an invulnerably pokemon to deal with, afterall." Vito said to Melany while gesturing toward the serpentine pokemon floating next to him.

"It changes more than you think, Vito." Melany said to him with a smirk. "It just so happens that Groudon is in Ashley's possession, and the ruby as well. It would be a clash of two invulnerable pokemon, but with both of us still having a full team of pokemon in addition. Not only that, but I already know how to get rid of Rayquaza's power."

"Err...Melany...I don't have either of those with me right now..." Ashley whispered.

"Like he'll call the bluff..." Melany whispered back.

"D-damn..." Vito muttered, his fist shaking in rage. He then calmed down and brushed back his hair again, laughing quietly to himself. "Seems it won't end here afterall then...but I am still willing to chalk this one up to coincidence!" Vito reached into his pocket and clenched something tightly in his hand.

"I will be taking my leave now. If you're intent on pursuing us, then why not check out the battle frontier? If you can, that is!" Vito then threw the object he was holding toward the ground, releasing a cloud of smoke that surrounded him and his pokemon. The smoke dispersed quickly, but they were already gone by then. Melany then walked over and picked up the discarded emerald and mentally called out to Odari, but there was no response. Along with the emerald's power, Odari was gone too.

"That guy must be part of the same 'team' as Duke, given that he had Mewtwo." Ashley noted, then turned to Melany again. "What was this plan of your's anyway? I heard from some guy named Brendan that my friend Rina was supposed to be coming here?"

Melany turned back to face Ashley. "She's a friend of your's?" She asked, blinking in disbelief. "Wow, small world." Melany shrugged lightly. "Anyway, that was just a hoax in order to lure them here. I was hoping to catch them off guard and free Rayquaza by having my Porygon launch a surprise attack from the security cameras..."

Melany pointed to the mansion, and Ashley turned to look toward it as well. From the remaining camera, a sleek, blue and pink pokemon looking similar to a duck emerged. Though Melany never noticed any actual evolution in her pokemon, it had downloaded quite a bit of information and eventually changed forms into what they were seeing now.

"Porygon, I've heard of those. Isn't that one of Silph's pokemon, though?" Ashley asked, turning back to Melany.

"It is." Melany replied with a nod. "Anyway, my plan kinda backfired it seems. Whoever's calling the shots in their little group figured saw through the rumor I spread on the internet and used my own trap against me to get the emerald..."

"You don't seem too worried about that." Ashley said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"As long as I have the emerald I should be able to figure out some way of stealing back Rayquaza's power. So I'm not too worried about that." Melany replied.

"Well if you're not worried, I guess that means I can relax too." Ashley replied, rubbing the back of her head. "By the way, what was it that guy said about the Battle Frontier?"

"Ah...right...that..." Melany sighed. "Well...that seems to be where they are I guess. You can only get to the frontier if you're either invited or have all eight of a region's badges and the three Battle Tent badges..."

"No problem then! I can just get those tent badges and we'd be all set, right?" Ashley asked, grinning.

"I already have those badges actually, all eleven..." Melany replied quietly, turning her back to Ashley.

"Oh..." Ashley blinked. "What's the problem then?"

"They're not technically mine..."

* * *

Author's Notes: Technically, they belong to one "Alex". Anyway, definitely wasn't enough content to split into two chapters, obviously. Same seems to apply to the next chapter, which WAS originally going to be two chapters but I'll combine into one instead. Back to Rina and May in Johto for a chapter, and someone will make an interesting pokemon capture.

Funny how Ashley goes to Hoenn and catches a Johto pokemon. Might still have to squeeze an actual Hoenn capture in for her somewhere.


	48. Chapter 45: It Came From Outer Space

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Forty Five**

**It Came From Outer Space**

Continuing on their trek across Johto, May and Rina arrived in Ilex Forest. Large trees rose up around them, blocking out much of the sunlight and giving the forest a sleepy, surreal feel to it. Stopped near the entrance, Rina and Pippi gazed at the surrounding trees in amazement.

"Wow...this place is a lot different than Viridian Forest..." Rina commented breathlessly.

"-The trees are so...big! I couldn't climb trees that tall!-" Pippi added.

"Its strange, you know?" Rina said as she turned toward May. "It kinda has this odd feel to it...kind of...mysterious maybe?"

"That wouldn't be too strange at all." May replied with a slight grin. "Its said that a guardian inhabits this forest, watching over it for all eternity. There's even a wooden shrine dedicated to it!"

"I bet its real and its a legendary pokemon." Rina nodded and folded her arms over her chest. "That's the way it seems to go with these things."

"No kidding!" May sighed and her shoulders sagged. "I'm starting to wish they really were just legends..."

"You have quite a bit of weight on your shoulders because of all this, huh?" Rina asked her. May slowly nodded.

"-But it's practically a license to catch the strongest pokemon in the world! It can't be all that bad!-" Pippi said, hoping Rina would repeat it to May in an effort to cheer her up. Instead, Rina shook her head at her.

"I don't think its that simple, Pippi. I mean, how might other people react?" Pippi thought about it while Rina went on to explain. "Some people would see it as an easy opportunity to get those pokemon for themselves and come after May, and she'd be hassled by other people who don't think its right to catch such pokemon, especially since she's so young. Plus, in May's case, she's also a regional champion, but people might accuse her of only having that title because she has legendary pokemon."

"I didn't even think of any of that..." May said, sighing again.

_"Times have certainly changed. In my time, someone who tamed such powerful pokemon would be reverred."_ Haruka said to May. _"Your people seem more and more backward all the time, May."_ May gave no direct response, though Haruka could still tell what she was thinking. _"My people are certainly not the backwards ones!"_ Haruka scolded her.

_"I forgot you know what I'm thinking. Can't a girl at least keep her thoughts private?!"_

Rina smiled lightly as she turned back to May. "Well maybe you'll be able to find some safe place to just hide the legendary pokemon? Somewhere out of the way yet you'd still have access to them?"

"Like that would happen." May shrugged and straightened up. "Anyway! Enough dwelling on that, let's get moving already!" May started off through the forest before getting a response from either of them. Rina and Pippi shrugged and then followed after her.

_"Now that I think about it...there really is something strange about this forest."_ Rina thought as she continued along behind May. _"It almost seems like there's a mist or something in the air ahead. Is that normal?" _They continued to walk along until they were closer to the strange mist Rina could see, which was when May finally noticed it and decided to stop.

"Wait...something's doesn't seem right about that green stuff..." May said to Rina as she looked upon the thick, green mist in front of them.

_"I was wondering if she would notice that..."_ Rina thought, glancing over at May briefly. She then looked back toward the mist and peered into it. She began to noticed shapes squirming on the ground ahead. As she watched them for a moment, she realized they were pokemon.

"There's pokemon in there! And they're injured!" Rina cried out and then charged into the mist. She didn't get very far before she suddenly collapsed.

"RINA!" May and Pippi called out to her.

"I...I can't move..." Rina mumbled weakly. "It's like my body is...completely paralyzed..."

"Paralyzed?" May repeated to herself and looked into the mist. "Maybe its some kind of pokemon's technique then? Like...Stun Spore?" May thought for a moment. _"Do I have a pokemon that can clear this out then? ...Of course!"_ She took a yellow and black pokeball from her belt and then turned to the side to release the pokemon nect to her.

"Suicune!" She called out, releasing the recently caught legendary pokemon, Suicune. Suicune then turned and nodded to her when it appeared and awaited her orders.

"Suicune, clear out that stuff with a Gust attack!" May said to it, turning and pointing toward the 'mist'. Suicune nodded and then let out a cry. Its long mane rippled as a blast of wind shot across its body, blowing into the Stun Spore cloud and dispersing it. Rina and the various bug pokemon, including Caterpies and Weedles, were all still paralyzed however.

_"We never used 'legendary' pokemon for such degrading tasks in my day either."_ Haruka said to May.

_"Hey! Whatever works!"_ May replied.

With the spores cleared out, Pippi quickly rushed to Rina's side. "-Rina! Are you ok?-"

"I'm fine...I think it's just paralysis...what about the other pokemon?" Rina said weakly, then slowly lifted her head to look around. With the spore cloud gone, the bug pokemon were slowly crawling away. The paralysis wasn't having nearly as much of an effect on them as it was on Rina. "Nevermind..." She muttered.

"I had that same thing happen to me once. A paralyze heal will fix it." May said to Rina. She then took off her fanny pack and rummaged through it, then emptied it out onto the ground. Pokeballs, food, pokefood, and a few healing items fell out, but no paralyze heal. May dropped her fannypack and grinned sheepishly as she turned back to Rina. "I...don't suppose you have any?"

"There's some in my backpack..." Rina replied.

May breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, guess that's that then. Thanks for your help, Suicune."

"-Glad to have been of service.-" Suicune replied, nodding slightly. May then recalled it and moved toward Rina to help her out, but another green cloud of spores moved in just ahead of Rina.

"WHAT?! More spores?" May cried out in dismay. The pokemon responsible for the spores soon came into view as well, slowly flapping its wings to stay aloft. It was a purple, winged bug pokemon with seemingly human eyes. The bug pokemon seemed to be inadvertedly releasing its spores continually, so May quickly took out her pokedex to scan it.

"Venomoth, the Poison Moth Pokemon." May's pokedex read. "Venomoth are nocturnal--they only are active at night. Their favorite prey are insects that gather around streetlights, attracted by the light in the darkness."

"Rina, hold on just a little longer! I'll deal with this one first!" May said to Rina while she reached for a pokeball. Hearing the commotion, the Venomoth turned toward them, looking rather confused and nervous.

"-You...you'll do what?-" The Venomoth wondered nervously. "-M...maybe you could h-help me with my nervous sporing problem?-" Rina strained her paralyzed neck try to get a look at Venomoth as she heard it talking.

"Good thing I thought to grab this one!" May said, grinning widely as she held out the pokeball. "Blaziken, come on out!" She then called out excitedly, releasing Blaziken from his pokeball. Blaziken cried out loudly when it appeared and stretched its arms over its head, then turned its attention to Venomoth. The pokemon began releasing even more spores and Pippi quickly moved away as the cloud fell around Rina again, hoping to avoid paralysis herself.

"-HEY! Watch it with those spores!-" Pippi growled at Venomoth.

"-S-Sorry...-" Venomoth replied quietly.

"May...don't hurt it...It's not doing it on purpose..." Rina called out desparately, but the paralysis was strengthened by the cloud of spores and made it hard for Rina to talk.

"Don't worry Rina, we've got this covered! Blaziken, incinerate that Venomoth with your strongest Flamethrower!" Blaziken nodded, eager to go on the offense. It opened its beak and leaned forward, spewing a cone of flames toward Venomoth. Rina could feel the heat of the flames as they passed only a few feet over her.

"-Oh...oh no...this is going to h-URK!-" Venomoth found itself engulfed completely in flames. The fire inflicted excruciating pain on Venomoth while also clearing out any spores in its path, burning them into ashes. Venomoth itself soon dropped out of the fire and fell to the ground in a smoking heap, completely unconscious.

"Good one, Blaziken! Couldn't even take one hit from you!" May congratulated her pokemon. Blaziken grinned to himself in smug satisfaction.

The cloud of spores around Rina quickly dispersed again and the paralysis weakened enough for Rina to talk, so she was quick to take advantage of it. "May! That pokemon wasn't releasing those spores on purpose! It's a nervous habit!"

"It...it was?" May blinked in disbelief. "Umm...whoops. Uhh, well, in that case..." May looked around and then grabbed one of her pokeballs off the ground. "Guess I can't just leave it here then." She threw the pokeball at the unconscious Venomoth, which was then drawn inside as it opened up and locked in without any struggle. The ball then glowed white and vanished, sending Venomoth off to storage.

_"I bet if Ashley made a mistake like that she would have just left it behind."_ Rina thought with a sigh.

"Well anyway, looks like you're still in top shape, Blaziken! Good job! You can rest now!" May said to Blaziken, taking his pokeball in hand and then recalling him. She placed the pokeball on her belt and then moved toward Rina to help her with her paralysis. May reached into Rina's backpack and rummaged around, eventually finding a paralyze heal and pulling it out.

Meanwhile, overhead, another pokemon had stopped to watch the scene briefly. Sensing a strange energy from May, it swooped down in a quick burst of speed and grabbed her before she even had the chance to use the paralyze heal on Rina.

"Wh-what?! Let go of me!" May growled, struggling to free herself from the pokemon's grasp. It was no use, however, as the pokemon had her gripped tightly in its thin, whip-like arms.

_"May! Call out one of your pokemon!"_ Haruka said to her. May tried to reach for a pokeball, but her arms were held strongly by the pokemon that grabbed her.

"Pippi! What happened?" Rina asked. She knew something had happened, but couldn't turn to see what.

"-Something just grabbed May and flew off with her!-" Pippi replied nervously, quickly picking up the paralyze heal that May had dropped.

"What?! What was it? Where did it go!?" Rina asked worriedly, quickly forgetting about her own paralyzed state.

Pippi fumbled with the spray bottle containing the paralyze heal, eventually finding she couldn't use it while holding it in her small hands. She moved the bottle next to Rina's head, as it was the only part of her body not clothed, and set it on the ground. She then pressed the trigger and Rina quickly closed her eyes as she was sprayed. A warm feeling spread through Rina's body and she felt her muscles responding again, allowing her to finally sit up and look around. May was gone, but her fanny pack and supplies were still on the ground.

"-I didn't get a good look at it, sorry. It moved too fast...-" Pippi admitted quietly, once Rina had been taken care of. "-I think it went that way though.-" She added, pointing to the west.

"We'll never catch a pokemon that can move that fast, I just hope it stopped somewhere in that general direction..." Rina sighed. "Poor May, that came out of nowhere..."

"-Couldn't you just call Lance and ask for help?-" Pippi asked, remembering the pager Lance had given Rina.

Rina shook her head. "That'd take too long. Let's gather up May's stuff and go after her ourselves."

Rina and Pippi quickly gathered up May's stuff, putting it all in her fannypack. Rina then called out Knight and took after the mysterious pokemon.

* * *

After kidnapping May, the creature continued toward the west for some time, eventually flying over a small city on an island. It flew past a large rocky outcropping and landed on the other side, then stopped inside a cave and tossed May to the ground.

"OW! HEY! Just what's your problem anyway?!" May growled at the pokemon.

With her hands finally free, she reached for a pokeball. The pokemon saw this and moved quickly, ripping the entire belt of pokeballs from her. It then used a telekinetic power to pull the sapphire out of May's pocket and threw it deeper into the cave. Keeping May's pokeballs with it, the pokemon then went to inspect the sapphire and poked at it curiously. May saw this and frowned.

"Figures...that thing is nothing but trouble..." She sat up on the ground and folded her arms over her chest. "If I at least had my pokedex I could scan this thing. I've never seen a pokemon like that one before..."

May watched for a moment while the pokemon poked and stared at the sapphire. Unknown to May, the pokemon was none other than Deoxys, a one of a kind pokemon born from a mutated space virus. It had fled in a hurry after Red managed to release it from Galactica, eventually arriving in Johto. It had now taken an interest in May's Sapphire, feeling the power contained within it.

_"I think we're near Cianwood...I could leave and get help easily enough."_ May thought, then looked at the sapphire. _"I can't just leave that behind with this pokemon though. I need to get my pokeballs back somehow. Maybe it'll get bored eventually and drop its guard? Or leave?"_

Deciding to be patient for once in her life, May sat back and waited for a chance to retrieve her pokeballs. She would find herself sitting there for several hours without such a chance...

* * *

Rina, meanwhile, was slowly making her way westward and was nearing Cianwood herself. As she flew over the ocean on Knight's back, she was careful to watch for anywhere the pokemon carrying May might have hid and eventually spotted Cianwood in the distance.

"There's a city there! Knight, dive down and we'll see if anyone saw it!" Knight nodded and began to descend as it approached the city, eventually coming in for a landing on the nearby shore. Rina and Pippi the hopped off Knight's back and looked around. Further up the coast, muscular looking man wearing only a raggedy looking pair of pants. He was standing next to a few rocks jutting up from the sand and facing one that was about half as tall as him.

"Let's try asking him." Rina suggested. Pippi and Knight nodded and followed along behind Rina as she approached the man.

"Excuse me! Have you seen a pokemon fly by carrying a young girl?" Rina asked him. There was no response. The man remained quiet, as if focused on something. "Excuse me! Mister!" She called out to him, but was again ignored.

"-This guy's ignoring us! Rina, forget him! There's plenty of people to ask!-" Pippi growled. Rina nodded in agreement and started to walk away.

The muscled man suddenly let out a primal yell and lashed out at the rock before him, striking it with his fist. The rock shattered explosively, sending shards of rocks everywhere. Rina turned around to see what he was doing when she heard the commotion and saw several rocks coming her way, but Knight quickly moved in front of her. The rocks smashed into Knight's chest, inflicting little harm on the dragon pokemon and fragmenting. Rina stumbled back in shock.

"What was that?!" She said in disbelief.

"HA! That was nothing!" The man replied, turning to face Rina and crossing his arms over his chest. He was grinning widely, looking satisfied with his display. "That is only a small demonstration of my power! You stand before Chuck, gym leader of Cianwood!"

"-Nothing?! You could have seriously hurt Rina with that little stunt!-" Knight shot back, still standing protectively in front of her.

_"He's a gym leader?"_ Rina thought, blinking.

"Now, what was it you were asking before?" Chuck asked her.

"Oh, I was wondering if maybe you saw a pokemon fly by carrying a young girl?" Rina asked him. Chuck shook his head.

"Can't say I have. Though there did seem to be a bit of a commotion a few hours ago. People apparently saw something zip overhead and could hear what sounded like a girl screaming." Chuck shrugged. "Hardly any of my concern. Likely just a trainer showing off their pokemon's speed."

_"I wish that was the case, but that definitely sounds like May and that pokemon."_ Rina thought. "Do you know which way it went?" Rina then asked.

"Kept going west I think. Don't know where it'd go from here, but there is a cave system on the other side of that steep hill there." Chuck pointed to the western side of town, where a large rocky hill jutted up and split the island in half. Only one half of the island was actually settled.

"Maybe it hid in those caves then!" Rina thought, hoping the chase was going to come to an end soon. She bowed to Chuck in thanks. "Thats all I needed to know, thank you Chuck!" Rina and Pippi then hopped back on Knight and flew over to the other side of the island, eager to check it out.

"Hmm...they didn't seem as impressed as I would have thought..." Chuck said to himself, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps I should try a different technique..."

* * *

_"What...what's this thing's deal?!"_ May wondered, annoyed that Deoxys still hadn't given up poking at the sapphire. _"Is the sapphire REALLY that interesting or is the pokemon just easily amused?!"_

"May!" May blinked in disbelief when she heard someone calling out to her. She was shocked when she turned around and saw Rina standing at the cave entrance.

"Rina?! How did you find me here?" May asked in disbelief. Deoxys finally seemed to lose interest in the sapphire and turned around to stare intently at Rina, dropping May's pokeballs. Knight, still out of his pokeball after flying Rina and Pippi around, stepped out in front of Rina. Pippi crouched down next to her, cheeks sparking with electricity. Though Deoxys seemed incapable of facial expressions, both pokemon could sense hostility at their arrival.

"I'll explain later! Knight, go! Attack that thing with Dragon Claw!" Knight nodded and flapped his wings, flying forward through the cave. May quickly moved out of the way, joining Rina near the cave entrance.

"-I don't know who or what you are, but this is the end for you!-" Knight called out to Deoxys. Deoxys didn't move at all as Knight flew toward it. As Knight stopped and lashed out with its empowered claws, Deoxys suddenly seemed to vanish. In one quick movement it went from being in front of Knight to standing behind him.

"Knight! Behind you!" Rina called out. Knight turned around quickly and slashed at Deoxys again, but Deoxys was too quick for it. In another lightning fast movement, Deoxys moved out of the way and circled behind Knight.

_"Its too fast, a direct attack like that won't work! Just what is that thing?"_ Rina thought. "Knight, back off! We'll wait for an opening!" Knight nodded and turned toward Deoxys again, but didn't attack. Deoxys saw this as an opening. Deoxys' eyes began to emit a blue glow, and soon a similar glow surrounded Knight as Deoxys used a Psychic attack.

"Now's your chance! Dragon Claw!" Knight summoned his strength and slowly raised a claw while his body was still held in Deoxys' psychic grasp. An orange aura surrounded Knight's claws and Deoxys panicked, releasing Knight from the attack. Knight immediately lashed out at Deoxys and Deoxys tried to avoid again, but this time Knight was too close and had too much of a head start. Knight managed to strike a blow on Deoxys right shoulder as it moved out of the way.

"Good one, Rina! You hit it!" May cheered.

Deoxys, of course, wasn't through yet. The pokemon decided to try a different course of action, backing itself up against the back wall of the cave. It then shot toward Knight, moving several times faster than even its usual impressive speed to strike Knight. Knight growled in pain as Deoxys shot past, striking a hard blow to Knight's side in passing. Deoxys then quickly turned around, getting ready for another pass.

"Wh-what?! What's it doing now?!" Rina wondered in confusion. She shook her head, clearing her thoughts, and tried to think it through. "Ok, its obviously using either Quick Attack or Extremespeed." She said to herself. Meanwhile, Deoxys followed through on its second attack, striking Knight on the other side in passing and hitting him hard enough to spin him around.

_"That pokemon has to pause after each attack, so I'll wait it out, and then..."_ Rina waited while Deoxys turned around to attack Knight again. Using another Extremespeed, Deoxys struck Knight in the head this time, causing the dragon pokemon to lurch forward. "Knight! Now! Attack with Thunder Wave!"

"-Gotcha!-" Knight thrust a hand out toward Deoxys, launching a pulse of electricity while the psychic pokemon was preparing to attack again. Deoxys flinched as the electricity passed through its body, inflicting paralysis on it. Deoxys fell to its knees as its muscles weakened, and Knight soon joined it. Deoxys' assault had left Knight very exhausted.

"Good job, Knight! That's enough for now!" Rina called out, holding out Knight's pokeball and recalling him. She then looked toward Pippi while pointing at Deoxys. "Ok, Pippi! Your turn now!" Pippi nodded eagerly and rushed out toward Deoxys, ready to attack. Deoxys turned around as quickly as it could to face its new opponent.

_"Wow, Rina is actually a pretty good trainer."_ May thought to herself. _"I guess she'd have to be, she has Mew afterall. And she hung around with some pretty tough trainers. This is the first time I've actually seen her battle though, and I think she might even be able to hold her own against me!"_ May grinned to herself. _"For a little while anyway."_

Before Rina could call out an attack, Deoxys' body began to shift forms. Its long, slender arms thickened and widened and its body became bulkier. Deoxys was shifting out of its speed form and into a more defensive form.

"It changed!" Rina said in disbelief.

"Its still paralyzed though, you can take it Rina!" May assured her. Rina nodded in agreement.

"Ok, Pippi! Attack that pokemon with Volt Tackle!"

Pippi grinned. "-OK!-" Charging electricity around her body, Pippi took off running toward Deoxys. She jumped up as she got closer and smashed into Deoxys' chest like a missile, sending out a shockwave that threw both pokemon back from the impact. Deoxys' body then suddenly shimmered and fired a blast of energy at Pippi, throwing her back with twice the power her own attack had against Deoxys. Pippi cried out in pain when she was hit and was tossed back toward Rina.

"I think that was a Mirror Coat attack!" May said to Rina.

"Really?" Rina blinked. "This thing is just full of surprises, I need to try a different approach if thats the case. Hmm..." Rina thought for a moment, meanwhile Deoxys made another attempt to attack Pippi. It moved into a stance like it was ready to dash, but then suddenly fell over as its body became paralyzed.

Rina snapped her fingers. "I've got it! We can use the same trick it tried on us! Pippi, use Agility!"

_"What trick is that and how could it possibly do any more than my Volt Tackle?"_ Pippi wondered. She then cleared her mind and relaxed her body, easing her tense muscles to allow her to move more quickly while Deoxys struggled to get back on its feet.

"Ok! Now use Quick Attack and don't let up!" Pippi shot toward Deoxys with one Quick Attack just as it was getting back on its feet. She then shot past him, striking him in the side with another Quick Attack. She then repeated this technique over and over, circling around Deoxys and striking repeatedly with Quick Attack. Deoxys couldn't seem to follow Pippi's movements either, leaving it seemingly unable to counter.

"Looks like you've got that thing cornered now!" May said to Rina.

Even though Deoxys seemed to be confused by Pippi's quick movements at first, it didn't take long for it to come up with its own plan of attack. Raising its hands over its head, Deoxys fired out a stream of star shaped rays. The rays followed Pippi as she completed another Quick Attack, striking her from behind as she came to a stop and knocking her flat onto her face.

"Well so much for that..." Rina mumbled in disappointment. When Pippi got back up, Rina could see she was getting exhausted again. "Ok, Pippi, thats enough for now! Return!" Pippi looked back in surprise as Rina recalled her. Rina had never recalled Pippi as long as she was still conscious, but this time Rina was dealing with an unknown wild pokemon and didn't know how it might react to Pippi remaining outside her pokeball. So instead, Rina recalled Pippi and took another pokeball in her hand.

"Ok, Geri, your turn now!" Rina released Geri, a Tangela, from her pokeball. The Tangela bounced around excitedly when she appeared, happy to be out of her pokeball even if it was for a battle. "Geri, attack that pokemon with Leech Seed!" Geri nodded and fired out a seed from within her mass of vines, hitting Deoxys in the chest. The seed sprouted vines and latched on tightly, remaining there even as Deoxys swiped at it.

Deoxys soon gave up on trying to remove the seed and shifted forms again, changing into a sleek form that bore some resemblance to its speed form. Deoxys' thick arms split into two long, thin tendrils. It immediately went on the attack in its new form.

Deoxys began to levitate while an immense psychic aura surrounded its body, focusing the full power of its mind into an immense pink, crackling ball of energy around it. Deoxys then pointed all four arms at Geri, firing the ball of psychic energy from its body. The energy engulfed Geri completely and she cried out in pain as it launched a powerful assault on her mind. When the energy finally dissipated, Geri dropped to the ground. She had been rendered unconscious by the attack.

"Ack! No way! It knocked her out with only one attack?!" Rina cried out in disbelief. She quickly recalled Geri and reached for another pokeball.

"Rina! Its capabilities change based on its forms, this must be an offensive form!" May said to her.

"I think you're right." Rina replied, nodding. She grinned slightly as she held out a pokeball. "I have an unpredictable pokemon of my own, though! Mew, this one's all your's now!" The pokeball opened up, releasing Mew into the air. Mew smiled happily and thrust one hand into the air.

"-Ok! I can handle this one, I know I can!-" Mew said enthusiastically, sounding confident even though it didn't know what it was up against. As soon as Mew was released, Deoxys once again shifted forms. Deoxys' right pair of arms formed into a more usual looking arm, ending in a hand with three fingers and a thumb. The left pair of arms, however, remained largely the same, though a small bulb formed on the tip of each tendril.

_"Another new form? Maybe this one is a physical attacker since that last one used a powerful special attack?"_ Rina thought, counting off Deoxys' different forms in her head. So far, it had used a speedy form, a defensive form, and an offensive form. Aside from possibly being a different offensive form, Rina was at a loss for what its capabilities might actually be.

While Rina was still trying to determine Deoxys' new capabilities, Deoxys took the initiative. Rather than going on the attack, however, it took the time to recover some of the damage inflicted on it so far. Deoxys focused, and its body shimmered briefly, restoring a fairly large amount of its health. The leech seed was still attached, however, and steadily draining it.

"It can Recover? That makes this a bit trickier, but we've already got a bit of an advantage I think." Rina said to herself. "Mew, attack now! Mega Punch!"

Mew raised one fist back and started winding it up. "-Ok! One Mega Punch coming right up!-" Mew flew toward Deoxys while still winding up its fist and then punched Deoxys in the face when it was finally in range. The force of the punch knocked Deoxys back several feet and instantly floored it, dealing considerable amount of damage for an attack that normally wasn't very powerful coming from Mew.

_"Ok, so in this form it doesn't have very good defenses. Probably the same in its offensive form."_ Rina thought.

_"Mew is a pokemon that was only rumored to exist, and is thought to be the 'mother' of all pokemon. That Mega Punch can't be the limit of its capabilities."_ May thought, then looked at Rina curiously. "Rina, doesn't Mew have any attacks that are stronger than that? I mean, you could probably end this pretty quickly after seeing how hard that Mega Punch hit that pokemon..."

Rina rubbed the back of her head. "Well, actually..." She began, but suddenly Deoxys went on the attack again. It quickly stood up and pointed the palm of its hand at Mew. From Deoxys' hand, a wide beam of energy fired out. Mew was swept up by the energy blast and thrown into the wall of the cave, near the entrance. Mew grunted when it hit the wall and then fell to the ground. Mew soon got back up though. It was a heavy hit, but Mew was also a surprisingly durable pokemon for its size. The attack, Hyper Beam, also left Deoxys unable to move.

Rina quickly turned to Mew, concerned for it after it endured Deoxys' attack. "Mew! Are you okay?!" She asked. Mew nodded weakly and floated up off the ground. Rina breathed a sigh of relief and faced Deoxys again. "Looks like I was right then, this thing is in a physical offensive form now. That's why it chose to use Hyper Beam. It can't take physical attacks very well though, and I think its a psychic pokemon."

"-So what do we do?-" Mew asked, floating up next to Rina.

"Use Softboiled for now, heal while you can. Then we'll go on the offense again, but I think we've got it covered pretty well as it is." Rina motioned toward Deoxys. It was still recovering from using Hyper Beam and looked pretty exhausted. On top of Mew's Mega Punch, it was still being drained by Leech Seed. Mew nodded and moved out in front of Rina to face Deoxys again, all while forming and breaking an egg over its head to release a healing energy onto itself.

"Ok! Now use Metronome and attack before that other pokemon can!" Mew began to wave its fingers and tricked itself into using a technique it didn't know. Mew then flew straight toward Deoxys while a cone of air began to swirl in front of its nose, forming into a drill. Mew stabbed through Deoxys with the drill, knocking it over again as it passed by. Once Deoxys was on the ground, Rina immediately reached for an empty Ultra Ball, intent on capturing it.

"Now I'll catch this thing to finish this!" Rina called out, throwing the pokeball at the downed Deoxys. The pokeball bounced off and opened up, pulling Deoxys inside. In its weakened and paralyzed state, Deoxys couldn't put up much of a fight. After briefly shaking with the pokemon's struggles to break free, the ball soon locked shut, sealing it inside. It then vanished, sending Deoxys off to storage.

"Alright! We caught..." Rina blinked. "Umm...we caught..." Blinking again, she looked over at May expectantly.

"Don't ask me! I didn't even get a chance to scan it, I have no idea what that thing is!" May said to her.

"-Hey! I won a battle without transforming!-" Mew said, squealing in delight.

"That's right! Maybe I should take the time to figure out what you can do on your own, huh?" Rina replied, smiling sheepishly. "I wonder what that pokemon was, though. It seemed pretty powerful...you don't think its another legendary pokemon, do you?" Rina then asked it. Mew blinked and then shrugged. It had no idea what it had just fought either.

"I thought I was going to have to find my own way out of this, how did you even manage to find me?" May asked Rina.

"Oh, we just asked around." Rina replied. "How far are we from Ecruteak now, anyway?"

"I don't think we're really and further or closer to it, though we'll have to fly across the ocean back to the mainland now." May replied. She then walked across the cave to finally retrieve her pokeballs. After placing the belt back around her waist she picked up the sapphire off the ground.

_"WHAT THE HECK TOOK YOU SO LONG?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA THE DAMAGE THAT POKEMON COULD HAVE DONE?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TRY TO STOP IT?!?!"_

"Err...Rina...would you hold this for me?" May tossed the sapphire to Rina. Rina, caught off guard, nearly dropped it as she fumbled to catch it. Holding the sapphire in her hand, Rina blinked in confusion. Feeling no ill effects from holding it, though, and being completely unable to hear Haruka's voice herself, Rina saw no harm in holding it.

_"I'll take the sapphire back when Haruka's had time to cool off I think."_

* * *

Notes: Ha! Bet you didn't see that Venomoth coming at all! Totally blew you out of the water with that one, didn't I?!

On slightly more serious note, until I was describing Deoxys' change from attack form to normal and used a reference picture, I NEVER noticed its left and right arms were different. The title, of course, is a reference to the fact that Deoxys is apparently a mutated space virus.


	49. Chapter 46: Twin Dragons

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Forty Six**

**The Twin Dragons**

"Remind me why we're at the Battle Frontier again?"

"Because there might be a connection between the Battle Frontier and the group thats been going after legendary pokemon."

"Oh yeah." Ashley paused for a moment. "Ok, next question, why are you dressed like THAT?!"

Ashley and Melany had arrived at the Battle Frontier's front desk, with no receptionist in sight. Ashley was still wearing the same outfit she had worn all throughout Kanto. Melany, however, had dressed in a pair of jeans, a green shirt, and a brown vest for the occassion. She also wore a hat on her head and tucked her hair under it, and trimmed her eyelashes, along with some other small changes to her appearance. The overall effect made her look more like a boy than a girl.

"Because the 11 badges I need to get into the frontier technically belong to Alex." Melany replied. Ashley looked at her incredulously. "I explained this already after we first met!"

"Uh huh..." Ashley looked unconvinced and folded her arms over her chest. "Are you sure you're not just into crossdressing?"

_"That wouldn't surprise me in the least."_ Aisha, whose spirit resided in the ruby Ashley carried with her, said in Ashley's mind. _"It certainly doesn't take much for her to decide to dress like a boy."_

"Aisha seems to think so too." Ashley added.

"I don't need to take this from either of you." Melany muttered under her breath. Ashley snickered to herself.

"Anyway...I guess that explains that...but I know you never explained what the Battle Frontier is." Ashley said to her.

"Yeah...well..." Melany scratched the back of her head. "I'm not too sure myself actually...some kind of attraction for trainers or something..."

"The Battle Frontier is an island amusement park for especially talented trainers, where they can come to test their skills against some of the greatest trainers in the world using a variety different rules and twists on conventional battle methods." A man's voice said, followed by a chuckle as a large man wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a pair of sunglasses stepped out of a door behind the reception desk. "Alex! Long time no see! Good to see you finally decided to check out the Battle Frontier!"

"Well, I just recently found an interesting reason to visit the Battle Frontier." Melany replied as Alex, grinning slightly. "Ashley, this is Scott, he's the guy that owns the Battle Frontier."

"Oh! Nice to meet you!" Ashley said to Scott. "You know, I'm kind of a famous trainer myself! I've collected the eight badges of Kanto AND beaten the Elite Four, though too late to become the new regional champion."

"That's too bad, but I don't pay much attention to Kanto anyway." Scott replied. "So, Alex, you must have heard about our little dragon issue then, huh?"

"Err...dragon issue?"

"Haha, guess not." Scott grinned and shrugged lightly. "Well, nothing serious anyway. Its been happening ever since I started construction here, though they've been showing up more and more ever since trainers have started showing up. Its been good for business but the trainers have been spending more time looking for these dragons than challenging any of the facilities, its a bit of a nuisance actually..."

"Ah...we didn't hear anything about that actually." Alex replied.

"Ohhhh?" Scott grinned and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps you had some other reason for suddenly deciding to pay the frontier a visit?" He asked while glancing over at Ashley. "In that case, maybe you would find the luxury hotel and restaurant to be of some interest?"

"W-wait, what?!"

"Oh, yes! Alex sent me the most romantic love letter I've ever read, inviting me to join him for a visit to the Battle Frontier!" Ashley smiled brightly, even forcing a blush as she turned to Alex. "My little Alex is just so sweet!"

_"Hate you."_ Melany thought, turning beet red in embarassment.

"Well I won't hold you two up any longer! Please, enjoy your stay at the Battle Frontier!" Scott gestured for them to continue into the Battle Frontier, and the two girls did so. They left the reception area through a large opening and found themselves in a wide open area with several large buildings scattered around it.

"Was that REALLY necessary?!" Melany asked indignantly once they got outside.

"Aww, but you should have seen the look on your face! I would have taken your picture if I didn't think it'd draw too much attention."

"Look, can we just drop it already?"

"Oh, but how can we do that? We're boyfriend and girlfriend now!" Ashley teased. "Or are you going to just dump me on the spot?" She added, pouting.

"Argh! Nevermind then!" Melany growled. "Let's just split up and find these dragons Scott mentioned, its the best lead we have right now!"

"Hmm...I don't know...don't you think we should be spending some quality time together?"

"She's twisted when she wants to be, absolutely twisted." Melany thought, trying to keep her eye from twitching. "Ok then, 'dear', let's split up and do our own thing for now and then meet later for a nice dinner!"

"Ok, let's do that then!" Ashley replied excitedly. "I'll go dig up some information then. Dinner on you?"

"Sure. Whatever. We'll meet up later at the restaurant then." Melany shrugged and then headed off on her own, eager to get away from Ashley and her teasing.

_"You might be going a bit far with that...teasing as you call it."_ Aisha said to Ashley. _"Or is it normal for your people to treat each other like this?"_

_"Hey, you were agreeing with me earlier when I teased her about crossdressing."_ Ashley replied with a shrug. _"I'm just having a little fun with her, she'll get over it. Anyway, we should probably look into finding those dragons now. I think I'll try the usual place first..."_

Ashley then set off as well, but she didn't get very far before coming upon the red and white building she had been referring to. "The pokecenter!" She announced while standing just outside. "With all these trainers here, they're bound to be battling, which means they'll be in here a lot. So we'll go inside and ask around."

_"In my day, the only way to 'restore' a pokemon was through a healer or a long night's rest."_ Aisha said to her.

_"That sounds like something out of a video game..."_ Ashley replied. She then opened the front door of the pokecenter and went inside.

Ashley asked the trainers in the pokecenter about the twin dragons that had been attacking the island, but to her dismay she was having trouble getting any information out of them. Each trainer she asked was either unwilling to tell her anything, as they were either after the dragons themselves or didn't know much more than Ashley. Eventually, she gave up, and slumped down in a chair near the pokecenter's pc.

"Ok, I take it back, this was a stupid idea." She said to herself as she sat down. "If anyone in here knows anything about the twin dragons they aren't telling me..."

"Did I hear you correctly, little miss?" Ashley blinked and looked to her right, where an older man was sitting back against the wall. He was wearing a black overcoat and a matching black, wide-brimmed hat, giving the impression of a cowboy. The brim of his hat was covering his eyes at first, but he raised it up to look at Ashley as he addressed her. "You're looking for info about them dragons?"

"Well...yeah...I am..." Ashley blinked. "Do you know something?"

"That I do...been here a while...I've heard all the news worth hearing." The man slowly stood up, his coat slipping aside slightly and giving Ashley a glimpse at the single pokeball on his belt. "I'm afraid that information won't come free, little lady."

"That figures..." Ashley sighed and then stood up to face him, resting her hands on her hips. "Ok then, what's your price?"

"A simple offer...you see, there's a pokemon here at this frontier that I've been trying to catch. This little fella here ain't been much help to me." The man reached into his coat and pulled out the pokeball Ashley had seen earlier, showing it to her. "I've got a pokemon in here called Aron. The pokemon I'm looking for is called Smeargle. They hang around in the nearby Artisan Cave. Catch me one of them, and I'll give you this here Aron and the information you're lookin' for in exchange. Fair deal?"

"Yeah, that sounds pretty fair..." Ashley replied, blinking in disbelief. _"There's gotta be a catch..."_ She thought. _"Does he really know anything?"_

"I'll wait here in the pokecenter for up to two hours then, if you happen to need that much time. When you get that Smeargle, we can make the trade upstairs."

"Ok." Ashley nodded. "I'll catch that Smeargle and come back here to make the trade then."

_"You know, its awfully convenient that no one had taken him up on this offer before now."_ Aisha said to Ashley, sounding suspicious.

_"Well either way I get a pokemon out of it, even if this Aron turns out to be worthless."_ Ashley replied. _"So I see no harm in doing it."_

"Well then, good luck, little lady."

* * *

Melany, meanwhile, was quick to forget about the twin dragons after splitting up. She had other plans in mind. She went straight to the Battle Factory, which was as empty as every other facility on the island. The Battle Factory, like the first Battle Tent she entered as Alex, used randomized rental pokemon that were limited to four attacks. Melany had already been admitted into the factory and was presented with six pokeballs in the waiting room. She would have to choose three pokemon for her first and only battle in the factory against Nolan.

On the screen before Melany, she saw six pokemon. Blaziken, Gyarados, Venusaur, Raichu, Swampert, and Claydol were displayed on the screen alongside their stats.

"Well, I've always wanted a Raichu." Melany thought, taking her first pokeball from the set. "Venusaur...thats one of Kanto's starters. Kind of an interesting set of attacks too. So I'll take that one." Melany took Venusaur's pokeball from the set. "And...let's see...well, guess I'll take that Blaziken just for kicks." Melany smirked lightly to herself as she took her third and final pokeball in her hand.

"Excellent choices, sir. Right this way then." An attendant, dressed like a scientist, lead Melany into one of the factory's battle arenas. Each of the frontier's battle facilities were huge buildings housing several arenas. Each arena was set up with a thick layer of dirt for the battlefield so pokemon could use any technique without fear of breaking the floor. Usually there would be multiple battles going on at a time, but there was far less activity on this particular day. That's why, waiting in the arena for her, was the factory head Nolan, an older man wearing a red hat and a white coat.

"Welcome to the Battle Factory, Alex. Seems like today's your lucky day, you get to face me in the first round. I'm the factor head, Nolan."

"I've been looking forward to this ever since I heard of this place." Melany said to Nolan as she took up her spot on the field, opposite to Nolan. "So is it true your pokemon are chosen at random as well?"

"That's right." Nolan replied with a grin. "That's why the Battle Factory is the ultimate test of a trainer's knowledge! If you don't know the pokemon you're using, you don't stand a chance!"

_"Wonder if maybe I should have taken Swampert instead of Venusaur then?"_ Melany wondered.

"Gym leaders...elite trainers...they're no test! If you want a real test of your abilities as a trainer, then the Battle Frontier is the place to be!" Nolan said to Melany, looking proud of himself. He then pointed his finger toward Melany. "Alex! I hope you're ready! Show me what you know! This battle starts now!"

"Been waiting for those words!" Melany and Nolan both held out a pokeball. "Venusaur, you're up first! Go!" The pokeball in Melany's hand opened up, releasing a Venusaur out onto the field. Venusaur was the final form of the Kanto starter, Bulbasaur, and Melany was somewhat familiar with it. It was one of the few Kanto pokemon she looked into before facing Ashley.

"This one will be able to handle your Venusaur just fine! Sceptile, come on out!" Nolan thrust out his hand, gripping the pokeball tightly as he released his pokemon. A green, lizard pokemon with a lithe body appeared before him. Sceptile let out a screech and pounded its chest, psyching itself up.

_"My Sceptile is a lot quieter than that one...though kinda funny how I'm facing a pokemon I happen to own."_ Melany thought.

"When it comes to pokemon, knowledge is power. Do something unexpected, and you deprive your opponent of that power." Nolan said to Melany. "So let's see how you deal with this! Sceptile, Aerial Ace!" Sceptile charged across the gym toward Venusaur, crossing its arms in front of it. When Sceptile was within a few feet of its target it quickly shot forward, extending its claws and slicing Venusaur across the side in a blurred move. Venusaur winced and growled in pain.

_"Figures, I can't dodge that move at all and its super effective on Venusaur!"_ Melany thought, grimacing. _"Leech Seed won't work on a grass pokemon either, and Giga Drain is Venusaur's only attacking move...no choice then, I'll have to switch."_

"Venusaur, Return!" Melany called out, recalling Venusaur. She slipped Venusaur's pokeball into her pocket and took out another one. "Blaziken, go!" Melany released Blaziken from the pokeball, sending it out to take Venusaur's place against Sceptile. The two pokemon were standing within only a few feet of each other after Sceptile's last attack.

"Blaziken, finish this one quickly with Overheat!"

"Not so fast! Sceptile, Detect!"

Blaziken let out a screech. Its body began to glow red hot as it stored energy. Sceptile, meanwhile, received a flash of insight and readied itself to evade Blaziken's attack. Blaziken released a blast of flames in every direction from its body, but Sceptile jumped backwards through the air to quickly move out of range. Blaziken's attack didn't even come close to reaching Sceptile.

"Even with only four attacks, this Sceptile is perfectly equipped to deal with a type disadvantage." Nolan said to Melany. "Now, let's get started for real! Leech Seed!" Sceptile spun around, flicking its tail toward Blaziken. A seed was launched from its tail and landed on Blaziken's side, then sprouted vines and latched on tightly. The seed immediately began to drain Blaziken's life force and fed it back to Sceptile to heal it.

"That's a useless gesture." Melany said to Nolan. "It strikes me as odd that you'd overlook something like this. Blaziken, attack with Overheat!" Blaziken dashed toward Sceptile while storing energy again. This time, Sceptile wouldn't be able to dodge. Though it tried to jump back out of the way, a blast of flames from Blaziken's body caught it in the attempt. Sceptile was scorched by the attack and thrown to the ground hard, growling in agony. The flames around Blaziken then died down and a charred seed dropped to Blaziken's feet.

"Not as useless as you might think. Remember, Overheat weakens Blaziken's special attack power with each use, meaning Overheat gets weaker everytime." Nolan said to Melany, then smirked. "Of course, you knew that already, didn't you?"

_"Even a weak Overheat will remove Leech Seed and Sceptile won't be healing enough in between to make up for the hp loss, so what's his goal?"_ Melany wondered.

"Now, Sceptile, strike back with Aerial Ace!" Sceptile quickly hopped back onto its feet and dashed toward Blaziken. Sceptile's movements were too fast to follow and too fast to evade, it slashed into Blaziken's side hard with its claws as it passed by. Blaziken squawked and clutched its side in pain.

"He'd have been better off trying to do that from the start, wouldn't he?" Melany wondered. "Or does he really think the health his Sceptile gained back made a difference? Well, either way, I guess now we repeat the first round again." Melany rolled her eyes.

"Blaziken, attack Sceptile with Overheat!"

"Sceptile, evade with Detect!" Nolan grinned. "And now Overheat will be at its weakest."

Blaziken's body began to heat up and then released a fiery burst around it, though noticeably less powerful than the previous two as the flames dispersed quicker and didn't reach as far. It didn't matter to Sceptile much at all, however, as the grass pokemon moved out of the way before it could hit. Using Detect, everything around Sceptile briefly seemed as though it were moving in slow motion. The effect lasted long enough for Sceptile to be able to dodge anything that might come at it in that short length of time.

"Now, Sceptile, double back and hit with Aerial Ace again!" Sceptile stopped and spun around on one foot to turn back toward Blaziken. It then shot toward the fire pokemon in one quick movement, passing Blaziken in the blink of an eye while slashing it in the opposite side. Again, Blaziken cried out in pain and clenched its side. Blaziken nearly fell to its knees as it felt itself growing weaker.

_"You know, its hard to tell the difference between Aerial Ace and Quick Attack when its used by a pokemon on the ground."_ Melany noted mentally. _"Regardless, Blaziken's starting to look pretty exhausted out there."_ Melany looked at Blaziken, and then Nolan's Sceptile. _"No more than Sceptile, and neither of them have triggered their abilities. Still, it might be worth considering using Raichu for the finish after one more attack."_

"Blaziken, Reversal!" Blaziken stretched out its arms and let out a shriek, calling out a primal energy. It then moved toward Sceptile and punched the grass pokemon in the gut, knocking it to the ground. The attack wasn't powerful by any means, as Reversal required a pokemon to take even more damage than Blaziken had before it would become a strong attack. However, Melany was sure it'd deal more damage than Overheat now. The attack succeeded in weakening Sceptile enough for Overgrow to activate.

"Ok, that's enough now! Blaziken, return!" Melany held out Blaziken's pokeball again, recalling it and then placing it back in her pocket.

"What's this now? You're recalling your Blaziken this far into the fight?" Nolan said, chuckling to himself. "Interesting...I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess your next pokemon has either Quick Attack or a similar technique?"

"Good guess." Melany replied, calling out her Raichu without another word. The Raichu that materialized on the field took a few mock punches at the air, grinning in anticipation. "Of course, knowing is only half the battle. So let's see how you deal with it! Raichu, Quick Attack!"

"How else?" Nolan shrugged. "Sceptile, Detect."

Sceptile hopped up off the ground and focused on Raichu. Raichu was already speeding toward Sceptile, and its movements would normally be too fast to follow. However, after using Detect, Raichu seemed to be running at a more normal pace to Sceptile. Sceptile moved to the side as Raichu ran past, easily evading the technique.

"...And, as you can see, that leaves your pokemon open to attack, Alex." Nolan said with a grin.

"...Is it though?" Melany asked Nolan, grinning back at him. "If you think Raichu's so helpless right now, why not take a shot at it?"

"Your attitude intrigues me. Let's see what you've got!" Nolan replied. "Sceptile, attack Raichu with Leech Seed!" Sceptile spun around, flicking its tail toward Raichu to launch a seed at it.

"Raichu, Protect!" Raichu threw out its arms, forming a protective barrier around itself. The seed struck Raichu's barrier and couldn't move any further. It fell to the ground and withered away.

"Now! Quick Attack!" Raichu quickly dropped its barrier and shot toward Sceptile again, leaving little chance for Sceptile to react. Raichu shot into Sceptile like a bullet, hitting it in the chest. Sceptile cried out in pain and then collapsed. Raichu's Quick Attack was more than the grass pokemon could take at this point.

"Hahaha! Not bad, not bad." Nolan said to Melany. "You've managed to beat my Sceptile, but you've revealed your entire hand in the process. I've noticed a hole in your defenses as a result."

"Huh? You have?" Melany blinked in disbelief. _"What's he planning now?"_

Nolan held out a pokeball and recalled Sceptile, then put the pokeball in his pocket and took another one in his hand. "I have. Your team just so happens to have a fairly big weakness to my next pokemon! Alakazam, go!" Nolan held out the pokeball and released his pokemon, a psychic pokemon that Melany was all too familiar with. The pokemon appeared with a rather bored expression on its face.

_"Great...another pokemon of mine..."_ Melany thought in dismay. _"One I'm definitely not too thrilled to see right now...Blaziken and Venusaur are both weak to psychic attacks!"_

* * *

After finding the strange cowboy man and accepting his offer, Ashley set out from the pokecenter. He told her where Artisan Cave was before she left, so Ashley went there immediately and stopped just outside to look over the seemingly ordinary cave.

"I wonder why its called 'Artisan Cave'?" Ashley said to herself, then shrugged. "Probably just a name..."

Entering the cave, Ashley found out that her guess couldn't be further from the truth. Not very far from the entrance, she encountered a group of strange pokemon. Each of them had a humanoid appearance with a long, bushy tail and the top of their heads were shaped like an artist's hat. Each of them were busily painting on the walls of the cave, walls that were already almost entirely covered in drawings. Some of them were even painting over older drawings.

_"Well, that certainly seems to answer your question."_ Aisha said to Ashley. Ashley had no response. The scene had caused her jaw to drop and left her staring in disbelief.

_"Feel free to snap out of it anytime."_ Aisha said impatiently.

Ashley quickly shook her head. "S-sorry, it's just...I've never seen pokemon like them before." Ashley took out her pokedex and scanned the nearest one.

"Smeargle, the Painter Pokemon. A special fluid oozes from the tip of its tail. It paints the fluid everywhere to mark its territory."

"That's not something I needed to know..." Ashley said bitterly, pocketing the pokedex. None of the Smeargle seemed to have taken notice of her presence yet, so Ashley held up her camera and lined up a shot.

_"Well if nothing else, this is a pretty good photo opportunity."_ She thought, snapping up a few quick pictures.

_"How could you possibly stop to take pictures when you have an important task to fulfill?!"_ Aisha scolded her.

_"This isn't exactly what I'd call important..."_ Ashley replied, rolling her eyes. She lowered her camera and took a pokeball from her belt. _"All I have to do is catch one of them, and then trade it to that guy so he'll tell me what he knows about the dragons."_

_"We won't know whether or not its important until you find those dragons."_

_"Yeah, yeah, don't get your panties in a twist..."_ Ashley held out the pokeball she grabbed and pressed the button, releasing her pokemon. "Gligar, go! Attack one of those Smeargle with Slash!"

"-I am...GLIGARO!-" Gligaro yelled as he emerged from his pokeball, quickly moving into a stance to attack. "-No, I cannot blame you for this mistake, for you are a mere human girl and cannot comprehend what I say to you! No matter!-" Gligaro pointed one claw at the Smeargle. "-Prepare yourselves, Smeargle, for no villain can withstand the might of my claws!-" The Smeargle all stopped and looked at Gligaro in confusion. They then started talking amongst themselves.

"-Villains? Us?-"

"-Who is this weirdo?-"

"-Was that an insult at my great artwork?!-"

"Gligar...err...what are you waiting for, exactly?" Ashley asked him, blinking.

"-One cannot charge into battle without proper introductions!-" Gligaro replied. "-However, now I am ready to attack!-" Gligaro leapt into the air and then glided toward the nearest Smeargle. Even just gliding, Gligaro was able to move fairly fast. He slashed the Smeargle with his claws, knocking the Smeargle onto the ground while he landed in front of it. The rest of the Smeargle, seeing one of their own get attacked, quickly fled the scene. The Smeargle that Gligaro attacked had taken a pretty harsh blow. It wasn't unconscious, but it was having trouble getting back up.

"That's better..." Ashley quietly said to herself. "Now, again! Slash!"

"-It seems this is where our encounter ends! Fear not, for you suffer no dishonor for falling by my claw!-" Gligaro raised his claw back and then lashed out at Smeargle, slashing it across the chest with the tip of his claw. Smeargle grunted in pain and fell back, looking to be knocked out by the attack. Seeing Smeargle unconscious, Ashley dropped her travel bag on the ground and started rooting through it.

"Let's see...I think I have an ordinary pokeball in here somewhere...aha!" Ashley reached in and pulled out an empty pokeball. "Wouldn't want to waste an Ultra Ball on a pokemon I'm not keeping!" Ashley then stood up and threw the ball at Smeargle. The ball opened up and pulled Smeargle inside, and then quickly locked shut to seal Smeargle within. Smeargle was then sent off to storage.

"Well that was easy enough. Good job, Gligar."

"-Of course it was easy! Afterall, I am the great Gligaro!-" Gligaro replied, turning and taking a bow just before Ashley recalled him.

"Ok, let's get back and make that trade now..."

* * *

"Raichu, thats enough for now! Return!" Melany called out, recalling Raichu even though it was seemingly her best bet at fighting Alakazam.

_"Whatever that Alakazam does, I should be able to get at least one turn to attack. So I'll have to make it count!"_ Melany thought as she took another pokeball in her hand. "Ok, Venusaur, your turn again!" She held out the pokeball and released Venusaur onto the field. The grass pokemon let out a low growl when it appeared, as if annoyed by something.

"Interesting move. Let's see what you've got planned." Nolan said to Melany. "Alakazam, start with Calm Mind!"

_"This might work out better than I thought."_ Melany smirked slightly. "Venusaur, use Light Screen!"

Venusaur let out a low growl and closed its eyes. The air around it shimmered briefly and then a green, translucent barrier formed around its body. Alakazam, meanwhile, closed its eyes and focused, calming itself and clearing its mind to increase its special attack power and defense.

"Didn't see that coming. Looks like you bought yourself some time." Nolan said, chuckling quietly. "Alright, Alakazam, use Calm Mind some more."

Venusaur crouched down to angle the large plant on its back, then fired a seed from it. The seed shot through the air and landed on Alakazam's chest, then sprouted vines to latch onto it. Alakazam seemed to take no notice as it continued to meditate, keeping its mind clear and increasing its power further. The power increase only meant its attacks would hit Venusaur as hard as they would without being powered up, however, courtesy of Light Screen.

"Ok, that's enough Venusaur! Return!" Melany held out Venusaur's pokeball to recall it, then slipped the pokeball back into her pocket. _"I'm really doing a lot of switching today."_ She thought as she took another pokeball in her hand. "Blaziken, your turn again! Go!" The pokeball opened up and released Blaziken, who was already pretty weak after its battle with Sceptile.

"Blaziken, attack Alakazam with Earthquake!" Melany called out immediately after releasing Blaziken. Blaziken slammed its foot into the ground, sending out a shockwave in all directions. Alakazam was jolted out of its meditation as the ground cracked and shock under its feet, and it soon found itself knocked off its feet and bounced around the field. When the shaking stopped, Alakazam quickly stood up and glared at Blaziken. Between the Earthquake, due to Alakazam's weak endurance, and the Leech Seed, Alakazam was looking pretty exhausted.

"Another risky maneuver there. Your Blaziken definitely can't take an attack from my Alakazam at this point, Light Screen or no Light Screen." Nolan said to Melany. "Well, guess its time we went on the attack then. Another Earthquake like that will knock you out, Alakazam, so finish this with Psychic!"

"Unfortunately for you, I've still got one ace up my sleeve!" Melany shot back enthusiastically. "Blaziken, Endure!" Blaziken braced itself as Alakazam focused its psychic power on the fire pokemon. A blue aura surrounded it, and Blaziken could feel the crushing force of the attack. Still, Blaziken endured, and was still standing even as Alakazam tried to throw it back. Its body then emitted a red glow and flames billowed from its wrist as its blaze ability activated.

_"It's nice to have a trap actually work in my favor this time!"_ Melany thought, smiling to herself.

"Still standing...and still won't be letting my Alakazam Recover in peace either. Looks like you've managed to force my hand." Nolan said, chuckling quietly. "Ok Alakazam, use Psychic again and finish it!" Alakazam nodded and focused its Psychic powers on Blaziken again. The blue aura surrounded Blaziken's body for only the briefest of moments before Blaziken cried out and collapsed. Melany, having expected this, recalled Blaziken just as it hit the ground.

"I'm sure you can guess what's coming next, then." Melany said to Nolan as she took another pokeball in her hand.

"You'll send out Raichu, and attack with Quick Attack." Nolan replied with a light nod. "And I've still got nothing..."

"Raichu, go!" Melany called out, releasing Raichu onto the field. Raichu moved to take a quick jab at the air but Melany quickly interrupted it. "Raichu, attack Alakazam with Quick Attack!" Raichu nodded and dashed across the field, shooting past Alakazam and striking it in the side in a blur of movement. Alakazam groaned and then fell to its knees, but Nolan recalled it before it could drop completely.

"As expected...seems this battle is more or less over." Nolan said to Melany as he put Alakazam's pokeball back in his pocket and grabbed another one. "You've got me against the ropes now, but even so, I'm not allowed to give up. I already know you'll beat this one."

_"Doesn't sound like he has any confidence in this last pokemon of his."_ Melany sighed. _"That's kinda disappointing...I was having fun too..."_

"Skarmory!" Nolan called out, releasing his final pokemon. A bird pokemon with a body covered in steel armor, and wings like blades, emerged onto the field with a cry.

Upon seeing Nolan's final pokemon, Melany slapped her hand against her forehead. _"You have got to be kidding me..."_

* * *

With the requested pokemon, Smeargle, captured, Ashley headed straight back to the pokecenter to make the trade. She met the cowboy pokemon trainer upstairs and withdrew Smeargle, then went over to the trade center. A machine that was shaped similarly to a fancy barbecue was set up there.

"You know how to use one of this new fangled trade machine things?" The man asked her.

"You mean you don't? It has instructions listed right here!" Ashley replied, pointing to a sheet of paper on the side of the machine.

"Heh...guess you're right." The man replied, pulling his hat down slightly. "Well that's embarassing."

"Anyway, I'm pretty sure you just put the pokeball in this part here..." Ashley gestured toward the shelf-like attachment. A worn looking pad with a round indent sat on the shelf, which had a conveyor belt moving into the machine. There was one on each side of it. Ashley placed the pokeball containing Smeargle on her end of the machine and then the other trainer followed suit with his only pokeball.

"Now I'm pretty sure we just turn it on and sit back..." Ashley pressed a green button on the front of the machine, which caused the conveyor belts to start up. The pads holding their pokeballs were moved inside the machine. An animation on the machine's screen showed the two pokemon being moved from one side to the other while the machine switched the id of the pokemon's trainers.

"That's it? Woulda figured there'd be more to it than this." The man said, shrugging.

"It doesn't take long at all really." Ashley replied. As soon as she finished talking, the two pokeballs emerged. The two trainers then took their respective pokeballs and placed them on their belts.

"Well, it's a done deal then. With this Smeargle, I'm one step closer to retiring from training to start a deluxe pokemon breeding ranch." The man said with a grin as he turned to face Ashley.

"Deluxe pokemon...breeding ranch?" Ashley blinked, then shook her head. "Whatever! What about those dragons?"

"Right...the dragons..." The man grinned lightly and stroked his chin. "Well, wonder where I should start? You see, seems those dragons have always been around, stirring up trouble. It's only lately that it's gotten bad enough to draw attention..."

_"If that's the case, Ashley, you should find out if there's been any change." _Aisha suggested to her. _"Find out what these attacks were like before and after. And see if he knows what these dragons look like."_ Ashley nodded.

"Could you explain maybe? What were the attacks like before and what changed?" Ashley then asked him.

"Well, before, their attacks were nothing more than harmless pranks..." The man began, slipping his hands into his pockets and starting to pace back and forth as he recited his tale. "Stolen badges, berries, tricking people into thinking some of the facilities were closed. Word has it they even impersonated some of the Frontier Brains on occassion." The man stopped with his back to Ashley, as if contemplating something. "Seems these two had some interesting abilities, wouldn't you say?"

_"I would have to agree, they certainly sound interesting..."_ Aisha said.

_"Do you know these dragons?"_ Ashley asked.

_"Maybe..."_

"In any case..." The man continued, turning suddenly to face Ashley again. "A few days ago, they started attacking for real, firing off attacks at the structures and terrorizing the trainers. Some people say they saw black collars around their necks after that. Think there's a connection."

"I wouldn't doubt that one bit." Ashley muttered. Of course, she already knew what the black collars meant.

_"Seems like we found our reason for being here then. That...group is definitely involved with this."_ Aisha said to her. _"Now ask what the dragons look like. I have a feeling I already know, though..."_

_"I wouldn't mind knowing why they were attacking before too." _Ashley thought. "What did the dragons look like? And do you have any idea why they decided to attack in the first place?"

The man chuckled quietly. "Supposedly they come from some nearby islands and weren't too thrilled with the construction of the Battle Frontier." He replied. "As for what they look like...well, best I could describe them is their bodies have a similar shape to bird pokemon in a way. They have hands separate from their wings, though. One of the dragons is red, the other is blue."

"Well, what does that tell you?" Ashley asked Aisha.

_"It's almost definitely them."_ Aisha replied with a laugh, as if she found the info amusing somehow. _"The red dragon would be Latias, a pokemon that served as a partner to Odari. The other would be Latios, who hated the very thought of taking orders from a human. He was Latias' brother."_

Ashley rolled her eyes. _"More legendary pokemon, in other words."_

"That all you want to know?" The cowboy trainer asked Ashley.

"I think that's enough." Ashley replied with a nod.

"Well in that case, its time I hit the trail and found a place to settle down." He tipped his hat to Ashley. "Thanks for your help, miss, and good luck in your quest."

"Thanks. Good luck with that...umm...ranch." Ashley replied, forcing a smile. The man then headed off on his way, leaving the pokecenter.

_"So what now?"_ Aisha asked Ashley.

_"I think we're done for now."_ Ashley replied. _"Couldn't hurt to take a look around the rest of the frontier, I think I saw an ice cream stand nearby..."_

_"I suppose I can let you off the hook for slacking off this time, then. Until those dragons show up again, there's nothing else for us to do here."_ Ashley rolled her eyes, but said nothing. She turned and left the pokecenter to explore the rest of the Battle Frontier.

* * *

"Let's just get this over with." Melany muttered. "Raichu, attack Skarmory with Thunderbolt!" Electricity sparked from Raichu's cheeks. It then let out a cry and pointed one hand toward Skarmory, firing off a lightning bolt toward it. The bolt struck Skarmory head on, causing it to screech in pain as the electricity passed through its body. The attack left Skarmory looking very weak as it had trouble staying on its feet, it was clear that one more Thunderbolt attack would finish it off.

"You've nearly got me beat, but I still intend to draw this out." Nolan said to Melany. "Skarmory, use Roar!" Skarmory straightened out and opened its beak, letting out a terrifying Roar that sent Raichu scurrying back to Melany. Raichu's pokeball opened on its own and Raichu was pulled into it. Another pokeball then opened on its own and fired a red beam onto the field that materialized into Venusaur.

"Well that's just being annoying now." Melany muttered. "Well then, have it your way. Venusaur, attack Skarmory with Leech Seed!" Venusaur angled the plant on its back and fired a seed at Skarmory. The seed landed on Skarmory's back and sprouted long vines that burrowed past its metal plating to latch on and start draining its health from it.

"And here I thought you'd just switch back." Nolan said with a smirk. "Well, makes no difference now. Skarmory, attack Venusaur with Drill Peck!" Skarmory flapped its wings and then flew across the field. Air began to swirl around its beak like a drill, which it then used to deliver a Drill Peck attack into Venusaur's forehead. Venusaur growled in pain. It took a harsh blow, but was still in pretty good health.

"Am now." Melany said as she took a pokeball in her hand. "Venusaur, return!" A red beam fired out from the ball at Venusaur, which turned de-materialized Venusaur and pulled it back inside. Melany then took another pokeball in her hand. "Raichu, go!" She called out, sending Raichu back out onto the field to face Skarmory. The two pokemon were practically within spitting distance of each other and Skarmory was looking even weaker, courtesy of Leech Seed.

"I fail to see what difference any of this makes." Nolan said to Melany.

"None. It just makes things take longer. Thats what you were trying to do, right?" Melany shot back, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"I just do what's in my contract, sorry." Nolan replied with a shrug. "Anyway. Skarmory, send it packing again with Roar!"

"Raichu, finish it quick with Thunderbolt!" Skarmory opened its metal beak to let out another Roar attack, but Raichu was able to resist the attack long enough to fire a bolt of electricity at it. The lightning bolt quickly silenced Skarmory as it passed through the metal bird's body, knocking it out almost instantly. Skarmory's body hit the floor with a clang, and Nolan then recalled it.

"...And that's it. Battle over. Looks like I've lost this time." Nolan chuckled to himself and then looked at Melany. "You know, I've raised each of these pokemon myself. It makes losing a match here feel like a punch in the gut, having someone else beat me with my own pokemon."

"Never would have thought that." Melany looked over at Raichu, who didn't seem concerned about what Nolan said one way or another. It actually looked pretty smug about its victory.

"Well, I doubt they're too attached to me anyway." Nolan replied with a shrug. "In any case, looks like you've earned the Knowledge Symbol." Nolan nodded to an attendant that was standing off to the side, who then approached Melany and handed her the gold Knowledge Symbol.

"Knowledge Symbol? Is this like a badge?" Melany asked, holding up the symbol to look at it.

"Something like that. Proof of your knowledge of pokemon is the way I'd put it." Nolan replied, chuckling. "Well, unless you had something else to say, there's a few projects I've been tinkering with that I'd like to get back to now."

"Projects? Like, more pokemon breeding?"

"Heh. Let's just say calling this place the 'Battle Factory' was something of a personal touch."

"That doesn't really answer my question. Oh well." Melany shrugged to herself. "Well, guess I didn't really have anything else to say."

"Then I'm off. Maybe you can drop by for a rematch sometime?" Nolan waved and then walked out of the battle arena.

"Guess I'm done here too, then." Melany pocketed the Knowledge Symbol and then took out Raichu's pokeball. "Raichu, return." She recalled Raichu, then handed over the pokeballs to the attendant and left the Battle Factory.

* * *

After leaving the pokecenter, Ashley found the ice cream stand she remembered seeing and ordered a vanilla cone. She then sat down on a nearby bench, just north of the pokecenter in a wide open area, to enjoy her treat.

_"So, I don't suppose you have some sort of dragon radar or anything like that?"_ Ashley asked Aisha while she ate her ice cream cone.

_"No, why would you think that? I had no connection to those dragons at all."_ Aisha replied.

Ashley shrugged. _"Too bad, it would make finding them easier. Its not like they're just going to conveniently show up and attack out of the blue."_

_"Isn't that what they do?"_

_"Thats true. I'm just impatient I guess, especially since there's no way of knowing how long we might have to wait."_

"RUN! THE DRAGONS ARE ATTACKING!" A young, male trainer yelled as he quickly ran past Ashley.

"Right. Like it'd be that easy." Ashley muttered to herself, rolling her eyes. Soon after, a blue blur shot past the bench as well. Ashley blinked in disbelief and then quickly stood up. Looking off in the direction the blue blur went she could see a pokemon that looked much like the dragons described to her by the cowboy-trainer. The pokemon had stopped, having encountered a group of trainers, and was fighting off a pokemon that looked like a demonic hockey mask made of ice.

"This is just way too convenient, there has to be something going on here." Ashley said to herself as she reached for a pokeball.

_"Who would complain about convenience?"_

_"Good point..."_

"HELP!" Ashley quickly turned to look behind her and saw another of the two dragons, the red one. It had just fainted a young male trainer's Machamp and looked like it was about to attack the trainer with a ball of light.

"Ok! New target!" Ashley moved her hand to a different pokeball than the one she was previously reaching for and pulled it from her belt. "Crobat! Go! Intercept that attack!" She called out, releasing Crobat from its pokeball. The four winged bat pokemon quickly sprung into action, flying out between the trainer and the dragon to take the attack. The red dragon fired the ball of light and hit Crobat, knocking him to the ground as it exploded in a flash. The trainer quickly recalled his Machamp and ran.

"-Bah...that hurt...-" Crobat muttered, slowly propping himself up with his wings. The attack used on it was a medium strength psychic attack, a type Crobat happened to be weak to. As such, it landed a pretty strong hit.

_"Have to break that collar somehow..."_ Ashley thought. She took a quick glance over her shoulder to check on the other dragon. It had apparently decided not to take a chance against the ice pokemon it was facing and was fleeing. _"Well, don't have to worry about that one interfering anyway. So let's focus on this one..."_ Ashley took another pokeball from her belt.

"Venusaur, go!" Ashley released Venusaur from his pokeball. The pokemon materialized before her and stretched its legs, then glanced around.

"-Being cooped up in a pokeball for an extended period of time is definitely a different feeling for me.-" Venusaur mumbled groggily. Meanwhile, seeing the two pokemon it was now facing, the red dragon tried to turn and flee as well.

"Oh no you don't! Crobat, Mean Look! Venusaur, we'll use that new attack of your's! Grab it with Frenzy Plant and break that collar!"

Crobat, with its superior speed, quickly flew up and cut the dragon off. Crobat turned to face it and cast a menacing glare, causing it to pause momentarily. Courtesy of the slave collar, it quickly shook it off. By then, though, it was too late. A pair of thick, thorny brown roots shot up out of the ground and quickly reached the dragon, grabbing it before it could flee.

The dragon tried to escape, pulling hard against the vines, but the vines soon reached its neck. The vines wrapped around the collar and squeezed hard. The damage to the dragon itself was minimal, due to its strong defenses and resistance to grass attacks, but the force of the attack was enough to bend the collar slightly. It was enough damage for the collar to become inactive. When Venusaur released the pokemon, it made no attempt to flee.

"Wow...that attack really is pretty powerful..." Ashley noted, blinking in disbelief. "Nice going, Venusaur!"

"-Tch! This is nothing.-" Venusaur replied with a shrug.

"Its too bad Rina isn't with me right now, I could probably use a translator..." Ashley looked up at the pokemon. "Though...didn't that guy mention something about them changing forms?"

_"He did. That is most certainly one of their capabilities."_ Aisha said to Ashley. _"This one is Latias, I believe. I am pretty they are capable of telepathy as well..."_

_"Well thats interesting..."_ Ashley thought, then called out to Latias. "Excuse me! Is it true you can use telepathy?" Latias blinked, looking startled by Ashley's yelling, and then took off, disappearing quickly behind a nearby restaurant.

"Well that figures..." Ashley muttered with a sigh. She then took a pokeball in each of her hands. "Ok, Venusaur, Crobat, good job you two, you can take a rest now." She said to her pokemon before recalling both of them.

"Well...guess there's nothing left to do now but meet up with Melany..."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the top of the Battle Tower, the blue dragon, Latios, returned in secret. The trainer Jessica was waiting for them.

"Hmm...only one returns?" Jessica wondered aloud upon Latios' return. "I didn't expect that at all..." Jessica stroked her chin thoughtfully and then shook her head.

"No, this isn't any good at all. I can't deal with a trainer I know so little about, and the only info I can even find on her is from her Kanto League battles." Jessica grinned and adjusted her glasses slightly with her right hand. "Well then...there's only one way to collect the data I need."

* * *

Author's Notes: This chapter was sort of in the style of the original Hoenn chapter when Alex/Melany challenged the first battle tent, with it switching between characters after each match. Only difference is, the battle tent version had Alex beating a trainer each time to move on instead of just a single pokemon. Either way, Melany was slacking off while Ashley made actual progress.

Next Melany and Ashley chapter will continue from here. Might make that the next chapter, actually, rather than switching back to May and Rina. Was actually going to make this chapter a bit longer, but decided what I planned to add to this chapter can wait until next chapter.


	50. Chapter 47: Lady Luck

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Forty Seven**

**Lady Luck**

Ashley and Melany sat quietly in the Battle Frontier's restaurant, which was in the same building as the hotel. It wasn't particularly crowded, but the few individuals that were there were casting the odd curious glance at Melany. Melany was still disguised as Alex, but that wasn't why they were looking. It was the red mark across her left cheek that had caught their attention. Ashley, who had her back to most of the onlookers, was looking pretty peeved as well.

_"She hits hard...it still stings..."_ Melany thought. _"I never would have figured her to be violent. Maybe other girls are just more likely to hit me while I'm dressed like this?"_ Melany took a sip from her soda, all that remained of her meal, and thought back on the events that lead to her getting slapped...

* * *

_"Where were you?! I could have used some help freeing those dragons and now they're both gone and one's still enslaved!!"_

_"Err...well...I challenged one of the facilities..."_

_"You...WHAT?! UGH!"_

_*SLAP*_

* * *

_"Next time, I'm just going to lie..."_

Ashley abruptly sat her drink down and then glared at Melany.

"Well, since you were slacking off last time, its now your job to find out where those dragons went." Ashley said sternly. "That red one might still be around somewhere. And I want you to scour the entire island until you find it!"

Melany winced. "A-alright..." She replied timidly. _"She might not be as tempermental as May, but she's still scary when she's mad..."_

"While you're doing that, its my turn to challenge one of the Frontier Brains. Think I'll go after the one thats in that snake-shaped building."

"Its a Seviper actually..." Melany corrected her, which got her another piercing glare from Ashley.

"Whatever! I'm going, and you better have found something by the time I'm finished!" Ashley shot back, then got up and walked away from the table. She left her garbage behind for Melany to deal with.

"There's something odd about you scolding her for slacking off." Aisha said to Ashley.

"There's a method to my madness." Ashley replied, a slight smirk crossing her lips.

"Oh, I know. I have a front row seat to that 'madness'."

As Ashley left the restaurant, Melany let out a sigh and got up herself. She began piling up the garbage on the tray and while she was doing so she happened to glance out a nearby window. A girl was staring through the window at her.

_"Huh? Who's that?"_ Melany wondered. The girl had long, red hair that was spiked up on an angle on either side of the head and had two very long ponytails in the back. Her hair was nothing short of absurd, and drawing a few looks. She was dressed in a waitress uniform similar to the ones worn by the restaurant staff.

_"Must be one of the waitresses, but why's she staring at me like that?"_ Noticing Melany was looking back at her, the girl quickly fled. Melany blinked. _"That was...odd..."_ She thought, then shrugged it off and left the restaurant, dropping off her garbage on the way out.

* * *

After leaving the restaurant, Ashley went straight to the Battle Pike. The Battle Pike was run by Pike Queen Lucy, whose favorite pokemon just happened to be Seviper, and was designed with the intent of testing a person's luck. In other words, a person's actual skill would make little difference as the trainer moves through the Battle Pike. Ashley found out all of this from the receptionist as she signed up to take the challenge.

"A test of my luck, huh? Well that shouldn't be any problem for me then!" Ashley grinned widely. "Sign me up!"

"Very well. You may only bring three pokemon with you into the Battle Pike. We will hold onto the remaining three." Ashley nodded and handed over her pokeballs to the receptionist.

_"Are you sure encountering those pokemon can be considered lucky? These 'legendary pokemon' certainly seem to cause trouble for their trainers."_ Aisha said to Ashley in her mind.

_"There's more than just that though! Ever notice that I'm always in the right place at the right time?"_

_"I haven't been with you long enough to notice that, though there certainly have been a few incidents in that short period of time as it is. Perhaps you'll be lucky enough to get through this ordeal without any trouble."_

The receptionist handed three pokeballs back to Ashley, the three she had registered for Ashley's challenge. "All set! Good luck in the Battle Pike!" The receptionist escorted Ashley through the door behind her, sending Ashley off on her way through the Battle Pike. Shortly after, another girl approached the receptionish. She was a bit older than Ashley with long, thick black hair and wore glasses along with an outfit that looked similar to a typical school uniform. The girl quickly read over the sign.

"A contest of luck...tch..." The girl, Jessica, scoffed. "Only the weak need luck to win in a pokemon battle."

"Oh, but luck is a large part of pokemon battling and..."

"SHUT UP!" Jessica yelled in a fit of rage, quickly silencing the receptionist. Realizing her outburst, Jessica regained her composure and cleared her throat. "What I meant to say is real trainers don't rely on luck."

"You won't be going inside then?" The receptionist asked.

"Oh I'll be going..." Jessica adjusted her glasses and shot a glare toward the door Ashley left through. _"Nothing will interfere with our battle deep in the Battle Pike. Not even luck."_

* * *

The Battle Pike was a long building that continued deep underground and consisted of several corridors. The corridors were set up like a fancy lobby, with red tile floor, golden pokeball statues, and red curtains hanging down at the opposite end of the corridor. Each corridor was long enough to host a battle in and had three doors.

When a trainer approached them, a warning would appear on each door. What would happen when the trainer stepped through would still be random, but based on what the trainer read. The doors acted as a warp when a trainer stepped through to determine where they would go. Ashley found herself coming up to the first such doors.

Ashley stepped up to the middle door and examined it. "This one says it heard whispering, the one on the right says there's a distinct aroma of pokemon, and the one on the left says something about a wave of nostalgia...hmm..." Ashley stood back and considered the two doors for a moment before stepping through the door in the middle. She arrived in another, similar looking corridor, with three more doors facing her.

Two trainers were already locked in battle in the room. One was a young girl wearing what looked like a girl scout's uniform, and the other a fisherman. The fisherman was using a dark blue fish pokemon with long whiskers and battling a pokemon that looked like a large slug made of magma and wearing a rock shell. Ashley could tell, from the bright, hot light hanging overhead, that their battle was well underway. When Ashley appeared suddenly, both trainers stopped and looked at her in disbelief.

"Umm...don't mind me...just passing through..." Ashley said to them. "Oh, but I don't suppose either of you would mind if I took a quick picture? I've never seen a pokemon like that before..." Ashley asked, looking at the strange slug pokemon. The two trainers looked at each other and shrugged.

"Sure. Just make it quick." The girl replied. Ashley nodded and quickly snapped a picture of the girl's Magcargo, then moved past the two and examined the three doors. After reading them, Ashley stepped through the door on the right, leaving just as the Magcargo fired a beam of solar energy at Whiscash and knocked it out.

* * *

"Still no sign of that Latias. I'm not even sure where I should be looking!" Melany sighed and took one last look around where she was. "Nothing here but that strange looking tree, some normal looking trees, and..." Melany shuddered. "...the ocean." Melany's search for Latias had brought her to the edge of the island. Unfortunately for her, she was afraid of water.

"Well for all I know, that pokemon could be underwater. Could have fled across the water. Could be hiding in those trees for all I know!" Melany quickly turned toward the trees in question, casting an angry glare at them as if her situation was their fault somehow. It was then that she spotted a girl hiding in the trees.

"Huh?" Melany blinked in disbelief. "Her again?"She recognized her as the red haired girl from before. Realizing she had been spotted, the girl quickly fled into the trees.

"Great...just great...I haven't been here more than a day and already there's a girl stalking me!" Melany growled, shaking her fist. "Am I just more appealing as a guy or something?" Melany sighed and shook her head. "Sometimes I think life would just be so much easier if I was born a guy..."

Melany scuffed her foot across the ground and headed back toward the Battle Frontier, passing by the strange tree along the way. The three followed her movements once her back was to it, seemingly watching her. With a shrug of its two branches, it returned to its previous position.

* * *

"What's with these doors!? 'I felt a wave of nostalgia coming from it?' Bah!" Jessica growled. She had been through several rooms, often finding herself in a battle with either a lone pokemon, a trainer, or even two trainers. She was fortunate enough to have recently come across a room where her pokemon were healed, a room which had the same message on the door leading into it.

"There's no pattern to what these doors say and what happens beyond them at all, but last time this one didn't hurt me any at least." Jessica grumbled. Opening the door she stepped through and found herself again in another room. This room, however, was noticeably different. There was only a single door at the other end, and Ashley was already approaching the door.

_"Finally found her!"_ Jessica thought, grinning. "Hold it right there!"

Ashley took another step forward before realizing Jessica had called out to her. She blinked and turned to face her, just as a purple gas began to fill the room. The gas was triggered by a pressure sensitive floor tile, which Ashley had just stepped on. "Wh-what?!" Ashley quickly covered her mouth to avoid the poison.

"Like they would use poison that could work on humans." Jessica muttered, shaking her head. Even though she soon found herself breathing in some of the gas, it had no affect on her. After only a minute, fans in the ceiling turned on and sucked the gas out of the room.

"Why would they do that at all?!" Ashley said in annoyance as she finally removed her hands from her mouth. "And who are you anyway?"

Jessica smirked and reached up to adjust her glasses. "Of course, I should have realized you wouldn't know me. Allow me to introduce myself then. My name is Jessica. I am one of four trainers with control over legendary pokemon. I am sure you can fill in the rest yourself."

"So you're the one that was controlling the two enslaved dragons!"

"Precisely."

"But...'one of four trainers with control over legendary pokemon'? Thats really what you're going with?" Ashley asked her.

Jessica narrowed her eyes at her. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you don't even have a name. Like Team Rocket." Ashley replied.

"WHAT?! How could you be so...grrr!" Jessica clenched a fist tightly, shaking with rage. "It doesn't matter what we go by!"

Ashley folded her arms over her chest and shrugged. "If you say so. I suppose you're here to either try to take the ruby from me, take my pokemon, or both and leave me for dead?"

"Not quite, I only came here to see how you hold up in battle, but now that you mention it..." Jessica grinned. "That would move our plans along much more quickly."

"If you say so." Ashley shrugged again and lowered her hands to grab a pokeball from her belt. "Just try not to waste too much of my time, I still have to face the Pike Queen after this."

"You seem quite confident, but I'm afraid you're underestimating my abilities." Jessica said to her, taking a pokeball from her belt. "You won't get the chance to face the Pike Queen, Ashley, as I'll be finishing you first!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Melany continued her search for Latias, as per Ashley's orders. This time, her search found her on top of the Battle Tower itself with her Metagross standing next to her.

"This seemed like as good a place as any to check, but nothing here." Melany shrugged. "Oh well, let's go Meta..." As Melany turned toward Metagross, she caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of her eye. Looking toward the edge of the roof, she spotted the red haired waitress again.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Melany exclaimed in disbelief. Having once again been spotted, the girl slowly backed away and then turned around and ran...straight off the edge of the tower

Melany gasped. "Metagross! Grab her!" Metagross nodded and quickly took off through the air, but stopped when it reached the edge of the building and looked back at Melany in confusion. Melany ran to the edge to see what was going on. She looked down and realized she couldn't see the girl anywhere. Not even a body on the ground below.

"The mystery deepens..." Melany muttered to herself, folding her arms across her chest. "If she hit the ground we should be able to see her...was she gone when you got her?" She asked Metagross. Metagross nodded.

"This is a tall building, and she wouldn't have fallen that fast..." Melany said quietly. "If she had a pokemon waiting, or even if she could just fly herself somehow, we should have seen her nearby. To escape so quickly she'd not only have to be able to fly on her own, but fly fast." Melany thought it over for a moment and then smirked to herself.

"I think I've got this girl figured out now..."

* * *

"Shedinja, go!"

"Aron, go!"

Ashley and Jessica released their initial pokemon, ready to start their battle. Each trainer only had three pokemon with them, due to the rules for the Battle Pike. Jessica's pokemon was a brown, bug-shaped shell that floated in the air while Ashley's was an incredibly small, steel armored pokemon with four legs and a head as large as its body.

"An Aron? This is the pokemon you're choosing to lead off with?" Jessica chuckled darkly. "How pathetic. It won't stand a chance against my Shedinja."

"-Hey, if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all.-" Aron calmly said to Jessica, then looked around curiously. "-Where am I anyway? Was I traded again?-"

"We'll see about that!" Ashley shot back. "Aron, show Jessica what you can do! Iron Tail!" Aron nodded and charged toward Shedinja, moving unusually quickly for its species. As Aron approached Shedinja it jumped into the air, flipping around to swipe Shedinja with its stubby little tail. Shedinja was pushed back from the hit, but otherwise seemed completely unharmed by the attack.

"With an attack like that, you won't defeat my pokemon at all." Jessica said smugly. "Of course, there's no way for her to know that its because of Shedinja's Wonder Guard ability that her steel attacks are useless against it. I will gladly explain it to her...once I have fainted her pokemon."

"Shedinja, attack Aron now with Shadow Ball!" Shedinja began forming a purple ball of shadowstuff in front of it, but then suddenly stopped and dropped to the ground. "Wh-what?! That's impossible!"

"Seems the effect of Aron's attack might have been a bit delayed." Ashley said with a smirk.

"Don't be ridiculous! Shedinja is immune to such attacks!" Jessica shot back in an annoyed tone. "Only super effective attacks and status effects are capable of inflicting any harm on Shedinja due to its special ability." Jessica clenched a fist. "Seems that poison gas works through pokeballs. Lucky you." Jessica held out her Shedinja's pokeball and recalled it.

_"That makes sense, or at least the part about the poison does."_ Ashley thought. _"But why would her pokemon fall to poison so easily? Is it especially weak to poison or was it weakened in battle earlier?"_ Ashley smirked. _"Well either way, first round goes to me!"_

_"If Shedinja was poisoned by that gas, then that means one of my remaining pokemon is also poisoned. No matter."_ A wicked smile spread across Jessica's lips. _"Ashley is completely unfamiliar with Hoenn's pokemon, she won't see my plan coming at all! I only need my next pokemon to survive long enough to set up!"_

"No matter how lucky you are, you won't overcome this pokemon." Jessica said to Ashley as she drew another pokeball. "Ashley, this is the beginning of the end for you. Ninjask, go!" The pokeball opened in Jessica's hand, releasing a bug pokemon that bore a strong resemblance to the Shedinja she had used previously.

_"I don't like the look of this one, does it have the same ability too?"_ Ashey thought.

"You will find this pokemon also has an unusual ability, but not one you will so easily deal with. Your luck runs out now." Jessica said smugly. "Ninjask, begin powering up with Swords Dance." Ninjask focused and began to sway from side to side in the air while a blue, sword shaped aura formed around it. Ninjask was focusing an immense power to increase its attack sharply.

_"She's having her pokemon power up? Isn't it poisoned too?"_ Ashley wondered. Watching Ninjask and seeing the pained expression on its face, she confirmed it to be so. _"That pokemon of her's won't even get time to attack, we'll make sure of it!"_

"Aron, attack her Ninjask with Iron Tail!" Aron jumped into the air, flipping over to bring its stubby tail forward to attack. Ashley was surprised to see the attack miss, however, despite seemingly having a clear shot. Only after Aron missed and landed on the ground did Ashley realize Ninjask had moved a foot to the side. Its movement was so fast that Ashley didn't even see it move.

"That...that thing's fast..." Ashley mumbled in disbelief. _"That must be it...its ability has something to do with speed..."_ She thought. _"An attack like Iron Tail isn't likely to hit it then, especially from Aron's short tail. I'll focus on countering her Swords Dance, then, instead of worrying about attacking. Aron just needs to outlast Ninjask anyway."_

"See? You won't be able to land a hit on my Ninjask." Jessica said to Ashley. "Ninjask, continue with Swords Dance. Her Aron is of no threat to you!" Ninjask maintained the blue aura around itself, continuing to power up.

_"We'll see about that..."_ Ashley thought. "Aron, use Iron Defense!" A silver flash shot across Aron's body. The thick, armored plating that covered its body grew even stronger to protect itself against the powered up physical attacks Ashley was expecting from Ninjask.

_"Ha...the fool must be thinking I actually plan to attack with Ninjask! What an amateur! Duke must be pretty pathetic to lose to someone like her!"_ Jessica tilted her head downward and adjusted her glasses. "Ninjask, one more time. Swords Dance." Once again, the aura remained around Ninjask as the bug pokemon maintained its concentration and increased its attack power further.

_"She looks pretty smug about something."_ Ashley thought, folding her arms over her chest. _"Let's see...she must realize that if she's keeping her bug pokemon in, it won't last long enough to knockout any pokemon but Aron. She obviously doesn't consider Aron a threat either, so she wouldn't go through all that effort just for Aron. She must be planning to give those boosts to her last pokemon somehow. I'll have Aron use Iron Defense again, but get ready with a counter too."_

"Aron, use Iron Defense again!" Aron nodded and focused briefly. Its body shimmered as its armor grew thicker again, increasing its defense.

"And this is where it ends...Ninjask, Baton Pass!" A red aura formed around Ninjask's body and then rose from it, forming into a red baton. Jessica then recalled Ninjask and reached for another pokeball.

"Aron, get ready to attack on my signal..." Ashley whispered. Aron nodded.

"Now you will face my best pokemon in combat. Thanks to Ninjask's efforts, you have no hope of defeating it now!" Jessica said to Ashley. "Zangoose, go!" The pokeball in Jessica's hand opened up, releasing a mammalian pokemon with white fur, crimson claws, and blue scars. The pokemon immediately reached for the red baton floating in the air, receiving speed and attack boosts accumulated by Ninjask.

"Aron! Now!" Ashley called out. Aron raised its head and let out a loud Roar. The stoic-looking Zangoose suddenly panicked and fled back to Jessica, disappearing into its pokeball again. Ninjask's pokeball then opened up, releasing the bug pokemon again. It winced in pain as it appeared, poison continuing to take effect on it.

"NO! How did you see through that?!" Jessica demanded angrily, gritting her teeth.

"It wasn't hard to figure out really." Ashley replied with a light shrug. "I could tell you were planning to pass those boosts somehow, but I had forgotten about Baton Pass. I had Aron ready Roar anyway."

"Damn it...lucky break for her then..." Jessica muttered under her breath. "I really don't like this place now..."

_"Her Ninjask won't last much longer now at all, so she'll almost definitely go on the attack."_ Ashley thought. _"So let's see what that Ninjask can do."_

"Ninjask, attack Aron with Dig!" Ninjask dove toward the floor, digging through it and into the soil below. A crack spread across the floor as Ninjask dug through the soil to reach Aron. Ashley watched the crack closely, biding her time. When the crack was near Aron, she finally made her move.

"Aron, Protect!" Aron formed a blue bubble around itself, rendering itself temporarily invulnerable. Ninjask shot up out of the ground under it, but bounced off Aron's barrier and was knocked back a few feet. Ninjask tried to shake off the impact but fell to the ground as poison wracked its body as well. With the danger passed, Aron dropped its barrier.

"Ok, let's finish this! Take Down!" Aron charged toward the fallen Ninjask, smashing its entire body into the bug pokemon. Ninjask was sent rolling across the floor until it landed on its back only a few feet away from Jessica. It quickly flipped over, but had seemingly exhausted itself in the process as the poison drained the last of Ninjask's strength.

"Damn it! If it wasn't for that stupid poison gas trap, I'd be winning now!" Jessica growled under her breath, clenching her fist tightly. _"As if that wasn't bad enough, I'm losing to an Aron of all pokemon!"_

"What's the matter? Things not going as you thought they would?" Ashley taunted Jessica. Jessica looked pretty peeved, glaring back at Ashley while contemplating her response. Then, suddenly, Jessica relaxed and straightened up. She took her final pokeball from her belt and then reached up to adjust her glasses.

"Silly me, I almost forgot. I still have Zangoose left. Not only is Zangoose my greatest pokemon, it's immune to poison as well." Jessica said to Ashley. "Zangoose, come back out!" She called out, releasing Zangoose back onto the field. Zangoose didn't look particularly happy, especially with Aron. Being scared off so easily didn't sit well with Zangoose.

Then, in a matter of seconds, Zangoose seemed to forget about Aron and focused its gaze on the door instead as it smelled a familiar scent in the air. Zangoose let out a growl. Its fur bristled and its claws extended, looking ready for a fight even though it was unconcerned with Aron.

_"What now?"_ Jessica wondered, narrowing her eyes at Zangoose. _"I only ever see Zangoose like this when..."_

The door suddenly opened, interrupting Jessica's thoughts. Unlike the other doors, which functioned as a warp, this particular door was just a door. Through the door stepped a woman with long, black hair and wearing a purple tank top, matching gloves, and black pants. Slithering along behind her was a black snake pokemon with a bladed tail, which immediately fixated its gaze on Jessica's Zangoose. Likewise, Zangoose was taking far more interest in the snake than the Aron it was supposed to be battling.

_"When a Seviper's nearby. I get the strange feeling I should really have seen this coming."_

"What's going on here?" The woman intoned. "There shouldn't be any battling going on in this room, it was set to a poison trap today." Jessica twitched at the mention of the trap.

"We were..."

"You're Lucy, right? They say you're the best Seviper trainer there is. My Zangoose and I want to see for ourselves." Jessica said to Lucy, the Pike Queen, cutting Ashley off. "We arrived here at roughly the same time and this one decided we should battle to see who gets to face you first." Jessica added, pointing at Ashley. "Fortunately my Zangoose is still unscathed."

"Wh-what?!" Ashley said in disbelief. "That's not..."

"Very well. There's no avoiding it now anyway it seems." Lucy replied, again cutting Ashley off. "My Seviper seems to be itching for a battle now as well. I will allow you to battle Seviper, but I cannot give you a Luck Symbol for that."

"That's fine with me."

"Let's make this quick then." Lucy snapped her fingers and pointed to Ashley. "You, whoever you are, step aside." Ashley nodded slightly. Though she was confused by the sudden turn of events, she decided it would be best for her to let them have their battle. Afterall, if Jessica lost, she wouldn't have to deal with her Zangoose.

_"It's almost like Jessica's admitting defeat and trying to get out of it."_ Ashley thought, moving up against the wall of the room. Aron followed along beside her. _"If that's the case, I'm definitely not going to interfere."_

"Ok! Let's go! Zangoose, start off with Swords Dance!" Zangoose crossed its clawed hands in front of its body and focused. Immense power surged through Zangoose's body and a sword-shaped aura formed around it.

"Seviper, paralyze her Zangoose with a Glare." Lucy called out calmly. Her Seviper then glared at Zangoose, causing it to shiver as the glare sent paralysis throughout Zangoose's body.

_"I should have expected a tactic like that, a strategy based on luck. Not that it matters at this point."_ Jessica thought. "Zangoose, attack with Return!"

"Seviper, Swagger." Before Jessica's Zangoose could attack, Seviper slowly wriggled its body in a swagger. The movement left Zangoose both enraged and confused. It jumped into the air, lunging at Seviper, but fell short and struck the ground head first instead. Zangoose slowly got up and stumbled backwards, further disoriented by the impact.

"Attack with Poison Fang." Lucy calmly commanded Seviper. Seviper quickly darted toward the disoriented Zangoose, then opened its moth and bit down on Zangoose's shoulder with its incredibly large, red fangs. Zangoose cried out in pain, quickly snapping out of its confusion. It shook Seviper off and backed away, but then almost collapsed. Zangoose had yet to land a hit on Seviper, but was already looking fairly exhausted.

"You seem to rely completely on luck with your Seviper. Hmph. A real trainer would win with skill, not rely on luck." Jessica said to Lucy. "Zangoose, attack with Return!" Zangoose shook off the paralysis and moved closer to Seviper, then unleashed a blinding flurry of blows on the snake pokemon and drawing power from its relationship with Jessica. Zangoose finished the attack with one strong punch to Seviper's jaw, knocking it back across the floor.

"Luck goes both ways. A truly skilled trainer is able to compensate for it." Lucy shot back. "Seviper, finish this. Giga Drain." Seviper curled its body and rolled forward to face Zangoose. Seviper then opened its mouth and began drawing energy from Zangoose. Zangoose cried out in pain and a green energy stream flowed between the two pokemon. When the attack ended, Zangoose collapsed to the floor, unconscious. Jessica recalled it and placed the pokeball on her belt.

"Luck...that seems to be the only way anyone has ever managed to beat me." Jessica grumbled. She then reached into her pocket, producing a small black ball. She threw the ball at the floor, causing it to burst into a cloud of smoke. The smoke was quickly cleared out as the room's fans turned on, but Jessica was already gone.

"Hmm? How'd she do that?" Lucy wondered aloud, raising an eyebrow.

_"Figures she'd have those too..."_ Ashley thought. _"Jessica...I'll have to ask Melany about that one. She certainly seems to have an issue with 'luck' though."_

"Well, I suppose it's your turn." Lucy said, turning to Ashley. "My Seviper was hurt quite a bit in that last match, so we'll make this a double battle. Not here, though." Lucy motioned for Ashley to follow her as she walked back into her chambers. Lucy's Seviper, remaining outside its pokeball, slithered along behind its trainer, looking satisfied with its win.

"I was hoping for a full battle, but maybe its for the best." Ashley shrugged and took Aron's pokeball in her hand then looked down at it with a slight smile. "Well, you did pretty well. Definitely not as strong as the rest of my pokemon yet, but I'm sure that was a valuable experience for you anyway."

"-I have no delusions about being strong. I should probably consider evolving at some point, maybe thats why I get traded so much.-" Aron replied. Ashley then recalled it and placed the pokeball back on her belt, then entered the final chamber for her battle with the Pike Queen.

* * *

Melany's continued search for Latias lead her to what she hoped to be her final destination, Artisan's Cave. She stood outside it for a brief moment, contemplating her next move, and then went inside. Once Melany was out of sight, the red haired girl slowly crept up from behind and followed Melany inside. She didn't go far before she found Melany had stopped just inside. The girl quickly hid in the shadows of the cave wall.

"Don't bother trying to hide. I already know you're there." Melany turned around to face the girl. Realizing she had been caught stalking Melany again, the girl turned to flee and came face to face with Melany's Alakazam. She had released Alakazam after entering the cave and instructed it to teleport back to the entrance when the red haired girl arrived.

"No use fleeing either." Melany said to her. "As you can see, I've already taken care of your only escape route." The girl gulped nervously and looked scared as she slowly turned to face Melany.

"I'm curious to know why you were following me, but I think I already know. I seem somewhat familiar to you, but you find it strange that I seem to be a guy, am I right?" The girl hesitated for a moment but then nodded slowly.

"Thought so." Melany nodded and folded her arms over her chest. "And the girl you thought I was...her name wouldn't happen to be Odari, would it?" The red haired girl blinked in disbelief and then nodded.

"Wondering how I figured it out?" Melany smirked. "I've been told before that I bear quite the resemblance to her. In fact, if I do this..." Melany reached up and pulled off her hat, letting the hair she had tucked under it fall around her head. "...I bet I look even more like Odari, don't I?" The red haired girl gasped and stepped back in shock.

_"I don't know how I feel about her being shocked by this..."_ Melany thought, her eye twitching slightly.

_"Though I do not have enough of the facts to understand this yet, it seems Melany has figured everything out on her own."_ Alakazam thought, then looked at the girl standing in front of her. _"Even I can tell there is something unusual about this girl though. It almost seems as though..."_ Alakazam blinked and smirked lightly. _"I see...so Melany has already figured it out."_

"I could go on for a while yet about how I came to figure out who you really are, but I think I'll come right out and say it first." Melany smirked and pointed a finger at the girl in an overly dramatic fashion. "You are none other than...LATIAS!"

"KYA!" The girl yelped in surprise, flailing her arms as she fell back onto her butt, landing in a sitting position. "But...but how did you figure that out so easily?!"

"Simple. There was no way, for a human, to get down from the Battle Tower the way you did." Melany explained. "You disappeared pretty quickly, and you didn't have time to hit the ground. If you had a pokemon waiting, it wouldn't be able to move fast enough to leave the scene without risk of you falling off or getting injured. Therefore, the only logical conclusion was that you WERE a pokemon!"

"Ok! So maybe I am a pokemon!" The girl stood up and dusted off her skirt, then cast a challenging look at Melany. "Just what makes you think I'm Latias based on that alone?"

"As mentioned, there's your obsession with me, and the resemblance I bear to Odari." Melany replied. "Also, Latias and Latios were here only recently, and they're both rumored to have the ability to turn into humans and disguise their appearance."

"Is that it?" The girl chuckled darkly. "You still lack definitive proof that I am indeed Latias..."

_"What are they doing now, exactly?"_ Alakazam wondered, narrowing her eyes. _"This conversation is getting incredibly childish and pointless."_

Melany waved a finger at Latias. "I'm afraid I already have definitive proof."

"You...you do?!" The girl stammered in disbelief.

"What was it you said before when I accused you before?" Melany asked, stroking her chin as if she had to think it over. "Oh yes, now I remember..." Melany smirked. "You said, 'But how did you figure that out so easily?!'"

"...Ha." The girl, Latias in her human form, lowered her gaze toward the ground. "I did say that, didn't I?" She giggled quietly. "I guess you win...who are you anyway?"

"I'm Melany, apparently a descendant of Odari." Melany replied.

"Of course..." Latias giggled again. Her giggling slowly grew louder until she suddenly tackled Melany, wrapping her arms around her tightly in a hug.

"Wh-what?"

"I knew it was you! IknewitIknewitIknewit!" Latias screeched excitedly, snuggling into Melany's stomach.

"Wh-what? Hold on!" Melany pushed Latias off her and sat up. "What's with the sudden personality change?!"

"Oh, you looked like you were having fun so I just played along!" Latias replied with a silly grin. "Once I knew I had the right girl I didn't care anymore!"

"Hold on! You want to explain this to me?"

_"Yes, please do. Even my intelligence can't make any sense of this..." _Alakazam thought.

"Well, when I saw you, I kinda sensed something from you...I don't know how to describe it really..." Latias shrugged. "I thought, from your appearance and this feeling, that you were Odari." Latias smiled brightly. "Close enough though!"

"Right..." Melany narrowed her eyes. "You know, I definitely wasn't expecting a legendary pokemon thousands of years old to act so childishly..."

"Thousands?" Latias giggled. "Don't be silly! I'm only 3!" Melany stared blankly at her in disbelief.

"Oh...I guess you don't know that part." Latias folded her hands behind her back and looked at Melany sadly. "You see...we're born every thousand years. The previous generation usually doesn't live long after that..." Latias forced a smile before she continued. "But they always pass on the story about Odari and the original Latias!"

_"So Odari knew the original, that explains that."_ Melany thought. _"Born every 1000 years...I wonder what generation she would be then? Is her brother just as childish?"_

_"Seems this girl is really the legendary pokemon Latias, which has a notable connection to Odari from when she was still alive."_ Alakazam thought. _"Curious, though, isn't she the least bit curious how Melany would even know Odari?"_ Alakazam shrugged. _"Perhaps she is simply too inexperienced to realize she should be suspicious."_

"You know, I don't even know your name! And why were you dressed like a male human anyway?"

"My name's Melany. As for why I'm dressed like this, its a long story really." Melany pushed up her hair and put her hat back on her head, carefully tucking the length under it to make herself look less feminine. "I needed to dress like this to get into the Battle Frontier, I'll leave it at that. Why were you two attacking the Battle Frontier anyway? Before getting those collars put on you, I mean."

"Those meanies built too close to our island!" Latias replied, pouting. "We can't get any sleep now because of all the noise and bright lights, so we started causing trouble for them! Then those other meanies found us one day and put those collars on us..."

Melany shrugged. "Well I figured that much anyway."

"Oh!" Latias grinned and clapped her hands together. "That reminds me! I need a big, BIG favor from you!" Latias unclasped her hands and tapped her finger against her chin. "How would you humans put it...? Oh!" Latias clenched her fists and looked back at Melany with a determined expression. "HELP ME KICK THEIR ASSES!"

_"Thats a rather blunt way of putting it...where did she pick up language like that anyway?"_ Melany wondered with a sigh. "Sure, I'll help, I'm after them myself anyway." She then replied to Latias.

"GREAT! And after that we can drive people away from the Battle Frontier so they'll have no choice but to close down!"

"Err...right..." Melany rubbed the back of her head. _"I'll deal with that later. For now, at least, I've found Latias. That'll get me back on Ashley's good side at least..."_

Alakazam, who had been listening in on Melany's thoughts, raised an eyebrow at the notion. _"'Ashley'? Seems I've missed quite a few things while I've been stuck in my pokeball recently..."_

* * *

Lucy's chamber was set up much like the corridors Ashley went through to get there. Red tile floor, curtains, and a gold pokeball statue in each corner. The biggest difference was that there was a large, dirt battlefield dug into the floor. There was also a throne on the far side of the room, in which Lucy's injured Seviper now rested.

"We will use two pokemon each, standard double battle rules." Lucy explained to Ashley. "You have been pretty lucky to get here as is, but now we will determine whether it was just luck, or if you have skill on your side as well."

Ashley nodded. "Alright." Both trainers already had a pokeball in each hand. With the terms of the battle set, they then released them.

"Crobat, Venusaur, go!"

"Milotic and Shuckle, dual battle time!"

The four pokemon appeared on the field nearly simultaneously, with each set of pokemon situated a few feet to the side of each other. On Ashley's side of the field was Venusaur and Crobat, two poison type pokemon that were completely immune to the poison trap Ashley had been through earlier. Lucy's two pokemon consisted of the beautiful sea serpent, Milotic, and a pokemon called Shuckle which was a bug pokemon living in a rock shell.

"Begin! Milotic, attack Venusaur with Ice Beam! Shuckle, cause a Sandstorm!"

"Venusaur, take Milotic's attack and fire back with Leech Seed! Crobat, Taunt Shuckle before it can attack!"

Lucy's Milotic raised its head, keeping its lower body coiled under it, then opened its mouth and fired a cold, blue beam at Venusaur. The beam struck Venusaur in the face and quickly froze over, then shattered. Venusaur growled and shook it off, then fired back with a Leech Seed. The seed fired out from the plant on Venusaur's back and latched onto Milotic's upper body. Meanwhile, Lucy's Shuckle tried to use Sandstorm, but stopped after a quick Taunt attack from Crobat.

_"Taunt leaves Shuckle with few options, but its best option has always been slowly defeating the foe with poison. That won't work against either of these pokemon." _Lucy thought. _"Milotic, on the other hand, can take down both of her pokemon with Ice Beam. But her Venusaur has an even greater advantage against Milotic, especially with that Leech Seed. It seems luck has certainly been favoring her to lead up to such a one sided match as this..."_

"Ok, let's keep the pressure on them! Venusaur, attack Shuckle with Poisonpowder! Crobat, attack Milotic with Poison Fang!"

"Shuckle, Wrap Crobat. Milotic, Ice Beam again. Same target."

Crobat quickly moved toward Milotic while Milotic fired a beam at Venusaur. The beam struck Venusaur head on again, freezing briefly then shattering to inflict more damage. It delayed Venusaur briefly from attacking. Crobat's fangs, tipped with a strong poison, dug into Milotic's body shortly after it fired. Milotic cried out in pain, but managed to withstand being poisoned by it.

Meanwhile, Shuckle slowly crawled across the ground toward Milotic to intercept Crobat but was moving far too slowly. By the time Shuckle reached them and jumped toward Crobat to attack, Crobat had already released Milotic and swiftly moved out of the way. Shuckle's failed attack put it directly next to Milotic, though, and as such both pokemon were hit by a cloud of purple powder released by Venusaur and became poisoned as a result.

_"Wow! That went surprisingly well, though I was hoping for Crobat to poison the Milotic instead."_ Ashley thought, smiling to herself. _"Oh well, worked out either way."_

"Not my day it seems. Milotic has taken heavy damage by now and Shuckle is poisoned. I'll have to get Milotic to Recover and then focus my attacks on Ashley's Venusaur." Lucy thought.

"Milotic, use Recover. Shuckle, move in to attack Venusaur with Wrap."

"Crobat, Taunt Milotic! Venusaur, attack Shuckle with Leech Seed!"

"-Bah! Recover? What's the matter? Too afraid to fight like a 'mon?!-" Milotic twitched at Crobat's taunting and immediately ceased what it was doing to glare at the bat pokemon.

Shuckle, meanwhile, was slowly making its way across the field toward Venusaur. Venusaur launched a seed from the plant on its back and hit Shuckle with it easily while it was moving toward him. The seed landed on Shuckle's shell but the vines dug into the shell to latch onto the pokemon itself. Then, Shuckle finally reached Venusaur and extended the small tendrils it was using for legs to latch onto Venusaur's face. Venusaur shook his head furiously to try to remove it.

"-Damn it! Let go!-" Venusaur growled.

_"Milotic can't heal now, it will surely fall after another round of battle."_ Lucy thought, sighing softly. _"Well, Milotic likely bears a grudge against Crobat now. The least I can do is grant him one last attack against Crobat before his inevitable defeat."_

"Shuckle, tighten up on Venusaur with Constrict. Milotic, attack Crobat with Ice Beam."

"Venusaur, attack Milotic with Razor Leaf! Crobat, attack Shuckle with Air Cutter!"

Crobat got off the first attack, dropping down to the ground and bringing its wings together. Parting them, it fired a v-shaped blade of air at Shuckle. The blade cut into Shuckle from behind. Shuckle's body took the full force of the blow as well, keeping it from hitting Venusaur's face. Shuckle, meanwhile, squeezed tightly on Venusaur for a moment to inflict a small amount of damage on him.

While Crobat had its back to it, Milotic fired a blue beam at him. The beam struck Crobat from behind and a sheet of ice formed across its back briefly, then shattered and knocked Crobat onto its face. Ashley's Venusaur then shook the plant on its back, firing several sharp leaves at Milotic. The leaves slashed across Milotic's body, causing it to cry out in pain. As Leech Seed and poison took its toll on him, Milotic collapsed while Crobat propped itself back up again with its wings.

_"Seems this is down to Shuckle then..."_ Lucy thought, closing her eyes briefly as she recalled Milotic. She then opened her eyes and called out one last desparate command to Shuckle in hopes of buying herself more time to make a comeback. "Shuckle, Rest!"

"Crobat, don't let it! Stop it with Taunt! Venusaur, you attack Shuckle with Frenzy Plant!"

"-BAH! What kind of lazy pokemon would sleep on the job?!-" Crobat taunted Shuckle. Once again, the taunting got to Shuckle and prevented it from falling asleep in peace.

Venusaur then attacked Shuckle with his most powerful attack, Frenzy Plant. A pair of thick, brown roots shot out from the base of Venusaur's plant and dug into the ground. They then popped out of the ground under Shuckle, twisting and wrapping around it. The thick roots squeezed Shuckle tightly, inflicting a heavy blow onto the pokemon in spite of its defenses. The roots eventually receded, dropping a fainted Shuckle onto the ground. Lucy took Shuckle's pokeball in her hand and recalled it.

"I admit, I had my doubts for a moment, but it seems you are quite skilled." Lucy said to Ashley. "However, there was still a fair bit of luck in our match. I could not properly gauge your abilities, but it doesn't matter. You have defeated me, one way or another, and now I must give you the Luck Symbol.

Lucy walked up to her throne and retrieved a gold coin from an indent in the throne's arm rest. She then walked up to the back wall and parted a set of curtains, revealing a door. "This door is another warp, it'll take you back out." Lucy explained, turning to face Ashley. She stood next to the door, waiting for her.

Ashley took Crobat and Venusaur's pokeballs in her hands again and pointed them at each pokemon. "Good job you two, you can take a rest now." She said to her pokemon, then used the pokeballs to recall them. She placed the pokeballs back on her belt and walked across the field to meet up with Lucy.

"If nothing else, you certainly deserve the Luck Symbol. You've proven yourself to be quite lucky." Lucy said to Ashley with a slight smirk, then handed her the symbol.

"Well, I guess sometimes its better to be lucky than good!" Ashley replied to Lucy. "Thanks for the match, Lucy."

"You are quite welcome. Its strange to say this, but good luck with the rest of the Battle Frontier."

Ashley nodded to her. "Thanks." Ashley then continued on, using the door warp to leave the Battle Pike.

* * *

Ashley was admiring her newly obtained Luck Symbol as she exited the Battle Pike and didn't see Melany and Latias ahead of her. As Ashley approached them, Melany spoke up to get her attention.

"What took you so long?" Melany asked her.

"Well there were a lot of..." Ashley began, but stopped when she looked up and saw the red haired girl standing behind Melany and peeking out at her. Ashley frowned. "Me-Alex...who's the girl?"

"Oh, her?" Alex glanced back at Latias. "That would be Latias..."

Ashley blinked several times in disbelief, staring at Latias incredulously.

"I think we have a lot to talk about..." Ashley eventually replied.

"Oh yeah, we do."

* * *

Author's Notes: I won't lie, I've never played through the Battle Pike. In fact, the only facility I ever played through was the Battle Factory and, on a whim, the Battle Dome. The Battle Dome I entered Registeel and Latias and just went to town. The AI rarely switched so whichever one couldn't handle, the other would. Main reason I haven't played through the others, though, was I could never really be bothered to put together a team that could handle them. So I just kept trying the Battle Factory and losing.

Also, maybe she says more when you're going for the Silver symbol, but I watched a video of someone battling Lucy for gold and her dialogue seemed to consist of "Come on!" before the battle and "Darn!" when she lost, with no after-battle dialogue. Or maybe the guy just already had the gold symbol...

Though not by much, Ashley's Aron was underleveled compared to Jessica's pokemon. Originally I was going to have Jessica's Zangoose barely win and then get knocked out by a surprise attack from Aron. That would have given Aron the distinction of knocking out all three of Jessica's pokemon without even taking a hit itself. Instead, it only took out two without taking any damage.

Fun fact, Magcargo can't learn Solarbeam in R/S/E. It can learn it from TM in D/P/Pt though. I included that bit just for kicks since I didn't actually plan to go anywhere with it.

Back to May and Rina next chapter.


	51. Chapter 48: Two Birds at Tin Tower

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Forty Eight**

**Two Birds at Tin Tower**

Ecruteak City, Johto, was a rather rustic and old fashioned looking town. Many of the buildings and houses were designed much like those of a feudal Japan. It wasn't unusual to see the inhabitants walking around in robes or kimonos either, something usually reserved for special occassions if worn at all in other places.

"And this is why I don't like Johto." May said to Rina. "There's one modern city in the entire region, and that's Goldenrod! You can't even find a decent place to shop in any other city or town in this region unless you're just looking for souvenirs or items for pokemon trainers!"

After their ordeal in Ilex Forest, which lead them to Cianwood, the two girls went straight to Ecruteak. They now stood near the city's pokecenter, having recently paid it the usual mandatory visit.

"I don't know, I think it'd be a nice place to visit." Rina replied, smiling brightly. "I bet they'd have hot springs and festivals and..."

"They only have festivals at certain times of the year, but they're really not as fun as you'd think." May said, interrupting Rina. "There's no games or even food if thats what you're expecting. Just a ghost festival with a lot of old people chanting."

"...Ecruteak doesn't sound very fun at all." Rina muttered.

"Nope, it isn't. I mean, festivals in Hoenn are...well...erm..." May paused for a moment and then breathed a heavy sigh. "Come to think of it, I don't know Hoenn very well at all. I've been to every city in Hoenn at least once but I was never there long, I set out as a trainer almost as soon as I arrived in Hoenn."

"Well it must have been nice to travel all across Hoenn after just getting there, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess that was kinda nice..." May thought back on her travels through Hoenn briefly. "Before I became a trainer I was set on getting a Chikorita and going through Johto, but it probably wouldn't have been nearly as exciting now that I think about it. Especially with no Team Magma or Team Aqua to beat up, or..." May stopped herself and shook her head. _"No, I guess 'he' was never really there."_

"Is something wrong?" Rina asked May.

"Oh, no!" May replied quickly. "I was just thinking about something, that's all."

"-Hey, isn't there somewhere we're supposed to be going here anyway?-" Pippi asked Rina.

"Oh yeah, weren't we supposed to be going to some tower?" Rina asked May.

"Right, Tin Tower. Thats it over there." May replied, pointing to a tower standing tall at the other side of the city. The tower had the same feudal appearance as every other building in the city. "Ho-Oh's probably waiting at the top of that tower. It's also guarded by a temple. And monks. I hear they don't let anyone get to the tower, and you have to go through the temple to get there."

"So then...how are you going to convince them to let you through?" Rina asked her.

"Oh I'm sure they'll let me pass when they see Suicune, Raikou, and Entei." May replied. "Anyway, let's go."

* * *

May, Rina, and Pippi soon arrived in the aformentioned temple near Tin Tower. They went inside expecting to be greeted by monks, but instead they found nothing. The wooden interior of the temple was silent, save for the girls' footsteps as they went inside.

"This is weird..." May said. "Did we catch them on their lunch break?"

"I wouldn't think a monk would have a lunch break..." Rina said in response.

"-What's a monk? Is that another species of human?-" Pippi asked.

"A monk is a highly spiritual person who usually worship a legendary pokemon." Rina explained to Pippi. "In this case, these monks would be worshippers of Ho-Oh, and this temple dedicated to it. The monks would protect Ho-Oh from anyone who'd try to abuse its power. Or maybe just from people they deem unworthy to see Ho-Oh, I'm not sure..."

"-Oh...so they're the opposite of trainers then.-"

"But where are they? They're supposed to be in the temple to keep people from getting to the tower, aren't they?"

"Why worry about it? If they're not here, then we can keep going."

"I guess you're right..." May shrugged slightly. "I don't know, I just have a bad feeling about this for some reason..."

The three of them continued through the temple, passing through a narrow corridor that lead into another room with a door leading outside. They left the temple through that door and found the monks waiting outside, but not quite how the girls expected to find them..."

"Oh...dear...god..." May mumbled in disbelief. There were seven men lying on the ground between them and Tin Tower. Their robes were torn, their bodies covered in small cuts. Though their injuries didn't look fatal at first, none of the monks appeared to be alive.

"Are they all...?" Rina gulped nervously and left the question in the air.

"I...I..." May stuttered, unable to say much else. Rina quickly and roughly grabbed her by the hand.

"Come on! Whoever did this might still be nearby!" Rina said to her, then dragged her toward the Tin Tower. Pippi moved out ahead of them to protect the girls from any potential threat.

As Rina dragged her past them, May couldn't help but look at the bodies of the fallen monks. Each of them had met the same fate. "Who could have done something like this?" May mumbled under her breath.

"I have a pretty good idea..." Rina replied quietly.

As they came upon a clearing outside the Tin Tower, Rina saw a familiar figure standing before the stairs leading up to the tower's entrance. He was facing away from her, but Rina knew immediately that it was Duke. Standing around him was an army of pokemon, most of which consisted of pokemon that largely resembled owls. One pokemon that stood out was a giant bird pokemon covered in white feathers and wings that resembled hands.

"I knew it'd be one of them..." Rina muttered, narrowing her eyes at him. May looked at the man curiously but had no idea what Rina was talking about.

Rina wasn't the only one who recognized him, as Pippi also remembered Duke. Upon seeing him, Pippi let out a growl and started charging electricity. "-YOU! YOU'LL PAY FOR HURTING RINA!-" Pippi yelled in a rage, then fired a bolt of electricity toward the man. One of the pokemon, a Jolteon, jumped up in front of the bolt and intercepted it without causing any harm to itself.

"Hmm? Did I miss someone?" Duke wondered aloud. When he turned around and saw Rina and May, he crossed his arms over his chest and grinned. "Well this is certainly unexpected. All this time the real Rina has been hiding out in Johto with Hoenn's champion, May."

"The 'real' Rina?" Rina blinked in disbelief and then shook her head, letting the comment slide. "Duke! You've gone too far!" Rina shouted angrily. "I don't care how many pokemon you have with you, this time I'll make sure you're never going to hurt anyone or steal pokemon ever again!"

"Bold words, but you couldn't even beat Mewtwo by yourself last time." Duke replied, sounding unconcerned. "Since your friend there seems like she's already down for the count, you won't last more than five minutes against Lugia and the pokemon I took from those monks."

"May?" Rina blinked and looked over at May. She was still in a state of shock from discovering the bodies of the monks. "May! Snap out of it!"

"-Rina! Let me shock her, that'll work!-" Pippi growled. She didn't want to be held back from finally shocking Duke.

"Don't! That'd just hurt her!"

"Hahahahahaha! May's pokemon are the best shot you have at beating me, and she's not even able to fight!" Duke said to Rina. "You're just lucky I had to waste so many slave collars on those monks!" Duke held up his left arm, showing off a collar launcher similar to the one Aqua once used. There was one collar loaded in it. "I only have one left, and I'm saving that one for something special..."

_"MAY! Snap out of it! That guy plans to capture Ho-Oh!"_ Haruka yelled at May, breaking her lengthy silence.

_"But those monks...he just..."_

_"Damn it! I said..."_

* * *

Suddenly, the world around May went completely black. Save for an older clone of herself clad in leather armor standing in front of her.

"SNAP OUT OF IT!" The doppleganger yelled, punching May in the stomach. May's eyes bulged and she doubled over in pain.

"Who...? What...?" May gasped for breath and stared at her double in disbelief. "H-how...?"

"Get over yourself! People die all the time! You can't be losing focus just because you saw a few corpses!" The other May said to her. "Heck, I used to kill people myself when I had to. By the time I was your age I was already able to wield a sword!"

"H-Haruka?!" May said in disbelief. She tried to stand up but was still in too much pain. Haruka had a mean right hook.

"We don't have time for this! Any second now, that guy's going to order that army of his to attack. Rina might be strong, but alone she'd easily get overwhelmed! I don't know what that giant bird of his is but even I can tell its related to Ho-Oh somehow!"

"Giant bird?" May blinked and thought back. She could barely recall seeing the bird alongside Duke. It was as big as Kyogre, maybe even bigger, and had a slave collar around its neck just like the others.

"If you're worried about those monks, then don't be. Ho-Oh will be able to help them, you just need to make sure that guy isn't able to get to Ho-Oh first!"

"Ho-Oh can?" May blinked. Though still in pain, she stood up and then nodded to Haruka. "Ok, if you say so...I'll stop this Duke guy from capturing Ho-Oh."

"Good, else I would have had to hit you again."

"Where are we anyway?" May asked, looking around.

"I'll explain when we have time!" Haruka said to her, then snapped her fingers. Haruka disappeared and May felt her vision getting hazy again.

* * *

"So Hoenn's new champion faints under pressure. Pathetic." Duke snickered. "And here I was looking forward to pounding a regional champion's pokemon into the ground."

"MAY! You have to get up, please!" Rina pleaded, kneeling on the ground next to May.

"-Rina, forget about her! We have to do something about Duke!-" Pippi said.

Suddenly, May began to stir. "Ow...what?" May muttered groggily, slowly opening her eyes. She then winced, feeling the pain in her chest again from when Haruka punched her.

"May! Are you ok!?" Rina asked her in a concerned tone. "If you're not up to battling this guy then just say so and let me take over!"

"No! I'm fine!" May replied, quickly sitting up while clutching her stomach. _"Ow...what did you do to me?"_

_"I put you to sleep, more or less."_ Haruka said to her. _"Or rather, in a sleep-like state wherein I could speak and interact with you directly. As I'm sure you know, my punches feel quite real in that state."_

"Whatever..." May muttered, finally standing up and glaring at Duke.

"What's this? First you faint, now you're trying to act tough? Don't waste your time." Duke smirked and gestured toward the giant bird standing nearby. "With this pokemon under my control, you don't stand a chance."

"Oh yeah?!" Rina shot back as she stood up. "Well May has a powerful legendary pokemon under her control too, right May?"

"Err...actually I didn't take that one with me..." May replied sheepishly. "But still, I don't need it!" May took three pokeballs from her belt, one in one hand and two in the other, and held them out. "Not as long as I have these three! Raikou, Entei, Suicune, go!" The pokeballs opened up and, one by one, the three servants of Ho-Oh emerged onto the field.

"-So the three of us are united again at last.-" Suicune said to the other two.

"-One trainer has caught all three of us, just as Ho-Oh said she would.-" Entei said, nodding in response.

"-Wasn't exactly easy to avoid getting caught by someone else in the process.-" Raikou growled. "-Let's just get this over with so she can do what she came here to do!-" Suicune and Entei nodded in agreement.

"It's better than nothing I guess." Rina said with a sigh. "Well that's ok, because I have powerful pokemon of my own!" Rina called out, grabbing two pokeballs from her belt. "Mew! Miss Esp! Come on out!" She held out the two pokeballs, releasing her pokemon. Mew appeared floating in the air alongside Miss Esp.

"A shame I wasted those slave collars, this would have been the perfect opportunity to grab your legendary pokemon from under your nose and turn them against you." Duke shrugged. "I suppose I'll just have to take them from your cold, dead bodies instead." Duke pointed toward the two. "Noctowls, Machokes! Hit them all with your best attacks! Jolteon, target Suicune! Flareon, target Raikou! Vaporeon, target Entei!" With the exception of Lugia, each of Duke's enslaved pokemon charged toward Rina, May, and their pokemon.

"Mew, Miss Esp, attack the two Machoke's with Psychic! Pippi, aim a Thunderbolt at the Noctowls!"

"Raikou, you attack the Noctowls too! Suicune and Entei, stall them with a Roar!"

Suicune and Entei let out a menacing Roar, causing the enslaved pokemon to briefly stop in their tracks. The two Machoke's soon found themselves in the grip of a psychic attack and were quickly knocked out by Mew and Miss Esp. Pippi fired a Thunderbolt attack into the Noctowl flying hovering off the ground, dropping one of them in a single blast. Raikou followed suit, striking two Noctowl's that happened to be close together.

After a round of fire from May and Rina's pokemon, Duke's pokemon finally moved to attack. The Jolteon gathered electricity across its body and fired a bolt at Suicune, landing a light hit on the water pokemon. Flareon fired a Flamethrower attack at Raikou, and Vaporeon attacked Entei with Water Pulse. Raikou emerged from the flames with only very minor burns and Entei easily shook off the Water Pulse attack it took to the face.

The remaining four Noctowl, meanwhile, moved closer to May and Rina's pokemon than the three Eevee evolutions. They each chose a different pokemon to attack and dove in. A Noctowl flew straight into Mew, Miss Esp, Pippi, and Raikou in a Take Down attack. Raikou shook off the impact and then fired back at its attacker with a Thunderbolt, knocking the Noctowl out of the air and fainting it in one attack. Pippi took a harder hit and was knocked off her feet, but she quickly got back up and did the same. Pippi fired a Thunderbolt attack at her attacker and knocked it out.

"Just a few more to go! Miss Esp, Mew, strike back at those Noctowl's with Psychic!"

Mew and Miss Esp quickly focused and began to squeeze the two Noctowls with their psychic power, and then threw them into the ground. The Noctowls quickly got back on their feet and then took off again, flying straight into Mew and Miss Esp with another Take Down attack. Mew endured the hit, but Miss Esp was knocked off her feet. Both Noctowls were knocked to the ground, but still had enough strength left to get back on their feet.

"Ok, your turn now, Pippi!" Rina called out. "Attack both Noctowl's with Surf!" Pippi nodded and moved out ahead of the two psychic pokemon. She summoned a wall of water from under her feet and rode the wave toward the Noctowls. Pippi then jumped off at the last second as the wave crashed down upon them, knocking them out.

"Suicune, attack Flareon with Hydro Pump! Raikou, attack Vaporeon with Thunderbolt! Entei, trap Jolteon with Fire Spin!"

Suicune opened its mouth and fired a powerful, high-pressure blast of water at Flareon. Suicune's attack soaked Flareon and pushed it back several feet, where it finally fainted. Entei, meanwhile, opened its mouth and released a spiralling blast of flames into the air. The flames fell down around Jolteon, forming into a twister around it to leave it trapped.

Jolteon and Vaporeon, the only remaining pokemon from the group Duke ordered to attack, were each able to attack before Raikou was able to gather enough electricity for another attack. A bolt of electricity fired out from the swirling flames, striking Suicune, and a Water Pulse fired by Vaporeon hit Entei. They recoiled from the attacks, but easily shook it off. Raikou then fired back at Vaporeon, blasting the water pokemon with a Thunderbolt attack. Vaporeon cried out as the electricity struck it and collapsed.

"Entei, let's finish this! Attack Jolteon with Fire Blast!" May called out. Entei reared its head back and then spat out a fireball at Jolteon. The fireball began to expand and pushed through the flames surrounding Jolteon, striking it and exploding shortly after impact. The flaming twister dissipated and Jolteon was knocked out by Entei's attack.

"So much for your army of pokemon!" May taunted Duke.

"Tch. Should have known those monks' pokemon were no good." Duke muttered, then shrugged in response to May. "Oh, I still have my army." He replied, then pointed toward their pokemon. "Lugia, attack their pokemon with Aeroblast." Lugia moved in front of Duke, obscuring him from view as it turned to face the group of pokemon. Lugia reared its head back and took in a deep breath.

"Aeroblast? What's that?" May wondered, having never heard of the attack before.

May would soon have her answer. Lugia leaned forward and opened its mouth, firing a torrent of wind concentrated like a beam. It strafed the attack across each of their gathered pokemon, knocking all but Mew off of their feet. Mew, having been floating in the air at the time, was knocked back a few feet instead.

"Whoa! I've never seen an attack like that before!" May exclaimed in disbelief. Each of her own pokemon were able to get back on their feet shortly after enduring the attack, as did most of Rina's pokemon. Miss Esp, however, stayed down. The attack had landed a strong enough hit on her to knock her out, forcing Rina to recall her.

"Well no pokemon is an army!" Rina yelled at Duke, then turned to May. "We've still got Lugia outnumbered, let's hit it with everything we've got!"

May nodded quickly. "Right! Suicune, Aurora Beam! Raikou, Thunderbolt! Entei, Fire Blast!"

"Pippi, Volt Tackle! Try to hit that collar! Mew, Psychic!"

The pokemon launched a volley of attacks against Lugia, with their trainers assuming it to be a flying-type pokemon. As they launched their attacks, Lugia crossed its enormous wings in front of its body to defend itself. A multicolored beam and a bolt of electricity struck Lugia as Suicune and Raikou's attacks hit first.

They were followed up by a blue glow surrounding Lugia as Mew attacked with Psychic, though Lugia barely flinched as Mew tried to crush it. Mew tried to throw Lugia into the ground to finish it, but the giant bird pokemon barely moved an inch. A fireball in the shape of a stick figure struck Lugia as well while it was being assaulted by Mew's Psychic attack. The fireball had been spat out by Entei and expanded until it finally struck Lugia, then exploded. Lugia staggered back, nearly hitting Duke, but was able to hold its ground.

Pippi was the final pokemon to attack Lugia, holding off to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. She charged toward Lugia, electricity swirling around her body. She tried to get a clear shot at Lugia's neck to destroy the collar around it, but Lugia raised a wing to block the attack. Pippi landed a strong hit, but bounced off Lugia's wing and hit the ground. The impact left Pippi dazed for a moment as she tried to shake off the recoil.

"Our attacks had no affect on it?!" Rina exclaimed in disbelief.

"No way! Even Kyogre wasn't that tough!" May said.

"Lugia has already fought one battle today, it's had some time to prepare you could say." Duke said, snickering to himself. "Of course, Lugia's endurance is rather legendary as it is. Though, for a legendary pokemon, it's offensive capabilities leave something to be desired." Duke shrugged. "It more than makes up for it with the powerful attacks at it's disposal. Observe! Lugia, attack Mew with Hydro Pump!"

Lugia opened its mouth and fired a high pressure stream of water at Mew. As the water struck it, Mew cried outwas pushed back through the air until it dropped and skidded against the ground. After the punishment it had taken in the battle with the Noctowl's, as well as enduring Lugia's Aeroblast, Mew was left too weak to endure the hit and fainted.

"MEW!" Rina cried out. She quickly grabbed a pokemon and recalled it, fearing Duke might try to enslave it while it was unconscious.

_"This isn't good, we just can't damage that thing and our best pokemon are already weakened from previous battles."_ May clenched her fist and thought hard. _"Ok, have to think this through. Right now I've got Suicune, Entei, and Raikou. They can't do much to Lugia, but maybe that'd change after a Calm Mind or two."_

_"They might not last long enough. Lugia seems to have some sort of power boost of its own on its side. Defensive and offensive, I'd be willing to guess it used Ancientpower and was lucky enough to maintain the power granted by the attack."_ Haruka said to her. _"Destroying that collar is your best bet, I believe. Rina certainly wanted to target it for some reason."_

May blinked. _"That's right!"_ She thought, then frowned as a realization dawned on her. _"But Lugia is protecting that collar too. If only there was some way to get past it, to maybe attack it from above..."_

_"There is a way."_ Haruka said. _"Tell Suicune to call out for Ho-Oh. Ho-Oh should come if it hears Suicune howling. Make sure it tells Ho-Oh to aim for the collar."_

_"Ok, got it!"_ May nodded, then whispered the message to Suicune so Duke wouldn't overhear it. "Suicune, we need Ho-Oh's help! Tell it to aim for the collar!"

Suicune blinked, considering this for a moment. "-Very well.-" Suicune replied, nodding. It then raised it's head to the sky and let out a howl. "-AIM FOR THE COLLAR!-" Suicune added, calling out loudly to Ho-Oh and hoping it would get the message.

"Huh?" Rina blinked in confusion, having only heard what Suicune had said, and looked over at May. "May...umm...what's Suicune doing?"

"Getting some help!" May replied.

"What's this? Think Lugia's physical defense is weaker? Don't bet on that!" Duke said to the girls, snickering. "Even if Lugia's physical defense was weaker, it can Recover from the damage and already has increased defenses. Face it, there's no way you're getting out of this one, girls."

"I wouldn't be so sure!" May shot back, pointing into the air. Rina looked up as well and gasped.

"Like I'm going to fall for something like that." Duke replied. After a moment, though, he could hear a crackling sound above him and looked up in time to see a giant bird composed entirely of fire diving straight down. Duke growled and clenched his teeth. It was too late for him to do anything about it, though. The fire bird dove straight into Lugia, striking it in the back of the neck and smashing into the ground. Duke quickly moved away, feeling the intense heat from the flames.

The flames soon dispersed, revealing another giant bird with rainbow colored feathers standing on top of Lugia. The new arrival hopped off Lugia's back, standing next to it as Lugia stood back up again. The collar that had been around Lugia's neck was gone, reduced to a molten puddle on the ground. Lugia shook its head and then turned to the other bird.

"-I suppose I owe you one, Ho-Oh.-"

"-I didn't realize we were keeping score.-" Ho-Oh replied. It then turned toward May and Rina. "-Suicune, Raikou, Entei. Good to see you all again. I see you have found her. Or rather, she has found you.-"

"-Ho-Oh, we have returned with the chosen one, as you instructed.-" Suicune replied, then bowed down to Ho-Oh. Entei and Raikou followed suit shortly after.

"Whoa! That's Ho-Oh?!" May exclaimed in disbelief. "It's so...colorful."

"That's really all you have to say? Show a bit more respect!" Haruka scolded her.

"Ho-Oh, don't let your guard down!" Rina called out. "He still has a slave collar left, and he can use a smoke ball to teleport away!"

May blinked. "A smoke ball?"

Ho-Oh nodded, then looked past the girls to see the dead monks lying further away. "-Lugia, keep an eye on the human. It seems I am not finished here.-"

"-Very well.-" Lugia turned to the side to keep an eye on Duke. Duke growled and clenched a fist, realizing he was cornered.

Ho-Oh then set about it's business. With one broad flap of its wings, Ho-Oh sent several feathers flying from its body. One feather landed perfectly on each of the far away monks. Their bodies then became engulfed in flames and the feathers disintegrated, but they didn't burn. The flames revitalized them, healing their injuries and returning them to life. The monks soon began to stand up, looking dazed and confused. May and Rina looked back and were stunned to see the monks back on their feet.

_"Like I said, Ho-Oh would be able to help them."_ Haruka said to May.

_"No kidding...that's amazing!"_ May replied in disbelief.

Rina quickly forgot about the monks, turning her attention back to Duke. "It's over, Duke! Now release all of the pokemon you stole from those monks!"

"Hmph. I guess I have no choice." Duke replied, glaring at Rina and May. "Too bad, with those pokemon we could have finally taken the Battle Frontier in Hoenn..." Duke held out his arm to access the launcher on his wrist, which had a release button for the slave collars.

"The Battle Frontier?" May wondered aloud.

Suddenly, a snap rang through the air and Ho-Oh squawked in surprised as a metal collar suddenly clamped around it's neck. Rather than releasing the enslaved pokemon, Duke pulled a fast one on the group. With one quick movement he had aimed the device at Ho-Oh and launched his final collar to enslave the legendary bird. Ho-Oh's three servants gasped and quickly stood up and Pippi, who had been standing nearby still, growled and charged electricity around her body.

"HEY! Let Ho-Oh go right now!" May yelled to Duke.

"See you there!" Duke replied, then pressed another button on the device. Duke vanished, and one by one each of the enslaved pokemon followed suit.

"-NO!-" Pippi cried out, launching herself toward Ho-Oh with a Volt Tackle. Ho-Oh vanished as well, just before she could break the collar.

"-HO-OH!-" Lugia, Suicune, Raikou, and Entei cried out in dismay.

"How did he even do that?!" May said in disbelief.

"It's a Teleport, he must have used that device to signal a distant psychic pokemon to teleport them all away!" Rina replied.

"Well we have to go after them! I didn't come this far just to watch Ho-Oh get enslaved by some jerk with a collar-launcher!"

"-You three, this girl is Ho-Oh's chosen one, correct?-" Lugia asked Suicune, Raikou, and Entei.

"-That is correct.-" Entei replied with a nod. "-She has passed the trials put forth by Ho-Oh.-"

"-I have no part in Ho-Oh's plans, and fully intend to return to my place at sea.-" Lugia said to them. "-But for now, I will lend you my assistance. Ho-Oh freed me and now I must return the favor. Inform your master.-"

"May, Lugia just said it plans to go with us until we free Ho-Oh." Rina said to May.

"Alright." May nodded, reaching for a pokeball for Lugia. "Then I guess the first place we should check is that Battle Frontier..."

* * *

Author's Notes: Making note, festivals might make for an interesting plot that doesn't revolve around pokemon battling and instead focuses on character development. Or something.

Sub note, festivals are a good excuse for pokemon battles.

Originally, I was going to have May battle and capture Ho-Oh this chapter. However, then I got the idea in my head of Duke capturing Ho-Oh with his last collar (Lugia, after being freed, was going to intervene originally) and making off with it plus all the pokemon belonging to the monks. The monks you might remember from Crystal, only I had five instead of three. Was going to have the other two have an Umbreon and Espeon, but then I realized that it clashed with how Flareon, Jolteon, and Vaporeon matched up with Entei, Raikou, and Suicune. So I just figured I'd give them a fighting pokemon instead, going with the typical monk stereotype of being barefisted brawlers in RPG's.

I don't plan to let May keep Lugia, if that wasn't already obvious. Though Lugia won't be the only legendary pokemon to leave May. That might not have been obvious, but knowing that you can probably guess which pokemon it will be.

On another note, you don't see Ho-Oh's ability to revive the dead being showcased much. Probably because that'd require something dies first. Or maybe that was just an ability meant to be alluded to rather than something it could actually do. Kinda like how Kyogre and Groudon are only ever shown to be able to affect the weather.

I keep forgetting Ashley and May have voices in their heads now. That'd be why Aisha was unusually silent last chapter incase anyone noticed. I forgot she was there...


	52. Chapter 49: Finding Jessica

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Forty Nine**

**Finding Jessica  
**

After their previous adventures, Ashley and Melany spent the rest of the day getting caught up on what they had each been up to. Melany also had to explain to Ashley who Jessica was. The next morning, at breakfast in the hotel restaurant, they discussed their next move.

"Well, we've got one of the dragons, but we still haven't found out what those pokemon thieves are up to here." Melany said to Ashley, taking a quick sip from her cup of tea. Both girls had stuck to a relatively simple breakfast consisting of a bowl of cereal each and Melany's usual cup of tea.

"The only way we're going to find out anything is if we can get Jessica to talk somehow." Ashley replied. She looked down at the bowl of cereal that was in front of her, idly swirling her spoon through it.

"Well, Latias wants me to take her to some island to get some gem or something. So I guess I'll be doing that..."

"So that's it, huh? Some pretty red head comes by dressed like a waitress and I get dropped like a bad habit?"

_"Not this again..."_ Melany thought, rolling her eyes. _"Well two can play at that game..."_

"She's also much cuter, better hairstyle, and has a larger bust." Melany shot back.

"WHAT?!" Ashley cried out. Melany's response had caught her completely by surprise.

_"Wow, she got you pretty good there."_ Aisha said to Ashley. _"I have to admit, there certainly is something...endearing about the new Latias."_

"Mine might not be big, but they're still a modest size!" Ashley shot back, getting up from the table. However, rather than looking mad, she had a sly grin on her face. "Oh, just you wait, mister! Tonight, I'll change your mind for sure!" Ashley then walked away from the table without another word and left the hotel.

"Great...something else to look forward to. She never did say what she plans to do today though." Melany thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Whatever, we've both done our fair share of slacking off so I'm sure she'll figure out something. I'll just worry about getting that gem for Latias..."

Melany quickly finished off her tea. When she set the cup back down she noticed that Ashley still had some cereal left in her bowl. Deciding Ashley probably wasn't coming back for the rest, Melany got up and left the restaurant as well.

* * *

_"So, you think Jessica will show up here?"_

_"I think she'll show up at whatever facility I go to, so I'm just choosing something simple."_ Ashley replied, looking up at the tower that stood before her. _"The Battle Tower is just one battle after another, with my pokemon getting healed after each battle. Kind of a tournament-style setup. I figure I can battle my way through it pretty easily."_

_"Hmm...makes sense. She didn't exactly get to finish that last battle with you, so she's probably going to be looking for another match."_ Aisha said in agreement. _"By the way, about what happened back there between you and Melany..."_

_"I know she was just trying to get back at me for the teasing, no harm done."_ Ashley thought in response, shrugging.

_"I already know that much."_ Aisha said. _"I'm more concerned with how you plan to get back at her."_

_"Oh? I suppose you peeked."_ Ashley thought, grinning slightly.

_"Don't you think that's going a bit far?"_ Aisha asked her.

_"Hmm? I don't see what the problem is..."_

_"No, I suppose you wouldn't."_ Aisha sighed, or at least a sound like a sigh echoed through Ashley's head. _"Nevermind then. Let's go."_

Ashley shrugged to herself and continued into the Battle Tower, then went up to the front desk to speak with the receptionist.

"Hi! I'd like to challenge the Battle Tower!" Ashley said to the receptionist.

"Fine. Give me the three pokemon you want to register." The receptionist replied in a bored-sounding tone.

"Well she certainly sounds friendly." Ashley thought. She took three pokeballs from her belt, then handed them over to the receptionist. The receptionist quickly scanned the three, handed them back to Ashley, and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard in front of her. The distinct ding of an elevator arriving sounded and the door behind the receptionist's desk opened.

"Go through that door, the elevator will take you to your designated battle room." The receptionist said to Ashley. Ashley nodded and hurried through the door and into the elevator, eager to move away from the receptionist. Once Ashley was inside, the doors shut and the elevator whirred to life and began to move through the tower.

"So, this Latias, you said she was 'new'. Why's that?" Ashley asked Aisha, figuring she had time to talk before the elevator arrived.

_"I am not sure why, but I can tell from my brief encounter with her that she is certainly not the same Latias from my time."_ Aisha explained. _"The Latias I knew wasn't so childish. I wouldn't say she was shy either, though perhaps a bit reclusive. She only revealed herself to Melany. Latias and Latios, as I recall, were near opposites in attitude. Latias chose to work alongside humans, while Latios regarded us as inferior."_

_"Wonder if Latios has changed any then. He sure doesn't sound pleasant to be around otherwise."_ Ashley thought.

The elevator soon came to a stop, and the doors opened with their distinct *ding*. Ashley stepped through the door to find herself in a battle arena, set up much like one in a gym. There was a dirt floor set up to withstand attacks such as Earthquake or Dig, giving trainers freedom to use whatever attack then wanted despite being indoors. Ashley quickly took her position at one end of the field, and found she already had an opponent waiting at the other side of the field.

"It's about time!" An impatient young girl said to her, holding a pokeball in her hand. "Let's get this over already! Breloom, I choose you!" The girl held out a pokeball and released Breloom, a grass pokemon with stubby arms, a long tail, and a mushroom-like head.

"If you say so." Ashley replied, drawing a pokeball from her belt. "Gengar, go!" The pokeball opened in Ashley's hand, releasing Gengar out onto the battlefield.

"This one will be a piece of cake! Breloom, start off with Spore!"

"Gengar, use Hypnosis!"

Breloom started to swing its tail around, but was caught by Gengar's Hypnosis attack in midswing. Breloom found itself drawn toward Gengar's eyes, which had the appearance of black and white spirals as the hypnotic energy waves took effect on Breloom. Soon, the grass pokemon fell over and collapsed into a deep sleep.

_"Ok, a lot of grass pokemon are usually poison-type too. So maybe I can get some extra punch from Dream Eater."_ Ashley thought. _"Not that it matters, we're going with that anyway!"_

"Gengar, attack Breloom with Dream Eater!" Gengar opened her mouth and gathered a purple orb within, which was formed from dreams being stolen from Breloom to inflict damage on it. Gengar then closed her mouth, chomping down on the dreams and absorbing them for energy.

"Grr! You're just lucky that Hypnosis attack didn't miss, or my Breloom would be kicking your Gengar's butt right now!" The girl shouted at Ashley.

"Yeah, right..." Ashley muttered under her breath. She could tell her opponent's pokemon was decently strong, but the trainer herself wasn't too skilled. "Gengar, attack with Shadow Ball!"

Gengar drew her hands back, cupping them together, and formed a ball of shadowstuff. She then brought her hands forward, firing the Shadow Ball attack at the sleeping Breloom. The ball smashed into Breloom and exploded, causing the grass pokemon to cry out in pain and then faint. In only two hits, Ashley had taken out the girl's first pokemon.

"Just you wait! My next pokemon will get you back!" The girl said to Ashley as she recalled her Breloom.

_"I'm sure it will..."_ Ashley thought, rolling her eyes. _"Somehow, I don't think I'll find much competition here..."_

* * *

Meanwhile, after leaving the restaurant, Melany found a secludded area where she could let Latias out of its pokeball. In pokemon form, Latias was able to carry Melany on her back as she flew toward the small island she wanted Melany to accompany her to. Even though Latias couldn't fly very fast with a passenger, it only took her around ten minutes to arrive at the island and set down.

"So this is where you and Latios live?" Melany asked, looking around the barren island. There was little there but sand, a few trees, and a hole in the ground. The island looked as though it could be a typical deserted island out of a movie.

_"Yep! We live in an underground cave in that hole!"_ Latias replied telepathically. _"We usually have the hole blocked but we were kinda...umm..."_

"I know, you were collared." Melany said, glancing over at Latias. "So is..." She stopped and blinked as she saw Latias begin to shift forms, changing from her dragon-type pokemon form into a waitress with crazy red hair. Once the transformation was complete, she noticed Melany looking at her and smiled sheepishly.

"Why did you change forms?" Melany asked her.

"I prefer walking around like this." Latias replied.

"But...you..." Melany sighed and shook her head. "Nevermind, is that crystal or whatever in the hole then?"

"IT'S CALLED THE SOUL DEW!" Latias furiously corrected her.

"Right...Soul Dew..." Melany scratched the back of her head. _"What an odd name for a gem..."_

"It's stored at the far end of the cave." Latias then explained in a more calm manner.

"Why did you two choose this island anyway? I mean, it looks like it could get washed away at any minute." Melany asked her, shivering at the thought of a giant wave crashing over the island while she was still there.

"I never thought about that...but we've always been here." Latias replied, grinning widely. "It's got the best beaches!"

_"It's ALL beach!"_ Melany thought, her eye twitching slightly.

"Come on, let's go see the Soul Dew!" Latias said impatiently. She grabbed Melany's hand and dragged her off toward the hole in the ground, down the sloped entrance that lead into the island's underground. Neither of them noticed that someone else had followed them to the island and was observing from a distance.

Inside the cave, there was a short walk further down to a level tunnel. The cave was dark, there was no light at all save for a soft purple glow straight ahead of them. The glow came from an orb up ahead, half purple and half pale pink. Latias lead Melany to the orb and stopped in front of it.

"So this is the Soul Dew?" Melany asked Latias as she observed the orb.

"That's right! This is it!" Latias made a dramatic gesture toward the Soul Dew. "The Soul Dew!"

_"I don't see what's so great about it."_ Melany thought.

Latias stared at the Soul Dew for a moment then looked back at Melany. "You have the Emerald with you, right? The Soul Dew wants to see it."

"I wasn't aware a crystal orb could..." Melany paused midsentence, remembering her own crystal, then shook her head. "Nevermind..." Melany reached back, grabbing the Emerald out of a side pouch on her backpack. The Emerald's green color was noticeably faded even in the dim light.

"OH NO! WHAT DID YOU DO TO IT?!" Latias shrieked, grabbing and pulling on her hair.

"Err...well..." Melany rubbed the back of her neck in embarassment. "Its power kinda got stolen from me by an enslaved Rayquaza..."

"EEK! Not good! NOT GOOD AT ALL!" Latias shrieked and started running around in circles. "Whatarewegonnadowhatarewegonna-" Not looking where she was going, Latias ran straight into the wall of the cave. "Owie..." She mumbled, then dropped to the ground with a thud.

_"Of all the legendary pokemon to be working with..."_ Melany shook her head sadly.

Latias quickly jumped back onto her feet and grabbed Melany by the shoulders. "We have to get that power back somehow!"

"Well if you have any ideas, I'm open to suggestion."

Latias thought for a moment then grinned. "I bet the Soul Dew will know something!" She turned to the Soul Dew briefly, then stepped to the side. "The Soul Dew said to hold the Emerald close to it."

"...Alright." Melany hesitantly replied before doing so. _"First a childish legendary pokemon, now a talking crystal orb that only Latias can hear. What next?"_ Melany wondered while she held the emerald near the Soul Dew. The Emerald soon began to emit a soft glow and some of its color was returned to it. It wasn't nearly as bright green or shiny as it used to be, but it wasn't faded now either. Once the glowing stopped, Melany retracted her hand and examined the Emerald closely.

_"What was that about?"_ Melany wondered. _"Odari? Hello? Anyone home?"_ She asked in her mind, expecting Odari might pick up on it and reply if she could speak again.

_"She won't be able to speak to you. Not until Rayquaza's power has been returned to the Emerald."_ Melany heard a soft, almost angelic voice. It was difficult to tell if the source was male or female. She looked around the dimly lit cave, but there was no one else around.

"Oh! You can hear it now too, can't you?" Latias asked Melany, grinning from ear to ear.

"It?" Melany blinked.

"The Soul Dew of course!"

_"Melany, if you wish to regain Rayquaza's power, you must either defeat Rayquaza and steal it back or free Rayquaza from their control so it may return the power willingly."_ The Soul Dew said to Melany, her Emerald blinking with each word.

_"Wait...are you talking to me through the Emerald somehow?"_ Melany asked it.

_"Yes. I can speak with the spirit contained within it as well, though she cannot speak to you. Rather unfortunate, as she seems to have a lot to say."_

_"I'm sure she does."_ Melany thought, rolling her eyes.

_"Regardless, it seems the final events dictated in the Sky Pillar prophecies will soon come to pass. I have full confidence in your victory in the final battle, but we cannot be lax all the same. For that reason, Latias and I shall accompany you as one."_

"WHAAAAAAAAAAA!!" Latias yelled, stepping back from the shock but then tripping and landing on her butt. "Owie..." She mumbled, rubbing her sore backside.

_"I guess Latias could hear all this too then..."_ Melany thought.

"But...but...is that really alright?" Latias asked the Soul Dew, whimpering timidly.

_"It will be fine, I assure you. It is not permanent, and so long as we are joined your power will be increased."_

"Hold up, just what do you know about this prophecy anyway?" Melany asked it. She already knew all about it, having seen the drawings on the Sky Pillar walls for herself. However, there was one thing about them that had always bugged her.

_"Ah, you want to know what the significance of it all is? Why such a conflict between trainers and those whom you see as only common criminals would be so important?"_

"...More or less, yeah. I don't suppose you know, do you?"

_"I have had some time to ponder this, yes."_ The Soul Dew replied. _"I believe the significance of the events portrayed is not evident in the prophecies themselves. Rather, those who originally wrote them knew these events were of some significance but didn't know to what extent."_

"W-wait...what prophecies are you two talking about?" Latias asked, looking back and forth between the two.

"The ones depicted in the Sky Pillar. So far each and every image depicted there has come true." Melany replied. "Which means that pretty soon me, Ashley, and May are going to go up against three evil individuals united under a fourth. Vito and Jessica seem to make up two of the lackeys, and whoever's ordering them around makes number four."

_"Precisely."_ The Soul Dew said. _"As to what these events mean, I believe it has more to do with the pokemon themselves that will be involved. The pokemon they are after, and the pokemon you have caught as well."_

"So then...it has something to do with the legendary pokemon?" Melany asked.

_"Yes. Never before have so many legendary pokemon been gathered in one place. Even when Odari, Aisha, and Haruka confronted Kyogre and Groudon in the past. Further, there is the issue of what you have been planning."_

"What I have been planning?" Melany blinked. "Wait! You don't mean..."

_"Yes. Odari has explained to me what you have been planning."_ The Soul Dew replied. _"I believe this gathering of trainers and pokemon will quite conveniently drop the necessary tools into your lap to follow through with your plans as well."_

Latias looked at Melany, tilting her head to the side. "Plans? What plans?" She asked her.

_"Would you like to explain them to her?"_ The Soul Dew asked.

Melany sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, I guess I was going to have to talk about them eventually..."

* * *

"Witness the awesome power of my water pokemon!" A young male trainer, dressed in a blue shirt and jeans, called out to Ashley. "Gyarados, attack with Hydro Pump!"

A large Gyarados, coiled on the battlefield like a snake, opened its mouth and sprayed a powerful stream of water at Ashley's Gengar. Gengar staggered back as the water struck her, but was still on her feet when Gyarados was finished.

"-Tsk. That was pretty weak, deary.-" Gengar said, snickering at it.

"All water pokemon, huh? Ok then! Gengar, return!" Ashley held out Gengar's pokeball and recalled her, then took another pokeball in her hand. "Witness the awesome power of a single electric pokemon! Jolteon, go!" She then called out, releasing Jolteon onto the field. "Jolteon, attack Gyarados with Thunderbolt!"

"-This won't take long.-" Jolteon said confidently as he gathered electricity across his fur. He fired it all in a single bolt, striking the towering serpent with a Thunderbolt attack. Gyarados cried out in pain and then collapsed, taken down in only a single attack. The trainer growled as he recalled his pokemon and took another pokeball in his hand.

"I won't stand for this insult to my beloved water pokemon! Take this! Cloyster!" The trainer called out, releasing a giant clamshell pokemon with spikes covering its body. It landed flat on the field and opened up, revealing a black sphere inside that served as its face.

_"This definitely isn't going to take long..."_ Ashley thought.

_"On the bright side, this means it'll be easier to find Jessica if she's here."_ Aisha said.

* * *

"That's..." Latias blinked. "C-can you really do something like that?!"

"Theoretically...the Soul Dew seems to agree that it's possible too." Melany replied, grinning sheepishly. "I'm not even sure where to start though. I mean, my dad definitely isn't going to be willing to lend me any money at this point. Especially that much..."

"How ARE you going to do it then?" Latias asked.

Melany shrugged. "It'll work out somehow I guess. Anyway, we should probably get going now if we're done here."

_"Yes. But be careful, I sense there is danger nearby."_ The Soul Dew cautioned them.

Latias carefully took the Soul Dew in her hand. She yelped in surprise as it suddenly melded into her and vanished. She could feel the Soul Dew's energy running through her, strengthening her. "Ooo..."

"Let's go, but stay behind me." Melany said to Latias. "The last thing we need is for someone to be waiting outside with a slave collar right now." Latias nodded in agreement and followed behind Melany as the two left the cave.

"Melany...I can sense Latios nearby..." Latias whispered to her as they neared the hole.

"Jessica's probably here too then. That figures." Melany muttered. They moved forward at a quicker pace toward the light at the end of the tunnel. Once they were out of the hole and standing on the island again, Melany found herself face to face with Jessica while Latios was behind them. Latias quickly turned to face her enslaved brother, keeping her back to Melany's.

"I knew I'd find something interesting if I followed you here." Jessica said to Melany with a malevolent grin.

"Just what are you talking about?"

"The Soul Dew." Jessica replied. "Latios here was quite willing to tell me all about it when we followed you here."

"It's because of that stupid collar!" Latias growled.

"Hmph. Well, too bad you left yourself open." Melany said to Jessica with a slight grin. Before Jessica could respond, Melany quickly grabbed a pokeball from her belt. "Armaldo, go!" Melany called out, releasing her prehistoric pokemon. Armaldo waved its claw-like arms around menacingly when it emerged, looking ready for a fight.

"I did nothing of the sort." Jessica replied, calmly adjusting her glasses. "Observe." Jessica brought her left arm forward, pointing a strange device at Armaldo. She pressed a button, and a collar fired from the device and wrapped around Armaldo's neck. "I was just waiting for you to do something stupid. Like sending out a pokemon."

_"Damn it! I walked right into that!"_ Melany thought, clenching her fists. Armaldo, now under Jessica's command, turned toward Melany with a blank expression. _"If Latias were to end up fighting Latios now..."_

"Latias, get out of here. Fly straight up into the air and keep your distance." Melany whispered.

"But...but what about you?"

"I can handle this if I don't have to worry about her catching you, now go." Latias gulped nervously and nodded. She quickly shifted into her pokemon form and took off, flying straight up into the air.

Jessica watched Latias fly away, out of range of her collar-launcher, and shook her head. "You must really have a..."

"Metagross! Regirock! Regice! Go!" Melany called out, holding two pokeballs in one hand and one in the other. She released Regice behind her to fend off Latios while Metagross and Regirock materialized between Melany and Armaldo.

"...death wish." Jessica chuckled and took aim at Melany's pokemon with her slave collar. "Suit yourself." Jessica fired two shots, launching a collar at Metagross and Regirock. The collars latched on tightly to each pokemon's head, despite not being big enough to close around them. "Anymore pokemon to give me while we're here? Certainly makes things much easier!" Jessica said with a grin.

"...Sorry, but aside from Armaldo you haven't caught any of my pokemon." Melany said with a smirk. Metagross and Regirock each reached up with one hand, grabbing the collars and tearing them off easily.

"Wh-what?! That's impossible!" Jessica growled. "No pokemon can resist the slave collars! They were even upgraded to make sure of that!"

"Seems that upgrade failed to account for one thing, since the collars still don't work on artificial pokemon." Melany said to Jessica. "You're not the first one to try to enslave Regirock and fail, seems he never saw fit to explain that little detail to you."

"D...damn it..." Jessica muttered. "Well I still have Latios and your Armaldo in addition to my own pokemon, we still have you outnumbered!"

"True enough." Melany replied with a shrug. "You do have eight pokemon, compared to my...seven." Melany smirked and held up her pokenav for Jessica to see. "That's an interesting device you have on your arm there, I wonder how it works?"

"...Don't think for a second that you've actually won." Jessica said to Melany, placing a hand on her collar-launcher. "Afterall..." Jessica smirked. "You're still down a pokemon." Jessica pressed a button on the device causing her, Latios, and Armaldo to vanish into thin air.

"...Things just go from bad to worse for me." Melany muttered to herself.

_"Melany! You did it!"_ Latias cheered telepathically, smiling as she dropped down from the sky next to her. Her smile faded when she saw the serious look on Melany's face. _"Melany?"_

"Well, it's true I chased her away but...now I'm down to five pokemon." Melany replied with a sigh. "Where'd she get that launcher-thing from anyway? I don't remember Vito having one."

_"Can't you just switch your..."_ Latias blinked. _"Oh..."_

"Right." Melany nodded, chuckling lightly. "Can't switch out Armaldo if I don't have Armaldo with me." Melany shrugged and turned to face Latias. "Well, I've got Metagross and the Regi's anyway, and they're all thankfully immune to those collars. Though this is going to be troublesome, as they could enslave a large number of pokemon very easily with those."

_"What do we do now?"_ Latias asked.

Melany shrugged. "Nothing left to do but to head back to the Battle Frontier I guess."

* * *

"No way! How did you beat my Tyranitar so easily!" The boy Ashley recently defeated growled.

"Cripping fighting-type weakness obviously." Ashley replied. Primeape was standing in front of her, pumping its arms and looking agitated in spite of it's recent victory. The boy kicked at the ground and took off out of Ashley's battle room.

"Why do I get all the sore losers?" Ashley wondered with a sigh. "Primeape, good job. Return." Ashley recalled Primeape and handed over her three pokeballs to an attendant. The attendant then placed her pokeballs in a machine on the wall to heal them.

_"Still no sign of Jessica, it seems."_ Aisha noted.

_"Wonder how many rounds we have left anyway?"_

"Your next and final match will be against the Salon Maiden Anabel herself." The attendant said to Ashley as she handed her pokeballs back to her. "Good luck." The attendant then took up her position on the side of the battlefield to watch the upcoming battle.

_"So much for finding Jessica then."_ Ashley thought with a sigh. _"Oh well."_

Ashley waited patiently until finally a girl with purple hair walked through and took her place at the opposite side of the battlefield.

"Greetings. You must be Ashley." The woman said to her. "I'm Anabel, I'm the Salon Maiden and I am in charge of running the Battle Tower."

"Well I hope you're a lot better than the rest of the trainers I faced to get here." Ashley said to her.

"Yes, I've heard the rumors about you." Anabel replied. "That you made it this far fighting only weak competition. But that is why I am here. I will test your abilities for myself."

"Don't you dare think for a second that I only got here because I fought weak trainers!" Ashley shot back, grabbing a pokeball from her belt. "I'm one of the strongest trainers in Kanto!"

"Is that so? Well, we'll see what you can do then." Anabel replied casually, taking a pokeball in her hand as well. "Alakazam, go!"

"Gengar, go!" Ashley and Anabel sent out their first pokemon, with a seemingly even match. On her side of the field, the ghost pokemon Gengar emerged. Gengar had the type advantage over the Alakazam that appeared on Anabel's side of the field, but being a poison type meant Alakazam could score strong attacks against Gengar as well.

"Gengar, start with Hypnosis!"

"Alakazam, attack Gengar with Psychic!"

Alakazam's eyes flashed as it focused its psychic power on Gengar, but its concentration wavered as Gengar started attacking with Hypnosis. The Alakazam, having expected to be able to attack faster than the ghost pokemon, fell victim to the attack and dropped to the ground fast asleep before it could even finish its own attack.

_"Her Gengar was faster than my Alakazam?"_ Anabel thought in disbelief. _"It must be quite strong then. Its no wonder she would breeze through those opponents so easily..."_

_"Off to a good start! Didn't even take a hit!"_ Ashley thought with a smirk. "Ok, Gengar, follow it up with a Curse!" Gengar brought her hands together, causing shadows to form around her. The shadows turned into a pin, which stabbed her through the chest and cut her health in half. The shadows then descended around the sleeping Alakazam, laying a powerful curse on it.

"Don't let up! Attack with Shadow Ball!" Ashley commanded. Gengar cupped her hands together again, grinning as she formed a ball of shadowstuff. With Alakazam still asleep, Gengar fired the ball across the gym with the proper angle to strike Alakazam in the chest. Alakazam grunted and slowly began to open its eyes.

_"This might be my only chance to attack."_ Anabel thought, realizing Curse would prevent Alakazam from properly recovering. "Alakazam, get up and attack with Psychic!"

"Gengar, finish this! Shadow Punch!" Alakazam floated back onto its feet, looking pretty exhausted thanks to Curse. It wasn't standing for long, though, before Gengar made a punching motion. An invisible fist smashed Alakazam in the jaw, knocking it flat again. This time, Alakazam wasn't getting back up, and Anabel quickly recalled it.

"Not bad. Your pokemon are quite strong." Anabel said to Ashley, taking another pokeball in her hand. "Let's see how you handle this one, then. Salamence, go!" Anabel called out, thrusting a pokeball toward the field and releasing a pokemon resembling a medieval dragon.

_"I'll stay on this one with Gengar."_ Ashley thought, taking out her pokedex to check Salamence's type while she called out an attack. "Gengar, attack with Hypnosis!"

"Salamence, take it down with a Crunch attack!"

Anabel's Salamence let out a roar and charged toward Gengar on foot. It hesitated briefly as Gengar attacked with Hypnosis, but managed to resist and kept going. Salamence closed in on Gengar and bit down hard on her side with its powerful jaws and then effortlessly threw her to the side. Gengar groaned in pain, barely able to fight after such a powerful attack.

_"Damn it...can't risk a Hypnosis with Gengar that weak."_ Ashley thought. _"Ok then, let's go out with a bang!"_

"Gengar, attack with Curse!" Shadows swirled around Gengar as she straightened up and brought her hands together. The shadows gathered in front of her, forming into a pin that stabbed through her. She fainted almost instantly, but then more shadows formed around Salamence and laid a powerful curse on it. Ashley then recalled Gengar and took another pokeball in her hand.

"Jolteon, go!" The pokeball opened in Ashley's hand and released Jolteon onto the field. Jolteon materialized only a few feet away from Salamence, giving him a good view of his opponent.

_"Well if nothing else, her Gengar is out of the way. Salamence has a surprise up its sleeve for her Jolteon too."_ Anabel thought. "Salamence, shake things up with an Earthquake!"

"Well, looks like my luck's running low a bit." Ashley thought upon hearing Anabel call out the attack. "Jolteon, attack Salamence with Thunderbolt!"

Salamence rose up on its hind legs, about to unleash a powerful Earthquake attack on Jolteon. A blast of lightning suddenly struck Salamence's underbelly, throwing it back across the field before it could attack. Salamence landed on its back but quickly rolled over, shaking it off despite being very exhausted by this point, and smashed the ground hard with its forelimbs. A shockwave was sent through the battlefield, causing the ground to crack and shake, jostling Jolteon around.

Jolteon took a hard hit from Salamence's Earthquake attack and was knocked flat for a moment, but eventually Jolteon was able to gather his energy and stand up. Salamence, meanwhile, collapsed shortly after. The curse placed on it by Gengar was still taking effect on it and drained the last of its health. Anabel recalled Salamence and placed the pokeball back on her belt, then took her final pokeball in hand.

"So it comes down to this. Snorlax, it is up to you now!" Anabel pressed the button on her pokeball and the heavyweight pokemon materialized in a sitting position on the field. The ground cracked slightly from the pokemon's immense weight.

"Jolteon, good job, but that's enough for now!" Ashley held out Jolteon's pokeball and recalled him. She then placed the pokeball back on her belt and took another one in her hand. "Primeape, this one's all your's! Go!" Ashley released her final pokemon to confront Snorlax, sending the ape-like fighting pokemon Primeape out onto the field.

_"A fighting-type pokemon. Seems I am at a disadvantage with my final pokemon."_ Anabel thought. _"My usual Belly Drum tactic likely won't work. My best chance is to go on a straight offensive and hope to overpower her Primeape."_

_"You know, come to think of it, I've run into a lot of Kanto pokemon. Two out of three of her pokemon alone are from Kanto!"_ Ashley thought.

_"These are 'Kanto' pokemon?"_ Aisha asked in a slightly confused tone. _"I fail to see how myself..."_

"Snorlax, strike from a distance with Shadow Ball."

"Primeape, move in and hit it hard with Cross Chop!"

Primeape let out an enraged shriek and charged across the battlefield while Snorlax stood up and cupped its clawed hands together. Snorlax formed a Shadowball and threw it at Primeape, hitting the fighting pokemon square in the face and knocking him over. Primeape quickly got up and closed the remaining gap between itself and Snorlax, then simultaneously made a karate chop with each hand in an x-shaped pattern across the front of Snorlax's body. Snorlax growled and stumbled back, dropping back onto the ground.

"You got too close without thinking! Snorlax, Body Slam!" Snorlax quickly stood up and then crouched down, getting ready to jump.

"I don't think so! Primeape, Seismic Toss!" Snorlax jumped straight up into the air, though barely making it's own height off the ground. Primeape followed suit, grabbing Snorlax while it was still in the air. Primeape then spun around and threw Snorlax across the field while they were falling back to the ground. Primeape landed on its feet, while Snorlax skidded painfully across the cracked field and landed on its stomach.

"Ok, now finish this! Cross Chop!" Primeape quickly turned and moved to attack again. As he approached Snorlax, he jumped clear over it to land near Snorlax's head. He then turned and delivered a powerful Cross Chop attack to the back of Snorlax's head. Snorlax didn't even cry out in pain, the pokemon was simply knocked out immediately. Anabel let out a sigh and recalled her pokemon.

"You greatly outperformed me in that match. I can see you are indeed talented as a trainer." Anabel said to Ashley. "There is not much else to be said. The attendant will provide you with your badge." Anabel then turned and left through the same door she had arrived from earlier.

"Didn't even give me the chance to say anything really. Oh well." Ashley shrugged and took Primeape's pokeball in her hand. "Primeape, good job. You can take a break now." She said, recalling Primeape and placing the pokeball back on her belt. The attendant, who had been standing off to the side, then approached Ashley and held out a badge to her.

"This is the Ability Symbol." The attendant said as Ashley took the badge in her hand. "It shows that you have proven your capabilities in the Battle Tower."

"Thanks." Ashley replied, pocketing the badge.

_"So what now?"_ Aisha asked Ashley.

_"I don't know, I guess Jessica wasn't here at all."_ Ashley replied. _"We'll just have to search elsewhere on the island."_ Ashley then headed for the elevator, making her way out of the Battle Tower.

Meanwhile, off the island's coast, a pair of dragons flew toward the island, carrying Rina and May toward the Battle Frontier.

* * *

Author's Notes: Had to change Anabel's team slightly so she wouldn't have any legendary pokemon. Trying to keep each legendary pokemon that appears unique, even if they supposedly exists in herds and such in the wild. Might change that in future sagas, might not. For now though, that's the rule I'm going by.

You know, I have no idea what I'm doing next chapter. Well, I wouldn't say "no" idea, but only vague ideas at most. Will have to do some thinking on this one and figure out what else I want done before we reach the end. Maybe just dedicate the next chapter entirely to May and Rina's visit to the Battle Frontier and either not meeting up with Melany and Ashley until the end or until the next chapter. We'll see...

Also, as an aside, anyone think I should start up a forum? Feel free to PM me with your opinion. Just something I've been thinking about lately. Also, what Melany has been planning will be something that will tie the series together (and future sagas I do) as a whole. It'll start small, but be fairly big and actually have a discernable prescence by the end of the Johto saga. What that is will be revealed in a chapter or two anyway and be fully elaborated on/set up at the end of this saga.

Originally had this chapter called "Scuffle for the Soul Dew", but realized that was essentially naming it for a quick and minor event in the story. Jessica was more of an overall focus this chapter anyway.


	53. Chapter 50: The Pyramid and the Palace

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Fifty**

**The Pyramid and The Palace**

"WHADDYA MEAN I'M NOT ON THE LIST!? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?!"

"M-May...maybe you should calm down a bit..."

"I AM CALM!" May yelled back at Rina, startling Pippi and sending her running behind Rina's leg.

"-She's scary when she's mad...-" Pippi whimpered.

May and Rina left Johto after their failed attempt to catch Ho-Oh and flew straight to the Battle Frontier in Hoenn, stopping only to rest when necessary along the way. Upon arriving at the Battle Frontier, however, they found themselves unable to gain entry. The Battle Frontier adheres to a policy of only allowing the best trainers, and May was enraged to discover her name wasn't on that list.

"I'm sorry, miss, but there's no one named May Maple on the list of invited trainers." The Battle Frontier's receptionist said to May. "Only trainers invited to the Battle Frontier or meeting a specific set of requirements, including completion of the three Battle Tents in Hoenn, are allowed inside."

"BUT I'M THE-"

"Whoa now! What's all the commotion out here?" Scott asked as he stepped out into the reception hall. May shot him a look of seething hatred, even though she had long forgotten who he was. "H-hey! Save that ferocity for the pokemon battles!" Scott said, backing away from her. "What seems to be the problem here anyway?"

"She keeps telling me I'm not on the list of invited trainers!" May said to Scott while pointing at the receptionist.

"Well of course you're not, we haven't been able to get in touch with you!"

"You haven't...what?"

"We've been trying to call you on your pokenav, but you've been out of service range for quite a while now." Scott explained. "Don't really think we'd forget to invite the new regional champion to try out our facilities, do you?"

_"That must have been when she was in Kanto and Johto."_ Rina thought, remembering May said she left Hoenn shortly after becoming champion.

"Wait! How do you even have my number?" May asked, peering at him in suspicion.

"Don't you remember? You gave it to me!"

"I did?" May blinked and thought back. Her eyes fell on Scott's shirt and she remembered almost immediately. "Oh yeah...you were there that time me and...Alex battled."

"That's right." Scott replied, nodding to her. "You two can go inside, we'll make sure you get added to the database."

"Glad that went well..." Rina said, sighing in relief.

"-I thought she'd hit the receptionist for sure...-"

"By the way, Alex is actually here too." Scott said to May. "Showed up early yesterday actually."

"What?" May twitched.

"Yeah, he showed up with a new girlfriend. I think her name was Ashley." Scott chuckled lightly. "You know, I would have figured he'd show up with you if he was going to be with a girl."

"Ashley?!" Rina asked in disbelief.

May growled and Rina let out a surprised yelp as May grabbed her by the hand and dragged her into the Battle Frontier. "Come on! We're going!"

"I...I don't get a say in this, do I?" Rina asked, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable being with May. Pippi cautiously followed behind them.

"Man, I'm sensing there's some bad blood between May and Alex." Scott said, scratching the side of his head. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything..."

* * *

"May! Wait! Why are you in such a hurry all of a sudden?!" Rina asked her. May finally let go of her and swiftly turned around.

"Alex isn't even a guy! He's a girl dressed up as a guy!" May said to Rina, looking quite upset by this. "I actually fell for 'him' once, after travelling with her all around Hoenn without ever suspecting a thing..."

"Oh..." Rina blinked. "Wait! You don't think Ashley fell for that too, do you?!"

"Ashley?"

"His...girlfriend...umm..." Rina shook her head. "Nevermind...I don't think Ashley would come here anyway, though she is supposed to be in Hoenn..."

"...I don't get it though, I mean she kinda...flirted with me but I don't think she really planned to go beyond that. But I won't stand by while she tricks some girl like that!"

"But what if she knows and...well..." Rina trailed off, figuring May would get what she was saying.

"You...you don't mean..." May blinked, but then quickly shook her head and still looked pissed. "Either way, I'm not going to stand by and take this! I'm going to find 'Alex' and I'm going to sock him one!" May then stomped off on her own, heading further into the Battle Frontier.

Pippi tugged on the leg of Rina's pants and looked up at her. "-Umm...Rina? I'm confused...-"

"That makes two of us..." Rina replied with a sigh. "I think she forgot why we came here in the first place, so I guess it's up to us Pippi!" Looking determined, Rina clenched a fist. "We'll explore the Battle Frontier and find out where these hunters are hiding! And we'll start..." Rina pointed toward a large pyramid looming in the distance. "THERE!"

"-There? Why there?-" Pippi asked, tilting her head to the side.

"It's the biggest building in sight, and thus the easiest place for them to hide a secret base or something." Rina said to her. "So let's go check it out!" Pippi nodded in agreement and followed Rina as she set off toward the Battle Pyramid.

* * *

Shortly after leaving Rina behind to explore the Battle Frontier on her own, May arrived at a tall palace near the coast and stopped outside.

_"Melany probably just came here to battle or show off, so I bet she's in one of these buildings!" _May thought.

_"You know, it's possible she's here for the same reason you are."_ Haruka said to her. _"I know all too well her connection to the legendary pokemon. If she had any reason to believe Duke and his allies were at work here, then she would undoubtedly come here as well."_

_"But WHY as Alex? There's no excusing that!"_ May thought angrily, clenching her fist tightly. _"And when I find her I'll make sure she knows that too!"_

_"And what makes you so sure she's here?"_

_"I won't know until I check!"_ May shot back.

_"Alright then."_ Haruka replied with an audible sigh. _"Do what you will, I won't stop you."_

May stormed into the palace and took a quick look around the lobby. There was a PC set up for switching pokemon and a noticeable royalty motif. The walls were red with gold trims and the floor was covered in purple tile. Not seeing Melany, or her Alex persona, anywhere in sight, she approached the receptionist desk.

"Hey! Can you tell me if anyone by the name of Alex has challenged this facility?" May asked the receptionist, an old man.

"We do not provide that information, young lady." The old man replied.

"Of course it wouldn't be that easy." May thought bitterly. "Ok then, I'd like to challenge the Battle Palance in that case!"

"Very well. Please hand over your pokemon and choose three to be registered. You may retrieve the rest after you have completed your challenge." May nodded and handed over her pokeballs to the man, indicating to him which three she wanted to keep with her for the challenge.

"The rules of the Battle Palace couldn't be any simpler." The old man explained as he registered May's pokemon. "Your pokemon will do all of the battling on their own, without any input from the trainer."

"W-wait, you mean I don't give them commands here?!" May asked in disbelief.

"No, your pokemon will act entirely on their own. It is a test of the bond between you and your pokemon." The old man explained. Finished registering May's three pokeballs in his computer, he handed them back to May. "Follow me, young lady."

The receptionist opened a door on the far wall and stepped through into small courtyard. Water flowed from fountains off to the side and a small garden was planted near each. Continuing through the courtyard, they passed through another door to finally reach the battlefield. The battlefield consisted of two platforms at either end of the room for the trainer to stand on, and a red arena in the middle of the room. The field and the trainer's platforms were separated by shallow water.

"This is the battle area. You will send your pokemon out onto that platform from here." The old man explained, gesturing to the battlefield. "This reinforces the idea of the trainer and pokemon being separated. The trainer must trust in their pokemon's ability to win without their help."

_"Shouldn't be too hard."_ May thought.

_"Are you sure? Most pokemon don't strike me as being too bright on their own."_ Haruka said to her.

_"Smart or not, they'll still give it their best."_ May replied with a shrug.

"Your first opponent approaches." The old man said to May. On the opposite side of the field, a young boy entered the arena.

"Ok! My pokemon's going to win this for me!" The boy declared, holding out a pokeball as he got into position.

"Yeah right!" May shot back, taking a pokeball in her hand as well. "Let's see it try! Heracross, go!"

"Linoone, I'm counting on you!"

The two trainers aimed their pokeballs toward the field and pressed the buttons to open them. A red beam fired from each, materializing into their respective pokemon on the distant battlefield. Heracross eyed her opponent and slammed her fists together, itching for a fight. Around her waist she still wore her signature black belt.

"Heracross, the rules here are different! You'll have to fight on your own!" May called out to her pokemon.

"-Is that so? Well, makes no difference to me.-" Heracross shrugged.

"-You'll wish you had your trainer's guidance soon enough, insect! Observe!-" Linoone took off running while relaxing its muscles. Soon enough, it was running in a square pattern around Heracross and moving almost too quickly to be followed.

"-Tricks like that aren't going to get you anywhere.-" Heracross bent down and stuck out her horn. Linoone didn't notice the horn until it was too late and smashed into it at full speed after making another corner. Heracross then slammed Linoone with her horn again, making sure it stayed down and leaving Linoone in a daze.

"-And this is the part where I win.-" Heracross raised one hand over her head and then brought it down on top of Linoone in a chopping motion. Linoone yelped as Heracross' strong fist smashed its back and then dropped to the floor, unconscious.

"No way! I can't believe you beat my Linoone so easily!" The boy yelled in disbelief. He recalled his Linoone and then took out another pokeball. "Well you won't beat this one so easily."

May rolled her eyes. _"Somehow, I'm not expecting any challenge from him."_

* * *

"Now that I think about it, if Ashley was in Hoenn looking for Duke then there's a good chance she could have made her way here too." Rina thought to herself. "I wonder if Ashley would have thought to check the Battle Pyramid then? Maybe she came here with that Alex...person because they had some connection?"

"Miss?" The voice of one of the Battle Pyramid receptionists snapped Rina out of her thoughts. "I will need your bag as well. You may only use items you find on your way through the pyramid."

"Right! Sorry!" Rina quickly took off her backpack and handed it over to the receptionist. She had already handed over three pokeballs, Pippi's included, to register her pokemon for the challenge. The receptionist then handed Rina another backpack with the image of the Brave Symbol on the back, which was the symbol of the Battle Pyramid. There were a few items already inside to help Rina out.

"Good luck, and watch out for the wild pokemon!" The receptionist then ushered Rina through a door and into the Battle Pyramid. The inside of the pyramid maintained the appearance and theme of an ancient egyptian pyramid, aside from the lighting.

"Well this doesn't look like it'll be so hard...but what wild pokemon was she talking about?" Rina looked down the three paths immediately available to her. Considering her options for a moment, she decided to take the left path. She didn't get far before there was another turn in the path, though her current path continued on past it. She decided to keep going straight, but heard a noise behind her once she passed by the opening. Turning around, she spotted a yellow and black striped pokemon that was roughly a foot shorter than she was.

"-Come on! Get out your pokemon! Let's fight!-" The pokemon growled, slamming its fists together and producing sparks.

"Why would I do that?" Rina asked, tilting her head to the side. The pokemon blinked in disbelief and its hands dropped to its sides.

"-You...understood that?-" It asked. Rina nodded. "-Bah! Well still! Get your pokemon out so I can fight!-"

"Hmm...so this place has wild pokemon, but they're not allowed to attack humans it seems. Only their pokemon." Rina said thoughtfully.

"-Yeah, so?-"

"Later!" Rina turned around and took off running, leaving the electric pokemon in the dust. The pokemon blinked several times, taking several moments to realize what had happened.

"-Damn it!-" The pokemon grumbled and snapped its fingers.

"Hehehe! If all this place has is 'trained' wild pokemon, I won't have any trouble looking around!" Rina said to herself meanwhile, finally coming to a stop when she was sure she had lost the pokemon. "I won't have to worry about my pokemon getting worn out at least."

* * *

_"I wonder if Melany's back yet?"_ Ashley thought, standing outside the Battle Tower. She took her cellphone out of her bag and checked the time. _"I was in there for about two hours...I'd be surprised if Melany was gone that long, she was just picking up a gem or something wasn't she?"_

"I think she's nearby. I can feel something...strange. Yet familiar." Aisha said.

"Really? I didn't think you had a Melany-detector..." Ashley looked around and soon spotted Melany. Or rather, she spotted Latias' hair past a nearby crowd and assumed Melany would be with her. "Alex! Over here!" Ashley called out. The hair turned around a few times, as if looking for her, but soon was coming her way. Melany and Latias emerged from the crowd and approached Ashley.

"Hey Ashley, any luck?" Melany asked her.

"Not a thing..." Ashley replied, shaking her head.

"Well, Jessica turned up on that island." Melany said, quickly looking around at the passing crowds. "She followed us there apparently."

"And she took one of Melany's pokemon!" Latias said worriedly.

"Latias...it's Alex while we're in public." Melany whispered to her.

"Oh, right, sorry..." Latias covered her mouth.

"She took one of your pokemon!? You mean, like, with a slave collar?" Ashley asked in disbelief.

_"Sounds like she could have used some help."_ Aisha noted.

"She caught me off guard and snatched Armaldo, but I was able to chase her off with my other pokemon." Melany replied. "The real issue is she had a new toy, some kind of arm-mounted launching device with a built in teleporter."

"Arm-mounted launching device? I think Aqua had something like that."

"Who?"

"One of the hunters from back in Kanto. She was testing it in the Safari Zone now that I think about it." Ashley replied, thinking back to her battle with the hunter. "She used it to mass-enslave a herd of Tauros, but one of my weaker pokemon at the time caught her off guard and I managed to free them all. There's a release button on the device too if its still the same."

"We'll have to be careful of that, then. They can easily enslave our own pokemon with a device like that."

"Right." Ashley nodded in agreement. "What now, then?"

"Well..." Melany sighed. "Despite these repeat encounters, we still have no idea what they're doing here or where they're hiding. So we keep looking I guess..."

"Oh...I was hoping we could go back to the hotel room..." Ashley replied with a mock pout.

"Wh-what?!" Melany stammered, her face turning red. "Hey! What are you planning anyway!"

"You'll see~!" Ashley replied with a giggle, then winked at her. "See you later, Alex!" Ashley turned and started to walk away.

"Ooo! So is she your girlfriend?" Latias asked Melany.

"Pretending to be...and taking it way, way, way too far..." Melany replied.

"Oh..."

"Why...why do you sound disappointed by that?" Melany asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I wanted to see a human mating ritual..." Latias replied, scuffing her foot across the ground. Melany was unable to muster up a direct response, her face turning an even deeper shade of red.

"Let's...let's just go already and try out one of the other facilities..."

"Ok!" Latias replied, nodding quickly. "We'll find them and get your Armaldo back!"

Latias and Melany then set off again as well, with Melany trying to hide her extremely red face.

* * *

Back in the Battle Palace, May had her Gardevoir out on the battlefield. Her opponent, an elderly gentleman, had released a Dustox to battle against her.

_"Gardevoir is smart enough to battle on her own as it is, so she can definitely win when she has a type advantage."_ May thought to herself.

"Dustox, give it your best." The gentleman said to his pokemon.

"-Psychic type or not, I won't lose!-" Dustox said to Gardevoir as it spread out its wings. "-Take this! Silver Wind!-" Dustox flapped its wings while releasing a silvery powder from its body. The powder swirled through the air, blowing toward Gardevoir, but Gardevoir vanished before the powder could hit her. "-HEY! No fair teleporting!-"

"-I shall not disappoint Lady May.-" Gardevoir said, reappearing behind Dustox. Dustox quickly turned to face her but then suddenly froze as a blue aura formed around it. "-Farewell.-" Gardevoir said quietly, closing her eyes and focusing. Even though she was facing away from Dustox, her telekinetic powers squeezed around it with perfect accuracy. Dustox let out a shrill cry but was silenced as Gardevoir slammed it into the floor.

"-You were far too weak.-" Gardevoir said calmly.

_"Between Heracross' ferocity, Gardevoir's intelligence, and Flygon's tenacity, I think I'll get through these battles just fine!"_ May thought, giddy at how easy she seemed to have it.

_"Wasn't there some other reason we were here?"_ Haruka asked her.

* * *

"This is creepy...I haven't seen any other trainers here." Rina said to herself as she continued to wander through the Battle Pyramid. "No secret doors or anything either though, or none that I noticed anyway. Maybe I was wrong about this place?" Rina stopped and looked around. "Still, I can't help but feel like something's going to jump out at me any second now..."

Passing through another corridor, Rina found herself in a wide open area that seemed as though it were set up for battle. It was the type of area where Rina would have expected to find a trainer, but instead the room was empty like a barren tomb. Completely square, each wall of the room had another corridor leading away.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen many more pokemon or items either. I wonder what's going on here?" Rina said to herself as she looked around, considering which route to take.

"Oh, is that another trainer I hear?" A male voice called out from the corridor straight ahead of her. An older boy then appeared from the corridor, followed closely behind by a frightening pokemon resembling a hell hound. The boy wore a coat over himself that concealed everything but his head.

"Who are you?" Rina asked him, then noticed a familiar black collar around the pokemon's neck and gasped. "That collar! You're one of them!"

"Yes indeed, you may call me Vito." Vito replied, grinning widely. "And you must be Rina. Or is it simply Melany again? It can be so hard to tell, you see, she does quite an excellent job at impersonating you and you're both as flat as a board."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Rina asked, blinking. _"And what does he mean by 'flat'? I thought my height was perfectly normal for someone my age!"_

"Oh? I suppose that settles that then, but it seems you haven't heard the news." Vito said to Rina, then reached up and flicked his hair back. "Of course, it hardly makes any difference, nor does it matter whether you are really Rina or Melany in disguise. Either way, it seems I'll be leaving here with more than I bargained for." Vito pointed to Rina. "Houndoom, attack!" The Houndoom standing next to Vito growled and charged toward her.

Rina fumbled briefly as she reached for a pokeball and quickly released a pokemon to defend herself. "Go! Whoever!" She called out, she was in too much of a hurry to check which one she grabbed. Fortunately for her, Sarge the Sandslash appeared to defend her. The Houndoom lunged, but Sarge swiped it aside with its massive claws.

"-What kind of pokemon would dare attack a defenseless human?!-" Sarge scolded the Houndroom. The Houndoom quickly got up and growled, at which point Sarge took notice of the collar around its neck. "-A slave collar...-"

"Sarge, you'll need to find a way to break that collar! I don't have Pippi with me!"

"-I see, but that Houndoom isn't likely to allow that to happen so easily.-" Sarge replied, swiping Houndoom away again as it lunged toward Sarge with the intent of biting him. "-I will likely have to knock it out first.-"

"Try all you want, you won't get it off." Vito said confidently. "Houndoom, disregard previous orders and attack her Sandslash with Flamethrower." Houndoom picked itself up off the ground and opened its mouth, spewing out a blast of flames at Sarge. Sarge crossed his claw-tipped hands in front of himself defensively and stood his ground as the flames struck him. The attack wasn't wide enough to pass Sarge's body, instead continually incinerating the front of him until Houndoom finally let up.

"Sarge, Swift! Then follow up with Slash!" Sarge made a slashing motion toward the Houndroom, hitting the fire pokemon with a barrage of star shaped rays. Houndoom recoiled from the attack, leaving it open long enough for Sarge to move in and swipe it across the face with his large claws. Houndoom yelped in pain and fell to the ground, knocked out by Sarge's final attack. Sarge then quickly bent down and ripped the collar in two with his powerful hands.

"Now tell us where your hideout is!" Rina demanded. "I know its in this pyramid somewhere now tell me where it is!"

"In this...pyramid?" Vito blinked several times in confusion, but then chuckled to himself. "Of course...seems they took the bait afterall." He thought.

"I'm afraid you won't find it here." Vito replied with a smirk. "Our hideout is in another facility."

"Well which one is it!?" Rina asked in an agitated tone.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, but you'll find out where our hideout is soon enough. Afterall..." Vito tossed back his coat, revealing the launcher on his wrist. With the push of a button, he fired a collar at Sarge and in the blink of an eye the collar wrapped around Sarge's neck and had him under Vito's control. "...you'll be coming with me!"

"SARGE!" Rina cried out. "You...you won't get away with this!"

"Won't I?" Vito stepped aside and whistled. Two Shiftry, a Mawile, a Breloom, and a Skarmory appeared from the corridor behind him. "I'm afraid I've got you quite outnumbered, since you only have two pokemon now." Vito patted the launcher on his arm. "And, of course, I've still got this...and three shots left."

"D-damn...what do I..." Rina thought for a moment and then quickly turned and ran back down the corridor she arrived from.

"Hahaha...she doesn't really think she can escape, does she?" Vito said, chuckling to himself. The recently freed Houndoom that was knocked out by Sarge began to stir, but Vito calmly fired another collar at it to enslave it again. "Two collars remaining, enough to take her pokemon from her." He said to himself, then snapped his fingers and pointed down the corridor. "All of you, go. After that girl." The enslaved pokemon nodded and gave chase down the corridor. Vito calmly followed behind them.

Vito and the enslaved pokemon followed the corridor to a flight of stairs and went down to the next level. Eventually, after following behind her at a distance for several minutes, the enslaved pokemon managed to trap Rina at a dead end in one of the corridors. Vito pushed past the enslaved pokemon to see her while Rina was facing away from them.

"Hahaha...seems you've taken a wrong turn, girl." Vito said, mocking her. Rina turned, grinning in response.

"Nope, not at all!" Rina replied. Vito then heard movement behind him. Looking back, he saw more of the pyramid's wild pokemon piling into the corridor behind them. Several electric pokemon, including Electabuzz, Pikachu, and Plusle and Minun, were among those pokemon as well as another Breloom and an Electrode.

"Gaining their trust is easy when you can understand what they're saying, and they weren't too happy when I told them what you did to their friends." Rina said to Vito.

"Wh-what?! When did you have time for this!?" Vito asked in disbelief.

"I only had to tell a few, they spread the word themselves." Rina replied. "Ok, you guys know what to do!" The group of pokemon attacked quickly, dousing the pokemon Vito had enslaved in powerful jolts of electricity and aiming specifically for the collars around their necks. Though largely ineffective, many of the pokemon were paralyzed on the spot and the collar on Houndoom was once again broken.

The Electabuzz and Breloom then moved into the group of pokemon. With most of them already enslaved, there wasn't much resistance as the two delivered powerful punches to the shocked collars. One by one, the enslaved pokemon were freed, including Sarge. Once the collar around Sarge's neck was broken, he immediately reached out to a nearby Shiftry and snapped the collar that was around its neck as well. Finally, with only the Mawile remaining, the Pikachu performed a Volt Tackle attack to remove the final collar in the same way Pippi usually would.

"D...damn it..." Vito growled and turned back to Rina. "This isn't over, you!" He said to her, then quickly pressed a button on his launcher and disappeared in an instant. Once Vito was gone, Rina breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks for your help, I don't know what I would have done if you guys weren't here." Rina said to the gathered pokemon.

"-No sweat!-" The Electabuzz replied, slamming its fists together. "-No one messes with us and gets away with it!-"

"-I can't believe I allowed myself to be caught off guard so easily.-" Sarge muttered, shaking his head.

"Well I guess we're finished here then. I only came here because I was trying to find those guys." Rina took a pokeball from her belt and held it out. "Sarge, return!" The pokeball in her hand opened up, pulling Sarge back inside. Rina then placed the pokeball back on her belt.

"-Wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait!-" One of the pokemon, a Mawile, called out to Rina. "-You can understand us, right?-" The Mawile asked her.

"Err...yeah..." Rina replied, blinking.

"-Take me with you!-"

"Wh-what?! I can't do that!" Rina replied. "Wouldn't that be stealing? How would I even get you out?"

"-You could try asking Brandon?-" Mawile suggested with a shrug. "-He'd probably want to battle you though...-"

"Well...I guess I didn't have anything else planned really." Rina sighed and then shrugged. "Ok then, I'll go battle this Brandon guy and see if he'll let you go with me then..."

"-Woohoo! Alright!-" The Mawile cheered.

"-We'll show you the way there, then.-" The Electabuzz said to her. Rina, Mawile, and the rest of the pokemon then set off through the pyramid.

* * *

May, meanwhile, had progressed through the Battle Palace without any issues. Acting on their own, her pokemon were proving themselves to be a force to be reckoned with. Her Heracross would always go all out on her opponents, striking them with her strongest attacks. Gardevoir, playing smartly instead of going all-out, was managing to win every battle she was in and usually without taking any hits in the process.

Flygon was also proving himself quite capable on its own. Faced against an oposing Raichu, Flygon swiftly took it out by attacking upfront with its close ranged attacks. The Raichu defeated, its trainer recalled it and left the battlefield. Though she knew Flygon wasn't at its best and even ignoring some of its better attacks, May congratulated Flygon after the battle and recalled him. Then she turned to the old man to hand over her pokemon for healing.

May stifled a yawn. "Are we nearly done yet?" May asked the old man as he worked the machine. "Its boring just standing here and watching..."

"Hmm...that would be opponent number six you just defeated, correct?" The old man asked May.

"Umm..." May held up a hand and counted off on her fingers, then nodded. "Yep, that's six."

"This will be your final match, then. You will face the Palace Maven himself, Spenser." The old man explained.

May sighed in relief. "Finally..."

"I would not relax if I were you, his pokemon are very competant on their own." The old man said to May. "The bond between him and his pokemon is indeed strong, they will always give it their best." The old man then removed May's pokeballs from the wall-mounted healing device and handed them back to her.

_"All that means right now is he might actually be a challenge."_ May thought, smirking to herself.

_"Your overconfidence could be your downfall if you were calling the shots instead of your pokemon."_ Haruka cautioned her.

_"Whatever!"_ May shot back. _"They can handle themselves fine anyway."_

"Now, let great fanfare announce the arrival of the Palace Maven, Spenser!" Trumpets suddenly sounded throughout the arena, and on the opposite platform an Azurill and a Dusclops moved into the room. The Azurill moved to the far end of the platform from the entrance while Dusclops stopped near the door. A bald, old man with a long, white beard and carrying a staff soon followed and took up the usual trainer's position on the field.

"My physical being is with pokemon always!" Spenser declared to the two gathered across from him. "My heart beats as one with pokemon always! Young one of a trainer, do you believe in your pokemon? Can you believe them through and through? If your bonds of trust are frail, you will never beat my brethren!"

_"Well, I can certainly attest that she's trusting her pokemon completely right now."_ Haruka said dryly.

"The bond you share with your pokemon, prove it to me here!" Spenser took out a pokeball and held it in his hand, preparing for battle.

"Be careful what you wish for!" May called back, likewise taking a pokeball from her belt. "Heracross, you're up first! Go!" The pokeball opened, releasing Heracross out onto the field. Heracross slammed her fists together, already psyched for battle.

"Crobat, my friend, come forth!" Spenser called out, releasing his own pokemon onto the field. A four winged bat pokemon appeared hovering in the air before Heracross. Crobat attacked almost immediately when it appeared, spitting a poisonous substance at Heracross. The purple liquid burned into her skin and into her body, inflicting her with a powerful poison.

"-Ow...damn it! You'll regret that!-" Heracross charged toward Crobat and threw herself into the bat pokemon, tackling it to the ground with a Take Down attack and inflicting heavy damage on Crobat. Crobat struggled under Heracross' body until it managed to knock her off with a swipe of its wings. The pokemon then flew straight up into the air, high over the battlefield.

"-Damn it! Get down here!-" Heracross growled, stomping her feet. With the poison running through her body her Guts ability had been activated, causing her to become far more determined.

"-As you wish.-" Crobat said calmly, then dove down toward Heracross. It came out of its steep dive at the last second, smashing into Heracross from above but quickly flapping its wings to keep from hitting the ground. Heracross was knocked flat on the ground by the attack, taking a heavy blow. She quickly jumped back up on her feet and struck back, however, throwing herself into Crobat again and smashing her elbow into its face. Both pokemon were thrown to the ground by the attack and neither of them got back up again.

"Your pokemon fought well, but not well enough it seems." Spenser said to May as they both recalled their pokemon.

"Last I checked, that was a draw, pal! Your pokemon didn't win!" May shot back, then took another pokeball from her belt. "Gardevoir, go!"

"A draw won't win you this match." Spenser replied calmly, then held out a pokeball to release his next pokemon as well. "Slaking, it is your time to battle now!"

A red beam fired out onto each side of the field. Gardevoir materialized on May's side of the field, looking calm as usual. On Spenser's side, the powerful looking yet lazy, ape-like pokemon Slaking appeared and snorted at Gardevoir.

"-...There is zero chance of you winning this battle. It would be best for you to save yourself the trouble and just surrender.-" Gardevoir.

"-TOUGH WORDS, LADY! LET'S SEE YOU BACK THEM UP!-" Slaking cupped its hands together, forming a Shadow Ball attack. It threw the ball of shadowstuff at Gardevoir, but she used Teleport to move out of the way long before the attack had reached her and reappeared directly in front of Slaking and staring it in the eye.

"-As I said, you cannot win.-" Gardevoir said. Staring back at her, Slaking could see the swirling patterns in Gardevoir's eyes and felt itself becoming drowsy. It soon dropped to the ground and fell into a deep sleep. Gardevoir then hopped back a few feet and closed her eyes to begin meditating.

_"Gardevoir must be using Calm Mind now!"_ May thought, smiling to herself. _"Spenser's Slaking can't touch her, and once she's finished using Calm Mind she'll be able to beat whatever pokemon Spenser throws at her!"_

_"Seems likely."_ Haruka said to her. _"All we can do now is wait."_

May winced. _"Ugh! That's all we've BEEN doing!"_

After a short wait, though Gardevoir was still concentrating, Slaking began to stir. In her meditation, Gardevoir didn't seem to notice this and was left completely open as a result. Slaking slowly sat up and quickly cupped its hands together, forming a Shadow Ball attack and flinging it at Gardevoir. The attack struck her hard in the chest, knocking her to the floor and shaking her out of her concentration.

"-A cheap shot...it will be your only one.-" Gardevoir held out a hand toward Slaking and concentrated. A blue glow surrounded Slaking and it grunted in pain as it felt a powerful crushing force around its entire body. Gardevoir held her attack for several seconds before finally slamming Slaking into the ground and creating several cracks in the surface of the battlefield.

"-I realize that won't be enough to finish you, but this will.-" Keeping her hand stretched out toward Slaking, Gardevoir focused her psychic powers on it again. Slowly, she lifted Slaking off the ground while crushing it again. She then slammed Slaking into the ground to knock it out, further cracking the field. Spenser quickly recalled his pokemon.

"Your Gardevoir seems to share quite the bond with you. Not unusual. Such pokemon often bond quickly to a trainer they like." Spenser placed Slaking's pokeball on his belt and took another one in his hand. "It seems it is all up to you now, my friend. Arcanine, come fort!" The pokeball in Spenser's hand opened up, releasing the massive fire-type, canine pokemon onto his side of the battlefield.

"-I will not disappoint.-" Arcanine said calmly.

_"Arcanine...isn't that supposed to be some kind of legendary pokemon?" _May wondered.

_"It's not one I've ever heard of."_ Haruka said to her.

"-Your friend Slaking already sealed your fate.-" Gardevoir said to Arcanine, holding her hand out toward it. Before she could make her move, however, Arcanine suddenly shot across the field in a movement too fast for her to follow. She felt the impact before she even realized Arcanine was upon her. Arcanine plowed past her, knocking her to the side with Extremespeed.

"-Not bad...but not good enough.-" Gardevoir muttered, quickly rolling over to hold out a hand toward Arcanine. A blue aura surrounded Arcanine and lifted it into the air. Arcanine growled in pain as it felt a strong crushing force around its body. It was then suddenly hoisted further up into the air until it was slammed against the roof of the battlefield, at which point Gardevoir finally released it. Arcanine fell back to the ground and let out a yelp on impact, hitting the ground hard and collapsing. Gardevoir started to get up on her feet, but Arcanine soon did the same.

"-I won't go down so easily!-" Arcanine growled as it turned toward Gardevoir. It shot across the field again, using Extremespeed to smash through Gardevoir and knock her to the ground again. This time, she was down for the count, so May quickly recalled her. Arcanine came screeching to a halt just before reaching the end of the field and hitting the water.

_"Ok, I've still got Flygon left and Arcanine can't be in good shape after that Psychic attack. I've still got this!"_ May thought, taking her final pokeball in hand. "Flygon, go!" The pokeball opened up, releasing the dragonfly-like pokemon Flygon out onto the field.

"-Ok, I'll win this one too then.-" Flygon said to itself. Flygon flew across the field toward Arcanine, and Arcanine likewise started to move toward Flygon. Heat began to build up in Arcanine's body as it closed the gap between them and then, at nearly point-blank range, Arcanine released an explosion from its body. Fire engulfed Flygon and the powerful blast threw him back, sending him crashing into the ground. Flygon wasn't about to stay down, however, as he quickly hopped up off the ground and blasted Arcanine in return with a stream of blue flames across its side.

"-That all ya got?-" Arcanine growled as the blue flames burned across its side. But despite putting up a tough appearance, its labored breathing gave away just how exhausted it really was.

"-Oh I'm just...urgh!-" Arcanine suddenly shot into Flygon with an Extremespeed attack, knocking the dragon pokemon backwards through the air. It was a harsh blow, but Flygon was able to take advantage of the situation for itself. It quickly straightened out and turned to face Arcanine while only a few feet away, then shot past it. At first, nothing seemed to happen. But then Arcanine suddenly felt a sharp pain in its side and let out a yelp, then collapsed to the ground.

"-Don't interrupt me next time.-" Flygon said sternly.

"Now this is something else." Spenser said, chuckling to himself as he recalled Arcanine. "It seems I have lost. Your pokemon's eyes are truly clear and unclouded. I look forward to battling you again someday." Spenser then turned and slowly walked out of the arena. The Azurill and Dusclops, who had stood by idly all this time, followed behind him.

"Wait...that's it?" May asked, blinking in disbelief.

"If you mean is that the end of your challenge, then yes." The attendant said to May. "You should be proud of your pokemon, few are ever able to beat Spenser!"

_"He didn't seem that great to me..."_ May thought. She then turned to Flygon and held out his pokeball toward him. "Flygon, good job! Return!" A red beam shot out from the pokeball, then pulled Flygon back inside. May then placed the pokeball back on her belt.

"For your victory against Spenser, please accept this." The old man handed May a small golden badge. "It is the Spirits Symbol."

"Err...thanks?" May looked at the symbol curiously. She wasn't expecting to get a badge for her efforts.

"Now, please follow me back to the reception desk."

May shrugged and followed the old man, who lead her back through the palace toward the reception desk. _"Guess I'm finished here then, and with no sign of Melany anywhere. This feels like it was a complete waste."_

* * *

With Mawile still by her side, and the rest of the pokemon guiding her, Rina soon arrived at the final flight of stairs.

"-This is as far as we go.-" One of the pokemon said to Rina. "-We wouldn't be able to explain the situation to Brandon as easily as you could.-"

"Ok, thanks for your help then!" Rina said to the group, then turned and nodded to Mawile. "Ok, let's go!" Mawile nodded and followed behind Rina as she bounded up the steps, dragging her large rear jaw along behind her.

"Hey, Mawile, why do you want to leave the pyramid anyway?" Rina asked her.

"-Its boring around here. I figure life with a trainer has to be better than life at the pyramid.-" Mawile replied with a shrug.

They soon reached the top of the stairs and went through the open doorway. The room inside was at the very top of the pyramid with openings on each side, giving a view of the rest of the Battle Frontier. The area was set up like a typical battle arena and a man in a green outfit stood on the other side, waiting as if he were a gym leader expecting a trainer to arrive.

"So it seems a trainer has finally reached me here." The trainer, Brandon, said as Rina and Mawile arrived. He smiled to himself. "Tell me, was it exciting for you to explore the labyrinth that is the Battle Pyramid? To meet its inhabitants? To find the various hidden treasures?"

"Umm...actually, about that..." Rina gestured toward Mawile, who was standing next to her. "I ran into this Mawile here inside the pyramid and she wants to come with me..."

"I see. So you came all the way here to ask my permission?" Brandon asked her. Rina nodded in response and he chuckled to himself. "Very well. You may do so on one condition. You must defeat me in a 3 on 3 battle and use that Mawile as one of your three pokemon."

Rina blinked. "I was expecting the battle part but..." She looked over at Mawile. "Umm, what attacks do you know?"

Mawile shrugged. "-Only ones I can think of are Ice Beam, Crunch, and Toxic. They're the ones I've been told to use in the pyramid anyway.-"

_"Hrm? Can she understand them?"_ Brandon wondered, noticing Rina talking to Mawile.

_"That'll have to do I guess..."_ Rina thought, turning to face Brandon again. "Ok then, I accept!"

"Very well! Show me your best!" Brandon reached down and grabbed a pokeball from his belt. "Solrock, go!" He called out, releasing a sun-shaped rock pokemon out onto the field.

Rina quickly grabbed a pokeball from her belt as well and called out her pokemon. "Berg, I choose you!" A red beam shot out from her pokeball and materialized into Berg, the Blastoise. Berg quickly extended his water cannons when he appeared, readying himself for battle.

_"I don't know what that pokemon is, but its obviously a rock type. Maybe a fire and rock type?"_ Rina thought.

"-Rina! How do you plan to use me in battle?-" Mawile asked her.

"I don't know yet, I need to see his other pokemon first." Rina replied.

"Solrock, Sunny Day!"

"Berg, Water Gun!"

Berg targeted the floating, sun-shaped pokemon with his twin cannons and fired a quick spurt of water. The water hit Solrock in the face, stunning it briefly and pushing it back slightly. Solrock quickly shook it off and then began to glow. A bright light formed over the battlefield, increasing the temperature around it.

"Sunny Day? Is it using that to weaken Berg's attacks or does it know Solarbeam?" Rina wondered.

"Solrock, Solarbeam!" Brandon called out, giving Rina her answer.

"Berg, Rain Dance!" Berg moved from side to side in a sort of dance while Solrock began to gather light for its attack. What should have been a nearly instant charge for Solrock's attack took longer than expected as clouds formed over the battlefield, blocking out the light and releasing a downpour onto the two pokemon. When Berg was finished, Solrock was still charging.

_"Great! Its trapped now!"_ Rina thought, a slight smile on her face. "Berg, fire a Hydro Cannon attack at it while its still charging!" With his cannons trained on Solrock, Berg let loose with an extremely powerful water attack. Water sprayed out from his cannons in a wide burst, releasing far more water than it seemed they should be capable of. Two large streams of water struck Solrock simultaneously, pushing it across the field. It immediately stopped charging its attack as it was pushed through the air and was unconscious when it was finally released and dropped to the ground, just past Brandon.

"Interesting! Looks like you'll make this fun for me at any rate!" Brandon said to Rina. He pointed a pokeball back toward Solrock and recalled it. "Too bad you left your pokemon wide open for attack." He added as he took another pokeball in his hand. "Magneton, go! Attack her Blastoise with Thunder!"

The pokeball opened and released Magneton, an electric and steel pokemon consisting of three Magnemites fused together, out onto the field. As soon as it appeared, Magneton called down a bolt of electricity out of the storm clouds to strike Berg while he was still recharging. Berg growled in pain as the lightning bolt shot through his body and into the ground, inflicting a large amount of damage on him.

"-Damn...turned my own rain against me...-" Berg muttered under his breath.

"Berg, that's enough! Return!" Rina called out, recalling Berg. She contemplated using Mawile for a moment but realized Mawile didn't have any attacks that would be effective against Magneton. Instead, she decided to use the only other pokemon she had with her and took a pokeball in her hand. "Hiro, go!" She called out, releasing the fighting pokemon onto the field. Hiro sized up Magneton when he appeared and shrugged.

"-This won't take too long.-" Hiro said to himself.

"Hiro, attack Magneton with High Jump Kick!"

"Magneton, attack with Thunder again!"

Hiro charged across the field, his long legs allowing him to move rather quickly. At about halfway across the field he jumped high into the air and came down onto Magneton foot-first, delivering a powerful kick and knocking Magneton back. Magneton pushed back with its magnets to stop itself and then pointed them toward Hiro, calling down another lightning bolt from the clouds. Hiro grunted in pain as the powerful bolt shot through him, but quickly shook it off.

"Finish it with Brick Break, Hiro!" Hiro moved toward Magneton in a few quick strides and raised his hand back, then struck Magneton from above in a chopping motion. Magneton was smashed into the ground hard and remained still, seemingly defeated. Brandon could tell that wasn't the case. Standing only a few feet away, Brandon could see the pained look in Magneton's eyes. Though weak, it was still able to fight.

"Magneton, once more! Thunder!" Magneton pointed its magnets toward the clouds, calling down another lightning bolt to strike Hiro. Hiro yelled in pain as the Thunder attack passed through him but, because he was still standing over Magneton, both pokemon were struck by it. Magneton fainted, the look in its eyes going from pained to dazed, and Hiro fell to his knees in pain. Brandon then recalled Magneton and placed its pokeball back on his belt.

"No way! I thought I had it?" Rina said, blinking in disbelief.

"Close, but close doesn't count when it comes to pokemon." Brandon replied with a slight smirk. "Now comes my final pokemon." Brandon grabbed another pokeball. "Glaile, go!" Brandon called out, releasing his final pokemon. A red beam shot out from the pokeball and materialized into a floating snowball with a face resembling a demonic hockey mask.

_"What kind of pokemon is that? An ice type?"_ Rina wondered. "Mawile, looks like you'll get your chance to fight. I think this was the best we could hope for." Rina said to her. "I'll keep Hiro out for now, but I don't think he has much strength left." Mawile nodded in agreement and a wicked grin spread across her back set of jaws.

"Glaile, finish this one with with Ice Beam!"

"Hiro, Endure it!"

Two small blue rays fired out from the horns on the top of Glaile's body, colliding together and firing a single beam at Hiro. Hiro braced himself for the attack. The beam struck him in the chest and froze over briefly, then shattered. Hiro grunted in pain and dropped to the ground, but was able to withstand the attack.

"Strike back now with Brick Break!" Hiro quickly stood up and raised one hand back, summoning his strength to strike Glaile with a Brick Break attack. Hiro struck it in a chopping motion, sending Glaile reeling back, but the ice pokemon quickly shook it off.

"Glaile, finish it with another Ice Beam!" Twin rays fired out from Glaile's horns and fired at Hiro in a single beam. The beam struck Hiro, forming into a layer of ice that quickly shattered. Hiro grunted in pain and dropped to the ground, fainting almost instantaneously. Rina held out Hiro's pokeball and recalled him.

"Ok, Mawile, your turn now! Go!" Rina called out, pointing out toward the battlefield while looking over at Mawile. Mawile nodded and quickly rushed out to face Glaile. Before either trainer issued any commands, Mawile turned her back toward Glaile so her large rear jaw was facing it.

"Well its about time." Brandon said with a smirk. "Glaile, freeze it in place with Ice Beam!"

"Mawile, counter with Ice Beam!" Mawile's large jaw opened and fired an Ice Beam at the same time that Brandon's Glaile fired another one from its horns. The two beams collided midway and formed into a giant block of ice, cancelling each other out.

"Now use Toxic!" Rina called out next. Mawile spun around, flipping her large jaw behind her again to send a blob of purple poison flying toward Glaile. Glaile winced as the poison landed on its face and then burned into its body, sending the toxic substance coursing through it.

_"Interesting! Seems she's caught on quickly to Mawile's capabilities!"_ Brandon thought, chuckling quietly to himself. _"Of course, that could only be done if she was truly able to understand a pokemon's speech. Well, no holding back now then."_

"Glaile, attack with Earthquake!" Glaile slammed its body into the ground, sending a shockwave throughout the battlefield. The ground began to crack and shake, tossing Mawile around. She cried out in pain as parts of the battlefield would suddenly jut up and jab into her, and the ice block formed by their first round of battle cracked a fair bit at the base as it was subjected to the quake. The shaking eventually stopped and dropped the injured Mawile on her face. She slowly got back up, looking pretty beat up already, and shook it off.

_"Earthquake? That's not good!"_ Rina thought nervously. _"Mawile doesn't look like she can take another hit either, that Glaile must be pretty tough. Maybe there's a way we can avoid it..."_ Rina thought for a moment and managed to come up with an idea.

"Mawile, use Ice Beam to create a ramp onto that block and get on top of it!" Rina called out. Mawile blinked at the odd order but then shrugged.

"-I just hope you know what you're doing.-" Mawile opened her large jaw and fired an Ice Beam at the block of ice formed earlier. She angled the beam to form a ramp up and then ran toward it. She jumped head first toward the ramp, grabbing it with her jaw and then throwing herself on top of the ice block.

_"What does she plan to accomplish with that, I wonder?"_ Brandon thought. "Glaile, use Earthquake again and focus on that ice block!" Glaile slammed into the ground again, sending another shockwave throughout the battlefield. This time, the destruction was focused on the area around the ice block. The ground in that spot went through massive cracking and shifting and the ice block started to break apart.

"Mawile, jump off and attack Glaile with Crunch!" Mawile nodded and quickly ran to the edge of the ice block, jumping toward Glaile. She managed to make it off just as the ice crumbled under her. As she came down from her jump toward Glaile, she spun her large jaws around to clamp down hard on the pokemon's spherical body. Glaile cried out in pain as it was crushed in Mawile's powerful jaws, and then fell silent as the poison took its toll as well. Mawile released Glaile, who was then recalled by its trainer.

"Well done! I didn't expect you to actually beat a pokemon with that Mawile, I was expecting this might be more of a challenge for you with the handicap of having no prior experience with that pokemon." Brandon chuckled to himself and shrugged. "Guess not then. Though I'm sure it certainly helps that you can understand pokemon speech."

"Yeah, that definitely helps." Rina admitted quietly, rubbing the back of her head.

"Well, as promised that Mawile can go with you. I'll need to make the arrangements, of course, since no one's going to let you leave with her unless I'm there to say otherwise."

"-Woohoo! I'm finally out of here!-" Mawile cheered while doing a pirouette.

"You might as well take one of these too." Brandon reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gold badge. "Its the Brave Symbol, proof that you've beaten me."

_"I don't know what good the Brave Symbol is, but at least I'm not leaving here empty handed."_ Rina thought, smiling slightly. _"I might not have found a hidden base or anything like that, but I've caught a new pokemon and got that symbol!"_

* * *

"What good is this badge anyway? Is there some kind of Battle Frontier Elite Four?" May wondered, checking out her recently obtained Spirits Symbol after leaving the Battle Palace

"Hey, don't I know you?" May blinked and looked up. Standing a few feet in front of her was Ashley, who she met at One Island.

"You! You're the one that took forever to show up with that gem!"

"What? Hey! I didn't exactly know anyone was waiting for it!" Ashley shot back.

"You're the girl that came here with Alex too, aren't you?!" May demanded angrily.

"What? So what if I am?" Ashley asked, narrowing her eyes at May. _"What's with this kid?"_

_"I believe that would be May, bearer of the Sapphire." _Aisha explained. "She's...short tempered, to say the least. And can be a bit violent at times.

"Where is he?!"

"...You know, with that attitude, I don't really feel like telling you." Ashley replied in a stern tone.

"What?! Don't you know who he really is?!" May growled.

"I already know that, why?"

"Then you two..." May blinked a few times.

_"You know, Melany almost definitely has no interest in men, so that wouldn't be out there..."_ Haruka said to May.

May quickly shook her head and growled. "Fine! If you won't tell me where he is, then I challenge you to a battle."

_"This is getting beyond silly."_ Ashley thought. "Fine, have it your way." She said to May. _"Like I'm going to lose to someone like her."_

The two trainers each grabbed a pokeball from their belts, preparing for battle.

* * *

Author's Notes: Long chapter is long. Though I might have unlocked the secret to actually writing these things at a decent pace. Or at least, writing the ones that move around a lot. If I get stuck on one section, moving to another can get me back writing again apparently. Anyway...

So! Battle between Ashley and May next chapter. Probably not going to be a full battle, but probably 3 vs 3 minimum depending on what else I end up having going on. Though the battle will be the primary focus.

Oh yeah, forums are up now.

.net/forum/Pokemon_Legends_Series/61572/


	54. Chapter 51: Reunion in Battle

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Fifty One**

**Reunion in Battle**

"Ok, remember the plan?"

"Yep! I'll sneak in while you're battling and try to find clues!"

"Right."

"This feels so wrong though...are you sure its ok to be snooping around this place?"

"Latias...we're the good guys here." Melany replied sternly. "If we don't find where in the Battle Frontier these guys are hiding then we won't be able to put a stop to them, and meanwhile they're gaining in power."

"I know that but...isn't this going too far?" Latias asked, looking down at herself. Gone was her usual waitress outfit and red haired human form and instead she had taken the form of an older, brown-haired female attendant from the Battle Arena.

"It'll be fine. The real attendant is going to be at the battlefield the whole time, and no one's likely to immediately notice anything out of place if you're seen walking around given the number of battles that occur here and the number of attendants employed."

After her brief encounter with Ashley, Melany had decided it would be best to check out more of the facilities. With Latias accompanying her, Melany got the idea in her head to have Latias snooping around in the form of an attendant while she was battling. After registering for the Battle Arena, Melany feigned needing to go to the bathroom first and released Latias once inside so she could take the form of the attendant that had accompanied Melany to the field.

"Once I'm finished battling, duck into this bathroom again and take the form of a trainer and meet me outside."

"Ok, got it."

Melany then left the bathroom, peeking outside to make sure no one was around before Latias followed her out. The two then split up, with Melany heading off to the battlefield and Latias going to wander through the rest of the arena to find clues to the whereabouts of the hunters.

"You're back. I trust you found the bathroom on your own?" The real attendant asked Melany as she arrived back at her designated battlefield.

"Oh, yeah, no trouble at all." Melany replied with a light shrug as she took her place on the battlefield. On the opposite side of the field was a martial artist in an orange jumpsuit. The field itself was set up much like a dojo, with a wooden walkway leading up to the trainer's platform on either side and short grass covering the field.

"HA! You kept me waiting! I will make you regret that!" The other trainer said to her.

_"Unless he came up with some amazingly brilliant strategy while I was in the bathroom, I doubt that."_ Melany thought, rolling her eyes. She reached down with one hand, grabbing a pokeball from her belt. As with the Fallabor Battle Tent she had taken part in, her first pokemon would lead each battle with no chance of switching. It was something Melany kept in mind this time around.

"Metagross, go!"

"Hitmonchan! Go!"

The two trainers released their starting pokemon, with Melany releasing the four-legged steel behemoth Metagross onto the field to face her opponent's humanoid fighting pokemon. Seeing her competition, Melany smirked to herself.

_"Metagross should have an easy win here. Even if I don't knock out his Hitmonchan, I'll be able to inflict enough damage with a variety of techniques to get the points."_ Melany thought. _"Of course, thats why I chose Metagross as my lead. Not many pokemon will be able to stand up to it."_

The Battle Arena made use of a rather unique ruleset, wherein each match would be timed and would be a minute at most. After which, the trainers would be graded based on the three categories of body, skill, and mind. A trainer could still win, of course, if they knocked out their opponent's pokemon in that minute instead.

"HA! My Hitmonchan will bend your pathetic steel pokemon in two!" The other trainer said to Melany. "Hitmonchan, Mach Punch!" Hitmonchan made a punching motion and shot across the field and struck Metagross in the face. Metagross hardly moved from the impact.

_"You always meet the weirdest people at these things."_ Melany thought with a sigh. "Metagross, use Psychic and throw it back." Metagross' eyes flashed and a blue aura surrounded Hitmonchan. The fighting pokemon cried out in pain as it felt a psychic force crushing its body and was then thrown back across the field as Metagross ended the attack.

"Hitmonchan, finish this now! Fire Punch!" The other trainer called out, making a punching motion as he did. Hitmonchan quickly got up and ran across the field. He raised one fist back, which then became enveloped in flames. Hitmonchan stopped when he reached Metagross and punched the steel pokemon across the face. Metagross recoiled from the attack but easily shook off the relatively weak fire attack.

_"'Finish this'? He really expected that to be the end of the match?"_ Melany thought, blinking in disbelief and then letting out a sigh. "Metagross, 'finish this' with Meteor Mash..."

Metagross raised one metal fist back and punched Hitmonchan hard. Metagross flew across the field with Hitmonchan, its fist remaining connected to Hitmonchan's face the entire time and a fiery glow emanating from it. Nearing the opposite end of the field, Metagross dropped down to the ground hard while Hitmonchan kept going and eventually skidded to a stop at its trainer's feet. Unlike her opponent's order to "finish" the match, Hitmonchan really was knocked out.

"Wh-what?! No way! I can't lose like this!" The other trainer exclaimed in disbelief.

_"I think its safe to say I'll make it to the next round at least."_ Melany thought, shaking her head sadly. _"Isn't the Battle Frontier supposed to be a place for talented trainers...?"_

* * *

"Aron, go!"

"Venomoth, go!"

Meanwhile, the battle between Ashley and May was just getting underway as the two released their first pokemon. Deciding to take it easy for the first match, they each sent out a pokemon they had only caught recently. With Ashley sending out Aron, and May calling out Venomoth, many passerbys immediately recognized a battle was about to go down and cleared out of the area so they wouldn't get caught in the crossfire.

"-Wh...where...where am I?!-" Venomoth wondered as he glanced around nervously. As with May's encounter with him in Ilex Forest, Venomoth began releasing spores from its body in its nervousness. The spores made their way toward Aron first and landed on its body, paralyzing it.

"Ha! Bet you didn't see that one coming!" May said to Ashley.

"Cheap shot, having her pokemon ready with an attack as soon as its released." Ashley muttered to herself. "Aron, attack with Take Down and bring it to the ground!" Aron nodded. He took a step forward, shuddering as he felt the difficulty in moving his body. He managed to resist becoming fully paralyzed, though, and charged toward Venomoth. Jumping into the air, he threw himself into Venomoth and tackled the bug pokemon to the ground.

"-JUST WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!-" Venomoth cried out in confusion as he found himself under attack.

"-It's a pokemon battle. You seem to be new to this.-" Aron said to him. "-Allow me to explain. You take orders from a trainer and...-"

"-I KNOW WHAT A POKEMON BATTLE IS I WANT TO KNOW WHY I'M IN ONE!-" Venomoth shouted, furiously flapping his wings.

"Venomoth, attack and knock Aron off with Psybeam!"

"-Why should I...-" Venomoth looked back at May and saw the fiery determination in her eyes as she waited for him to attack. "-U...und...understood!-" Venomoth stuttered in response. Turning his eyes on Aron, he fired a beam of swirling colors and blasted the steel armored pokemon off of him. He then stood up and flapped his wings to lift off the ground. His body was no longer releasing spores unintentionally now that his focus was on the battle at hand.

"-This paralysis is a problem, so now seems to be as good a time as any.-" Aron said, nodding to himself. His body then began to glow and quickly expanded. He grew from a foot in length to almost three feet and the armor plating on the upper half of his body grew ridged along the center of his back and down his now longer tail. When the glowing stopped and Aron's new form was fully visible, Ashley took out her pokedex to see what its new form was called.

_"Like that makes any difference!"_ May thought, scoffing at the evolution. _"I'll still find a way to beat it."_

"Lairon, attack with Rock Slide!" Lairon rose up on its hind legs and then struck the ground, cracking the paved surface and launching a barrage of rocks toward Venomoth. Venomoth's eyes bulged in shock when he saw the attack coming, but couldn't get out of the way. The rocks struck him and knocked him back onto the ground, pinning his now unconscious body.

"Hmph. Fine. I was just seeing what you were capable of with that pokemon anyway." May said as she recalled Venomoth and placed it's pokeball back on her belt. She smirked as she took another pokeball in her hand. "Now you'll go up against one of my best! Blaziken, go!" May called out, releasing Blaziken. Blaziken let out a screech as he appeared, pumping his fists into the air.

"Blaziken, use Double Kick!" Blaziken dashed over to Lairon and delivered a hard kick to its face. Lairon stumbled back, looking disoriented as Blaziken spun around and delivered a second kick. Lairon cried out as he was struck a second time and didn't have enough strength left to resist the attack fully, resulting in Lairon getting flipped over onto his back and knocked out.

"Looks like you have some strong pokemon afterall. Here I thought this would be boring." Ashley said with a smirk as she recalled Lairon and took out another pokeball. "It just so happens, I held back a bit too. So lets see how you handle this one!" Ashley held out the pokeball. "Poliwrath, come on out!" The pokeball opened up, releasing the muscular tadpole pokemon. Poliwrath was still wearing his Focus Band when he appeared, an item Ashley had given to him back at Cinnabar.

"-Ok! I'll do my best!-" Poliwrath said cheerfully.

"A water pokemon? Typical." May replied with a shrug. "Don't think for a second that having the type advantage means you'll win!"

"Well then, let's see what you've got!" Ashley called back.

* * *

"Grr...there's no way using a pokemon like that can be legal!" A male trainer growled after his last pokemon had been defeated by Melany's Metagross.

"I have some other fully legal pokemon that you'd like even less, pal." Melany thought to herself. The boy was escorted out of the arena without another word. "Two more matches and then I face the Arena Tycoon. Wonder if Latias found anything?"

Meanwhile, at the front desk, another trainer was signing up for that very battle facility.

"-Rina, can I go in this time? Pleeeease?-" Pippi begged Rina as the two approached the front desk.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Rina replied, smiling back at her. "I think this time we just battle in one match after another. We won't be able to look around, but when I face the leader here I can ask them for permission."

"-Why this place anyway?-" Pippi asked her.

"Its a fairly big facility, and a palace does seem like a possible hiding place." Rina replied. "If they're not here, we can try the Battle Factory next."

Rina then approached the front desk and signed up for the Battle Arena, registering Pippi, Geri, and Felicia for the battles ahead while Melany was facing her fifth opponent in the arena.

* * *

_"Interesting how you both seemed to have the same idea."_ Haruka commented to May. _"I suggest you don't underestimate this one at any rate."_

_"What difference does it make? I'm Hoenn's Champion!"_ May replied.

"Seems this one will be an interesting battle." Aisha said to Ashley.

_"As if."_ Ashley replied nonchalantly. _"I beat the Elite Four, I beat Red, and I beat that Duke guy. Her pokemon might be tough, but there's no way she's on the same level as me!"_

"Poliwrath, use Hypnosis!"

"Blaziken, Slash!"

Poliwrath focused on Blaziken, using a psychic power to create a hypnotic effect. Blaziken moved too quickly, though, dashing toward Poliwrath and slashing across its body. Poliwrath cried out in pain and lost its focus, preventing it from getting in the attack on Blaziken.

_"That didn't work."_ Ashley thought. _"Fine by me, I prefer a direct approach."_

"Poliwrath, use Rain Dance!" Ashley called out. Poliwrath shook off Blaziken's attack and began to dance around. Storm clouds began to gather over the heads of the two pokemon and then released a downpour upon them.

_"Well if she's using Rain Dance, we'll take the opportunity to power up too!"_ May thought. "Blaziken, Bulk Up!" Blaziken let out a screech and flexed his arms. His muscular body bulged slightly, increasing his strength and endurance.

_"Like that'll help her any against Poliwrath's water attacks."_ Ashley thought with a smirk. "Poliwrath, attack with Hydro Pump!"

"Blaziken, hit it first with Double Kick!" Blaziken delivered a strong kick to Poliwrath's chest, stunning him briefly. Blaziken then spun around and kicked Poliwrath a second time, knocking him back and sending him sprawling to the ground at Ashley's feet.

Poliwrath quickly got back up and flexed his muscles, squeezing his body to fire a high pressure stream of water from his chest. Blaziken grunted as the water hit him and pushed him back, eventually knocking him onto the ground before the attack ended. With the boost from the rain falling around the two pokemon, Blaziken had taken a harsh blow. As he stood back up, a red glow surrounded him briefly and flames erupted from his wrists. Poliwrath was also looking pretty weak after having endured a powered up Double Kick.

"Finish it now, Blaziken! Slash!"

"Poliwrath, Hydro Pump!"

Blaziken extended his claws and charged toward Poliwrath. Poliwrath fired another stream of water at Blaziken, but Blaziken quickly moved to the side to avoid it and continued toward Poliwrath. Poliwrath tried to turn to aim at Blaziken's new position, but Blaziken reached him first and slashed him across the side. Poliwrath cried out in pain and fell to the ground in a heap.

"Like I said, having the type advantage doesn't mean you'll win!" May said smugly.

"Oh, we're not finished yet." Ashley replied. At that moment, Poliwrath, supposedly fainted after Blaziken's last attack, got back up on his feet. He was very exhausted, but the Focus Band around his head would keep him in the fight for a little longer. "Poliwrath, use Waterfall!" Poliwrath faced his shoulder toward Blaziken and a veil of water began to form around him.

"No way! That attack should have finished it!" May cried out in disbelief. "Blaziken, Quick Attack! Take it down before it can attack!" Blaziken stepped back, giving himself room to maneuver for his attack, but it was too late. Poliwrath charged toward him, while Blaziken shot toward Poliwrath in a quick burst of speed. Both pokemon were thrown to the ground from the impact, and neither were getting back up again. As if signalling the end of the match, the rain stopped and the clouds Poliwrath had summoned parted. The two girls each recalled their pokemon.

"Grr...you...there's no way your Poliwrath could have survived that last Slash attack!" May growled.

"It happens sometimes." Ashley replied, smiling mischeviously. _"Especially when he's wearing a Focus Band."_ She then thought.

"Well I'm not holding back anymore then!" May said as she grabbed a pokeball from her belt. "Suicune, go!" She held out the pokeball she grabbed and released her pokemon, sending the legendary pokemon Suicune out as her next pokemon.

_"Well this is certainly an interesting turn of events."_ Aisha said to Ashley. _"The legendary pokemon, Suicune, is under her command. Of course, I suppose thats to be expected. She has the sapphire, afterall."_

_"Well, I have a legendary pokemon of my own with me."_ Ashley thought, taking a pokeball from her belt. "If thats how you want to do this, then I'll see your Suicune and raise you..." Ashley held out her pokeball and released Zapdos, the electric bird pokemon from it. Zapdos screeched and stretched out its wings. "One Zapdos!"

"-One Zapdos? I'm the only Zapdos!-" Zapdos said to her.

_"She...she has a legendary pokemon too?"_ May thought, blinking in disbelief. _"Who IS she?!"_

_"Let's just say you two have a lot in common."_ Haruka said to her.

* * *

_"Wh-WHAT?! What the heck is SHE doing here?!"_ Melany wondered, staring in disbelief as her next opponent took her place on the other side of the field. _"She's supposed to be in Kanto, why is she at the Battle Frontier of all places?!"_

"Ok, Pippi, you're up first!" Rina called out, pointing toward the battlefield. Pippi, still out of her pokeball, nodded and ran out onto the field. It was Rina's first match in the Battle Arena and Melany had just finished her previous battle as Rina finished signing up. As a result, Rina was battling Melany in her first match.

"Well? Aren't you going to send out your pokemon?" The attendant with them asked Melany impatiently.

"Hold up! There's something I want to ask this trainer."

"Oh...well...I guess you can do that." The attendant replied.

"Your name's Rina, isn't it?" Melany asked Rina.

"What?! How did you know that?" Rina asked, blinking in disbelief.

"You were in a fairly recent news article, alongside Hoenn's regional champion May." Melany explained. "That was in Kanto though...so what brings you all the way to Hoenn?"

"Well...umm..." Rina looked to the side and thought for a moment. "I can't just come out and say I'm looking for the hunters...but then again I guess that's about all I can't say." She thought, then looked back at Melany.

"I came here with May after she was invited here." Rina said to Melany.

_"Sh-she's here too?!"_ Melany thought, a look of fear on her face. _"If May sees me dressed like this I'm screwed!"_

_"What's with him?"_ Rina wondered when she noticed Melany's reaction. _"Why would he be afraid of May? Is he an old boyfriend or something?"_ Rina thought about it for a moment and gasped. _"Wait! He must be Alex! ...I mean, she must be Alex. I mean he's Melany! I mean...I mean..."_

"Are you two ready to start yet?" The attendant asked impatiently.

"R-right...ready." Melany replied, regaining her composure as she reached for a pokeball. "Ok, Metagross! Come on out!" Melany held out the pokeball in her hand and released Metagross onto the field. Metagross scoffed when it saw Pippi was its opponent.

_"Enemy: Pikachu. Threat level: Low."_ Metagross thought.

Pippi grinned widely and sparks danced across her cheeks. "-Finally! I was getting impatient!-"

"Ok Pippi, hit it hard with Volt Tackle!" Pippi stood up on her hind legs and channeled electricity around her body. She then took off running, charging straight into Metagross and smashing into its face. Metagross grunted and stumbled back, but easily shook it off while the impact had left Pippi briefly disoriented.

"Metagross, Earthquake!" Metagross raised its forelegs into the air and then slammed them into the ground, sending a massive shockwave throughout the field. Having been standing so close to Metagross, the attack threw Pippi several feet back. The ground continued to shake and crack, bouncing Pippi across the ground until it finally stop. Pippi laid flat out across the ground when the attack ended, unconscious.

"N-no way! It beat her with just one attack?!" Rina exclaimed in disbelief.

"Using Volt Tackle probably didn't help, but Metagross happens to be a pretty powerful attacker." Melany replied.

"I'll have to be careful against this one, I wish I brought Knight with me now." Rina thought as she recalled Pippi. She had one pokemon that could potentially fight Metagross, but unfortunately that wouldn't be her next pokemon due to the Battle Arena rules. She had to use her pokemon in a set order, and the next pokemon she had to use was Geri. Knowing this, Rina took Geri's pokeball from her belt.

"Geri, go!" Rina called out, releasing the vine pokemon out onto the field.

"-Yay! I get to do stuff!-" Geri cheered when she materialized on the field.

_"Enemy: Unknown. Threat level: Joke."_ Metagross thought, rolling its eyes.

"Geri, attack with Sleep Powder!"

"Metagross, hit it hard with Meteor Mash!"

Metagross made a punching motion with one of its forelimbs and then shot through the air, flying across the field like a meteor. While Metagross was crossing the field, Geri released a cloud of Sleep Powder into the air. The powder did little to throw Metagross off as the steel pokemon ploughed straight through it to strike Geri and knock her back with a powerful punch. Once Metagross dropped down onto the ground, though, the powder took its effect and Metagross fell asleep.

"Well at least that worked." Rina thought, breathing a sigh of relief. Knowing she had no time to relax, she quickly called out another attack. "Ok, Geri, now use Leech Seed while its asleep!" Geri nodded and quickly rolled back onto her feet while firing a Leech Seed at Metagross. The seed landed on the top of Metagross' steel body and sprouted several long vines. The vines found tiny gaps in Metagross' body to latch on and begin draining energy from its body.

"Now let's go on the offense! Vine Whip!" Rina called out. Geri moved toward the sleeping Metagross and extended her vines to hit it over the head. Despite repeated swipes from Geri, Metagross didn't even flinch while it slept.

"TIME!" The female attendant monitoring the match called out. "Match winner is Metagross!"

"Wh-what?" Rina said in disbelief. _"I forgot all about the time limit and scoring..." _She let out a sigh and held out Geri's pokeball.

"Looks like we lose this round, sorry Geri." Rina said aplogetically as she recalled her, then placed the pokeball back on her belt. As she took her final pokeball in hand, Melany's Metagross started to wake up.

_"Rina won't be much of a challenge at this rate."_ Melany thought, then shrugged. _"Then again, she won't have to find out the hard way that leading with a pokemon with little durability wouldn't be a good idea in the long run in these matches. I'm not sure what that mass of vines was either but I doubt it would have been able to hold its own either, not with that strategy at least."_

"Ok, its all up to you now!" Rina held out her pokeball, calling out her final pokemon. "Felicia, go!" The pokeball in Rina's hand opened and released Felicia the Flareon. Felicia looked over at her opponent and let out a yawn.

"-Just as long as I don't have to get my fur dirty.-" Felicia said, turning up her nose.

_"...Conclusion: The Battle Arena is devoid of worthwhile opponents."_ Metagross thought.

"A fire-type might actually be able to beat Metagross, so let's make this first attack count!" Melany thought. "Metagross, attack with Earthquake!" Metagross raised its forelimbs and slammed them into the floor of the arena, sending a shockwave throughout the field. Felicia cried out as the ground under her suddenly ruptured, throwing her to the side. Chunks of the ground rising up continued to strike her until the Earthquake ended and the ground finally settled back into place. Felicia slowly stood back up, weakened and disoriented by the attack.

"-My fur...is dirty now...-" Felicia mumbled weakly.

"Felicia, use Fire Blast!" Felicia forced herself to focus and opened her mouth to spit out a fireball at Metagross. The fireball expanded as it shot through the air, eventually taking a shape similar to a stick figure. Metagross cried out in pain as the flames grazed over its body. The flames exploded over Metagross' back, pounding the steel pokemon into the ground. It didn't stay down for long, however, and quickly pushed itself back up onto its feet.

"N-no way! Its still standing?!" Rina cried out in disbelief. Metagross then suddenly collapsed toward the right side as the Leech Seed left on it by Geri drained the last of its strength. "Alright! We won!" Rina cheered.

"You won one match." Melany reminded her as she recalled Metagross. "I still have two pokemon left to your one."

"Oh...right..." Rina replied weakly. "W-well we're not giving up anyway!" She then said determinedly.

"Of course." Melany took a pokeball from her belt. "Swellow, go!" She then called out, releasing a green feathered bird pokemon onto the field.

"Felicia, hit it with Fire Blast and give it everything you've got!" Rina called out, still hoping she could win the match.

"Swellow, Aerial Ace!" Swellow flapped its wings and took off into the air as Felicia spat a fireball at it. As the fireball expanded in the air, Swellow dove toward it and maneuvered himself to avoid touching the flames. He then shot down toward Felicia in a blur of movement, slashing across her body with his beak. Felicia cried out in pain and was knocked onto her side.

"Ok, now use Quick Attack!" Melany called out to Swellow. As Swellow came into view from its high speed attack he quickly pulled a U-turn and then shot off again. While Flareon was still trying to get up, Swellow shot into her from behind in a blur of movement. Flareon cried out in pain and collapsed again, fainting from the attack.

"But...we didn't even land a hit this time..." Rina mumbled in disbelief. She then sighed and recalled Felicia. "So much for making a comeback...my pokemon just weren't a match for that thing he started the battle with."

"Good job, Swellow. Return." Melany held out Swellow's pokeball and recalled it, then returned the pokeball to her belt.

_"Now I won't get the chance to challenge the leader here."_ Rina thought in disappointment as she walked away from the battlefield. Before leaving the arena, she looked back at Melany again.

_"I can try again later with a different team, but I think I'll wait until he's finished and find out who he really is."_ She thought.

"Congratulations, Alex. Your next match is against the Arena Tycoon, Greta. Are you ready?" The attendant remaining with Melany said as she took her pokeballs from her.

_"Guess I won't have to wait long then."_ Rina thought, having overheard her, then finally left the arena.

* * *

"-If you're here, then I suppose that girl must be Aisha's descendent.-" Suicune said to Zapdos.

"-Good guess.-" Zapdos replied. "-And I suppose she's Haruka's descendent?-" Suicune nodded.

"...Ok then, so what if you have a legendary pokemon too? I'll still win this!" May said with a determined expression. "Suicune, Calm Mind!" Suicune closed its eyes and focused, relaxing its minds to increase its special attack and defense.

"Not like that you won't! Zapdos, Thunderbolt!" Ashley called out. Zapdos spread its wings, crackling with electricity, then brought them together and fired a bolt at Suicune. Suicune groaned as the electricity passed through its body and struggled to maintain its focus.

"Suicune, fire back with Ice Beam!" Suicune opened its eyes and aimed the crest on its head at Zapdos. The crest glowed briefly and a blue beam fired out, striking Zapdos. Zapdos grunted as the ice formed on its body and cried out in pain as it shattered, knocking the bird pokemon onto its back.

"Even if you have the type advantage, that Calm Mind's leveled the playing field now!" May said smugly.

"Oh yeah? Well I think this might un-level it a bit!" Ashley called back. "Zapdos, Light Screen!" Zapdos stood up and shook off the remaining ice. It then spread its wings and focused, forming a translucent pink barrier around its body to protect itself from further attacks.

"D-damn it..." May muttered bitterly. "Suicune, use Calm Mind again until I tell you to stop!" Suicune nodded and closed its eyes again, focusing on clearing its mind to increase its mental capabilities.

_"Sounds like Suicune will be busy for a little while, a good chance for us to try out a combination attack!"_ Ashley thought with a smirk. "Zapdos, charge electricity for a Thunderbolt but don't fire!"

"-Oh, you're so going to get it now.-" Zapdos said to Suicune with a toothless grin, knowing full well what Ashley had planned. Zapdos spread out its wings and gathered electricity through its body, sending sparks coursing across its wings.

_"What's she trying to do? Why isn't she attacking?"_ May wondered. _"If she's trying to fire a stronger electric attack then we'll just bounce it back with Mirror Coat."_

"Now! You know what to do! Drill Peck!" Ashley called out.

_"Drill Peck?!"_ May thought, blinking in disbelief. _"Why would she...?"_

Zapdos reared its head back and a vacuum of air swirled around its beak like a drill. It then flew toward Suicune while releasing the electricity from its body, channeling it through its own beak to create a swirl of electricity around it. Zapdos then stopped in front of Suicune and jabbed at the water pokemon with its beak, sending a blast of electricity through its body while drilling it with the air swirling around its beak. Suicune cried out in pain and staggered back, barely able to remain standing after enduring such a powerful attack.

"What the heck was THAT!?" May cried out in disbelief.

"Simple, I combined Zapdos' Drill Peck with an electric attack to deliver the electricity as a physical attack. That way, it also gets past your Suicune's enhanced defenses." Ashley explained to May. "As you can no doubt tell..." She added, gesturing toward Suicune. It already looked like it was barely standing.

"I've...never thought of anything like that before." May said quietly, awestruck by Ashley's creativity.

_"Aren't you supposed to be battling her?"_ Haruka said.

"Right! Even after that though, we're still in this!" May said to Ashley. "Suicune, Ice Beam!" The crest on Suicune's forehead glowed and a blue beam fired out from it. Being so close to Suicune after its previous attack, Zapdos was left with nowhere to run to. The beam struck Zapdos in the chest and ice formed around the bird pokemon's body. Frozen solid, Zapdos fell to the ground. The ice on its body shattered, releasing its unconscious form.

"See! I managed to beat you again while at a type disadvantage!" May said to Ashley while she was recalling Zapdos.

"You didn't 'beat' me the first time, it was a draw." Ashley corrected her, then took another pokeball from her belt. "Anyway, your Suicune won't last much longer at any rate. Venusaur, go!" Ashley held out Venusaur's pokeball and sent him out into the battle area.

"-Well, hopefully this trainer will be more of a challenge than the last one I fought.-" Venusaur muttered.

"-I'm afraid I may...have to disappoint you...-" Suicune replied weakly, knowing full well it wouldn't be able to take another hit.

"Venusaur, Razor Leaf!" Ashley called out. Venusaur leaned forward and released a barrage of sharp leaves from the plant on his back. Suicune growled in pain as the leaves slashed across its body, then collapsed. May, also knowing Suicune wasn't going to survive the hit, quickly recalled it and placed its pokeball back on her belt.

Venusaur shrugged. "-Well, he was honest, I'll give him that.-" He said to himself.

"This time the type advantage will be all mine!" May said to Ashley as she grabbed another pokeball. "Gardevoir, go!" May held out the pokeball she grabbed and released the psychic pokemon Gardevoir to face off against Venusaur.

"-Pleased to make your acquaintance. Do be warned that I will not falter in battle under the command of Lady May.-" Gardevoir said to Venusaur.

"-Lady May?-" Venusaur raised an eyebrow. _"-The heck is up with this one?-"_

_"So you're really not going to recall Venusaur?"_ Aisha asked Ashley. _"That's not like you, keeping a pokemon in battle when its at a disadvantage."_

_"She's been able to keep up with me in spite of the disadvantage, so now its my turn."_ Ashley replied. _"I didn't come this far as a trainer just to get shown up by her! Her Gardevoir, whatever it is, is going down, and Venusaur will be the one to do it!"_

* * *

"So, you're Alex then? I heard you made it here pretty easy." Greta, a blonde haired woman wearing a black and red robe over a blue bodysuit, said to Alex while seemingly checking him out. "No offense, but you look pretty weak, are you sure you can handle me?"

_"I don't know how to take that."_ Melany thought nervously, noticing Greta's choice of words could be taken another way. "Look, Pokemon battling has nothing to do with the physical appearance of the trainer. Just because you could knock me flat in one move doesn't mean it'll be the same for your pokemon."

"How true! Shall we begin, then?" Greta replied with a slight smile, taking a pokeball in her hand. "Let's see what kind of skill you really have then!"

"That's more like it." Melany reached down and grabbed a pokeball from her belt. "Metagross, go!" Melany held out the pokeball and released her first pokemon of the match. Metagross, the same pokemon she had started every match with, appeared on the battlefield looking rather bored.

"Shedinja, go!" Greta called out, releasing her lead pokemon onto the field. An empty shell emerged from the pokeball, hovering over the field. Its eyes were completely lifeless, and yet the strange creature still seemed able to function as though it were alive.

"Wh-what?" Melany stuttered nervously. "Of all the pokemon to run into..."

"Judging by your reaction, I'd say you recognize my pokemon and its abilities." Greta said to Melany, smiling to herself. "Shedinja, attack Metagross with Confuse Ray!" A ball of light formed between Shedinja as the strange ghost pokemon made the first move. Shedinja fired the light at Metagross, sending it zigzagging through the air until it reached Metagross and circled around it. Metagross couldn't help but try to follow it and became confused by the spinning and sudden disappearance.

_"Ok, I need to relax and think..."_ Melany took a deep breath, calming herself. _"Metagross has to have some attack that can hurt Shedinja, but what?"_

"Shedinja, attack with Shadow Ball!" Shedinja formed a ball of shadowstuff between the two claws on the front of its body. Without any movement from it, Shedinja threw the Shadow Ball at Metagross. Metagross flinched slightly as the ball hit it in the face but seemed relatively unconcerned with it.

Melany thought carefully over her next move while Greta issued no further attacks. With just the one Shadow Ball attack, she was guaranteed to beat Metagross in two of the three scoring areas. Eventually, Melany finally recalled a rarely used technique that would be able to hurt Greta's Shedinja and snapped her fingers. "I've got it! Metagross, attack with Pursuit!" Metagross lunged forward as if moving to attack, but then fell flat on its face. "Or not..." Melany muttered, hanging her head in defeat.

"TIME!" The attendant called out. "The winner of this match is Shedinja!"

"It seems you spent too long thinking about what technique to use." Greta said with a smug grin.

_"It only failed because of confusion..."_ Melany thought bitterly as she recalled Metagross. She placed Metagross' pokeball on her belt and quickly took another one in her hand, then held it out to release her next pokemon. "Well this one will make up for it! Swellow, go!" She called out, releasing her green feathered bird pokemon onto the field.

"Swellow, attack Shedinja with Peck!" Swellow flapped his wings and took off toward Shedinja at high speed, striking the ghostly shell pokemon with its beak. The shell fell to the ground with a hollow thud. Greta then recalled Shedinja, looking more than a little nervous and hesitating for a moment with the pokeball still in her hand.

_"What's she so worried about?"_ Melany wondered. _"That just makes it a tie, she can't be expecting that much trouble from Swellow, can she?"_

"An interesting choice for your second pokemon..." Greta commented with a slight nervous tone in her voice. She slowly reached down and placed Shedinja's pokeball on her belt. "You must have taken your time thinking over what pokemon to use in the Battle Arena..."

_"More than I did when I challenged the Fallabor Battle Tent."_ Melany thought. _"Back then, I lead the battles with Minun. I don't think he ever fought harder in any match than he did then. This time I made sure to start with my strongest pokemon, not including Latias at least, but she already defeated that one without breaking a sweat. So why does Swellow worry her?"_

"Heracross, go!" Greta called out as she released her second pokemon from its pokeball. A powerful fighting bug pokemon emerged on the field, hands open and shifting from side to side in anticipation of an attack from the Swellow hovering nearby.

"Heh..so that's why." Melany said with a smirk. "Because you knew your second pokemon wouldn't put up much of a fight against Swellow either."

"That won't be for a lack of trying! Heracross, Rock Tomb!"

"Swellow, Aerial Ace!"

Heracross stomped its foot against the ground, causing rocks to jut up from the ground around Swellow and collapse inward. Swellow had already flown up out of range by then, evading the attack while getting into position for an Aerial Ace. Swellow then went into a steep dive, disappearing as it reached top speed and slashed across Heracross' body with his beak. Heracross grunted and collapsed to the ground, feeling a tremendous amount of pain from the attack.

"Now, let's finish this with one more attack! Swellow, use Wing Attack!" Swellow slowed down and flew back to Heracross as the bug pokemon was getting back up on its feet. Swellow dropped down behind it and struck it with his wings, knocking Heracross flat on its face and knocking it unconscious. With a second pokemon defeated and having avoiding taking any hits itself, Swellow then turned toward Greta.

"-Next.-"

"Well, I expected something like that might happen anyway." Greta stated casually as she recalled Heracross. She placed Heracross' pokeball back on her belt and took her final pokeball in hand. "I will just have to make this one count, then! Umbreon, go!" Greta released her final pokemon onto the battlefield, the dark-type evolved form of Eevee known as Umbreon. The expression on its face as it appeared matched that of Swellow's, both looking rather bored.

_"Well this one might actually cause some trouble. Might."_ Melany smirked. "Swellow, let's go the same route with this one too! Start with Aerial Ace!" Swellow flapped his wings, hovering up into the air. He then dove toward Umbreon, gaining a burst of speed to slash across the dark-type pokemon's body with his beak and then turning and stopping after flying by. Umbreon winced in pain but managed to take the hit fairly well.

With Melany's choice of words in mind, Greta considered her next move. _"If he's using the same technique again, then we can try our luck with Body Slam when Swellow gets close. For now, we'll attack from a distance."_ Greta thought, then called out her attack. "Umbreon, strike back with Psychic!" Umbreon's eyes flashed blue and a similarly colored glow surrounded Swellow. Swellow grunted in pain as Umbreon used a psychic power to crush its body. Umbreon then used its remaining focus to throw Swellow onto its back to finish the attack.

_"If thats the best she can do, then Swellow should be able to beat this one too."_ Melany thought. "Swellow, Wing Attack!" Swellow quickly got up on its feet and moved toward Umbreon, then struck the dark-type pokemon across the face with his right wing. Umbreon yelped and staggered back, shaking it off.

"Umbreon, now! Body Slam!" Umbreon jumped forward, knocking Swellow to the ground and then jumping on top of him. Swellow cried out in pain and felt his body becoming paralyzed under Umbreon's weight. Umbreon then moved off of him, leaving Swellow struggling to get back up in its paralyzed state.

"Seems we get a lucky break afterall!" Greta said, grinning.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Melany said to her. "Afterall, paralysis just means Swellow's Guts ability activates. Swellow, give it your all and attack with Wing Attack!" Swellow raised one wing back and limped toward Umbreon to attack but fell over from paralysis before he could reach his target.

"Too bad, looks like I've got this one." Greta said to her. "Umbreon, one more attack! Psychic!" Umbreon's eyes flashed and a blue glow surrounded Swellow, lifting it off the ground. Swellow cried out in pain as the psychic attack crushed its body and then threw it back across the field. Swellow landed at Melany's feet, badly damaged but still conscious. Swellow slowly started to get up, however...

"TIME!" Time was up, as the female attendant soon made it all too clear. "Winner, Umbreon!"

"Good job, Swellow. You still did great out there." Melany said as she recalled Swellow. _"Umbreon shouldn't be able to take much more anyway, so my last pokemon will be able to finish it off."_ She thought. She reached down to her belt and placed Swellow's pokeball on its designated clip, then took her last pokeball in her hand.

"Sceptile, your turn now! Go!" Melany called out, releasing Sceptile from its pokeball. Sceptile made his usual dramatic entrance, appearing in a half kneeling position with one knee raised. His arms were crossed over his knee as if he were holding out a pair of blades in each.

"I likely won't beat this one, but we have to try anyway." Greta thought. "Umbreon, Confuse Ray!"

"Sceptile, Leaf Blade!" Sceptile's arms twitched and a pair of glowing green blades formed from the leaves on each. While Umbreon was forming the ball of light to attack, Sceptile dashed quickly toward it and ran past while slashing Umbreon in the side. Umbreon growled in pain, releasing the light prematurely as one of Sceptile's Leaf Blades dug into its side.

"Ok, run it through now! Quick Attack!" Melany called out. Sceptile quickly turned around and shot past Umbreon on the opposite side in a blur of movement. When Sceptile came to a stop just past Umbreon it seemed completely unharmed.

"It...missed?" Greta said, blinking in disbelief. Sceptile stood upright and raised his arms into the air, deactivating his blades. Umbreon then suddenly fainted and fell to the ground. "Or not..." Greta sighed and held out Umbreon's pokeball, recalling it.

"-Over already? Well that's kinda disappointing.-" Sceptile said, shrugging lightly and shaking his head.

"Well, you might not be tough, but your pokemon sure are!" Greta said to Melany. "Congratulations. I look forward to having the chance to battle you again sometime." Greta smiled at Melany and then left the arena. The attendant, who still remained, approached Melany and handed her a gold badge.

"Here you are! Its the Guts Symbol, you've earned it." The attendant said to her.

"Thanks." Melany replied, nodding. She pocketed the symbol and then held out Sceptile's pokeball. "Good work finishing that quickly, you can take a rest now." Melany said to him. She pushed the button on the pokeball to recall him, then followed the attendant out of the arena. When she arrived at the front desk, she found Rina was waiting for her there with Pippi by her side.

"There's something I want to talk to you about." Rina said to Melany, her arms folded over her chest.

"-And I want a rematch, that was no fair!-" Pippi added, pouting.

"Err...of course, lead the way." Melany hesitantly replied. "Has she figured me out already? Did May tell her who I am?" She wondered as she followed Rina and Pippi outside. Rina then came to a stop just outside with her back

"You're Melany, right?" Rina whispered, then looked back over her shoulder with a serious glare. "Does Ashley know? Because if you're lying to get with her..."

"Err...h-hold up!" Melany held out her hands defensively. _"Geez! It figures her teasing would get ME into trouble somehow!"_

"Alex!" Latias, in her usual human form, called out as she ran up to the group. "Oh! Is this a new friend?" She asked when she noticed Rina.

"Ah, Latias...find anything?" Melany asked her. Latias blinked in disbelief and looked at Rina.

"Well...umm..." Latias leaned in close to Melany and whispered to her. "Is it ok to talk about it with her around?"

"Of course it is." Melany replied, nodding.

"Huh? Talk about what?" Rina asked, her glare fading in her curiosity.

"Well...I looked all over the arena, top to bottom!" Latias said to them. "There wasn't anything suspicious there at all, and definitely no hidden base or anything like that!" She reported excitedly.

"Wait...hidden base?" Rina blinked, looking between the two. "Then you two were..."

"I think there's been a bit of a misunderstanding." Melany said to Rina, smiling lightly. "Allow me to explain..."

* * *

"Ok, Gardevoir, start with Calm Mind!" Gardevoir nodded and closed her eyes, clearing her mind and relaxing.

_"I don't think she thinks too much before calling out an attack."_ Ashley thought, then shrugged. _"Oh well."_

"Venusaur, attack with Sleep Powder." Venusaur shook the plant on his back, releasing a cloud of green powder. The powder floated through the air and landed on Gardevoir. There was no immediate sign that the powder had any effect, however, as she remained completely stationary as she had been before. Her lack of a reaction was enough for Ashley, however.

"Ok, now attack with Leech Seed and Poison Powder while its asleep!" Ashley called out. Venusaur angled the plant on his back toward Gardevoir and fired a seed at her. The seed landed on her chest and sprouted vines to latch on. Venusaur then shook the plant, releasing a poisonous powder into the air to poison Gardevoir while she slept. Wincing in pain as the seed and poison drained her health, Gardevoir woke up and opened her eyes.

_"She seems to have your pokemon against the ropes. Perhaps you shouldn't be so hasty in calling out your first attack?"_ Haruka suggested to May.

_"So what! We'll make a comeback now!"_ May replied. "You're not the only one who can use a sleep strategy! Gardevoir, Hypnosis!" Gardevoir used her psychic powers to send hypnotic waves toward Venusaur. Venusaur felt his eyes grow heavy and soon dropped to the ground, fast asleep.

_"Wh-what?! I didn't see that coming at all!"_ Ashley thought in disbelief.

"Ok, Gardevoir, attack with Psychic now!" Gardevoir's eyes flashed blue briefly. A blue glow then surrounded Venusaur's body, lifting it into the air a foot. Gardevoir struggled to keep her focus while poison and Leech Seed were affecting her, but held the attack long enough to inflict considerable damage to Venusaur. She finished the attack by flipping Venusaur over and dropping him onto his back.

_"That doesn't look like it'll be easy to recover from."_ Aisha said to Ashley.

"Again, Psychic!" Gardevoir focused, again lifting Venusaur off the ground while crushing him with her psychic powers. Before Gardevoir could even finish the attack Venusaur had fainted, grunting in pain his body went limp and Gardevoir released him. Ashley then held out Venusaur's pokeball and recalled him.

"So much for winning with a type disadvantage." May said smugly.

"I managed a draw at least, I'll be content with that." Ashley replied. Gardevoir then suddenly collapsed, the last of her strength being drained by poison.

"Hrmph...so what if you did..." May held out Gardevoir's pokeball and recalled her, then quickly returned the pokeball to her belt and took another one in her hand. "I still have two pokemon left to beat you with!" May pointed the pokeball out toward the field. "Flygon, your turn now! Go!"

"Oh yeah? Well same to you!" Ashley shot back, likewise drawing a pokeball and pointing it at the field. "Pidgeot, go!" The two pokemon emerged onto the field almost simultaneously, the dragon pokemon Flygon appearing before May and the bird pokemon Pidgeot appearing before Ashley.

"Flygon, attack with Dragonbreath!"

"Pidgeot, Air Cutter!"

Flygon opened his mouth and spewed out a stream of blue flames at Pidgeot. Before the flames could reach him, Pidgeot brought his wings together and then parted them to fire a v-shaped blade of air. The blade split through the flames, causing them to break up before they could reach Pidgeot, and continued on to slash Flygon across the face. Flygon shook it off and growled at Pidgeot.

"Can't use that one from a distance then." May thought. "Ok, Flygon, let's try..."

"Hey! What's going on here?" May and Ashley blinked and turned their heads in disbelief when they heard Rina's voice. While Ashley and May were busy battling, Rina and Melany had managed to find them. The two girls were standing side by side in front of a crowd of onlookers that had gathered to watch May and Ashley battle and their two pokemon, Pippi and Latias, stood next to their respective trainers.

"Rina? What are you doing here?" Ashley asked in disbelief.

"Melany!" May growled. "Just what the heck do you think you're doing dressed like that?!" She angrily demanded, then pointed at Latias. "And who the heck is she?!"

"I think you'll have a looooot of explaining to do." Rina said to Melany, smiling sheepishly.

Melany sighed. "No kidding...but at least she didn't go straight for my throat."

"-Does this mean we're not finishing this battle?-" Pidgeot asked Flygon.

"-It doesn't seem like we'll be continuing.-" Flygon replied, shaking his head.

"-Nuts...-"

* * *

Author's Notes: Sorry about the delay, and here I thought I was ahead of schedule with this one. Unfortunately, that train of thought often leads to procrastination toward doing the rest. Anyway...

So, one facility left to go, a 4 vs. 4 battle (essentially, since the 5th round was interrupted) between May and Ashley, and a short battle between Rina and Melany wherein Rina's three pokemon had quite a Metagross weakness. Not much to say other than that I don't think. Its only fair to warn you though, next chapter will probably have a lot of talking. And possibly no battles, I'm not sure yet. I think any battles that would fit into the next chapter would be better placed in chapter 53 instead...

Looking back I think I wouldn't have minded dedicating a chapter solely to Ashley vs. May just to draw out the battle a bit more, maybe include a full 5th round at least, but I also wanted to get the arena out of the way and knew I wasn't going to have a full battle between them anyway before something happened.


	55. Chapter 52: Catching Up

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Fifty Two**

**Catching Up**

After finally meeting up with each other, the girls decided to discuss everything that had happened up until that point. Ashley and May recalled their pokemon and the group relocated to a private booth in the hotel restaurant. May and Rina sat on one side, with Melany and Ashley sitting across from them. Latias had to pull up a chair into the booth and sat at the end and Pippi sat in Rina's lap.

"Now explain why you're with Ashley and why you're dressed like that!" May angrily demanded once they had been seated.

"Why don't you explain why this is upsetting you so much?" Ashley suggested. "And why do you say that like we're together?"

"Yeah, I wonder where she might have gotten that idea?" Melany said, rolling her eyes.

"Don't think you're off the hook for what you said earlier." Ashley said to Melany with a mischevious glint in her eye.

_"Before the end of the day, either Ashley or May are going to get to me I just know it." _Melany thought nervously. _"Any girl I've been around for an extended period of time has ended up trying to make my life miserable somehow, I hope this pattern won't continue..."_

"What happened between me and Melany is none of your business." May said flatly, then shot Melany a glare. "Now explain what happened already!"

"Right...where should I start..." Melany scratched at the back of her head. "Well, it started when I challenged her to battle 'the greatest trainer in Hoenn', though I think she was on her way here already."

"You? The greatest trainer in Hoenn?" May hmphed and looked away. "Only because I wasn't in Hoenn at the time!"

"I was only saying that to get her attention anyway." Melany said to her.

"And with a challenge like that, I assumed she had something to do with the hunters back in Kanto." Ashley added. "I came straight here without replying to the challenge, which apparently caught her off guard. She still showed up for the battle, apparently planning to disguise herself then as well but she didn't have time to disguise herself completely. So she kept her distance instead to try to keep me from recognizing her."

"Not like it made any difference." Melany muttered bitterly.

"Sorry, I guess the Stone name just isn't that well known in the Kanto region." Ashley said apologetically.

"By the way, Duke and this Vito guy I battled mentioned something about a fake me, do either of you know anything about that?" Rina asked Melany and Ashley.

"Melany can answer this one." Ashley replied, leaning back in her seat. "I was busy exploring Hoenn and taking pictures, and she didn't tell me anything."

"Well...about that...that would be me, in another disguise." Melany explained. "I have an electric pokemon of my own called Minun, which bears a strong resemblance to Pikachu." She added, looking at Pippi. "So I had him disguise himself as a Pippi to make it seem more likely that I was you."

"Whaaa!? Why would you do something like that?!" Rina asked in disbelief, then blushing slightly in embarassment. "I...I'm not really that special..."

"Well, it seemed like the guys who captured a pokemon I was after had an interest in you." Melany said to her. "So I spread a rumor around the internet that you would be staying at my place for protection."

"HUH?! Why would anyone believe THAT?!"

"It might make sense if they knew I was in Hoenn." Ashley said with a shrug. "It hardly matters, they saw through her plan anyway."

"-Rina, ask how she knew so much about you.-" Pippi suggested, curious as to how Melany knew enough to have a fake Pikachu with her as well.

"She already told us that at the Battle Arena, remember?" Rina whispered back.

"That pokemon you were after was Rayquaza, wasn't it?" Latias asked out of curiousity. "You said they showed up with it and you lost the Emerald's power?"

"Ehehe..." Melany sank low in her seat, twiddling her fingers. "Yeah...its like Ashley and Latias said...they saw through my plan, and then caught me off guard to steal the Emerald's power for Rayquaza..."

"Wh-WHAT?!" May yelled in disbelief. She slammed her hands down on the table. "You mean Rayquaza is in their control AND has the same power Kyogre and Groudon had back at Sootopolis?!"

"That's right." Melany replied with a nod. "And back then, we used Rayquaza's power to steal it back from them to within an inch of their life. We don't have that luxury now."

"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT SO CALMLY?!" May yelled at her.

"How can you keep blurting things out like that in a public restaurant?"

"Err...well..." May blushed and sat back down in her seat. "That is...you have a plan to get that power back, right?"

"Ah...I'll think of something." Melany replied with a shrug. May twitched, resisting the urge to yell at her again.

"My Groudon should get that power from the..."

_"Don't. Even. Think. About. It."_ Aisha interrupted Ashley. _"There's no telling if Groudon will even listen to you, let alone listen to you after becoming an unstoppable beast."_

"Umm...nevermind actually." Ashley said, scratching the back of her head. "I was going to say we could do the same with Kyogre and Groudon and use them against Rayquaza, but I guess that's a bad idea."

"Very bad idea..." May muttered, nodding in agreement.

_"I can't believe that careless wench allowed this to happen in the first place!"_ Haruka growled in May's mind. _"If I had hands I would wring her neck."_

_"Now, now. There will be time for beating her up later."_ May assured her, clenching her fists tightly.

"What's the deal with all this crystal stuff anyway?" Rina asked. "This is the first I've heard of any of this..."

"You mean May never explained it?" Melany asked, then looked over at May questioningly.

"Hey! I didn't really think it was all that important!" May said, then turned to Rina. "Anyway, they're connected to the legendary pokemon. My sapphire is connected to Kyogre."

_"You'd swear that was all the sapphire was."_ Haruka said bitterly.

_"I didn't feel like making a lengthy explanation."_ May replied.

"There's a lot more to them than that, actually." Melany said to Rina. "They actually tools used by ancient humans. Apparently, back then, there were a bunch of them. Most were just used to control pokemon, like we do with pokeballs now, but the Emerald, Sapphire, and Ruby had more power and were symbols of the leaders of Hoenn, Kanto, and Johto, which were mere tribes of people back then rather than an entire region. Eventually, these ancient people had to deal with the threat of Kyogre and Groudon, and even Rayquaza's power caused some trouble. So much of their power over the weather was sealed in the crystals."

"Anyway, you still haven't explained why you and Ashley came here or why you're dressed like..." May gestured toward Melany's clothes and hat. "Like that!"

"Ah...well...before he ran off, Vito mentioned to check out the Battle Frontier for some reason." Melany shrugged. "We don't know why, but we assumed we'd find some clues."

"We haven't found a thing though." Ashley added with a sigh. "They're here, but they just seem to be doing here what they do everywhere else. Steal pokemon."

"As for my disguise...well..." Melany reached back and scratched her head. "Its the only way we could get in because I obtained all the badges as Alex..."

"And Scott thinking we were together is because I was messing with her by saying we were." Ashley added.

Rina smiled and looked over at May. "See, May? Neither of them were doing anything wrong so there's no reason to be mad at them."

"I'll be the judge of that." May muttered to herself. "Anyway, last question, why did you want to battle Ashley anyway?"

"Well, when I found out about her accomplishments in Kanto I figured there was an 85% chance she was the descendant of the ancient leader of the Kanto tribe, Aisha." Melany explained to her. "Battling her was just a way of testing her before I handed over the Ruby and Groudon."

_"She believed there was a 15% chance you weren't my descendant? How did she figure that out?"_ Aisha asked, confused.

_"I don't even know how someone assigns a percent to something like that."_ Ashley added, equally confused.

"Well that's it for us anyway, what about you two?" Melany asked May and Rina. "Why are you two together and how'd you end up coming here?"

"I tracked down and caught Entei and met up with Rina in Kanto, then went with her to Johto and caught Suicune. Then we went after Ho-Oh but Duke beat us there and caught it instead and then fled after telling us to go here." May explained to them, giving a very brief recount of their journies.

"Umm..." Rina blinked, then turned to Ashley and Melany and smiled sheepishly. "I can try to elaborate if you'd like."

"Well, I can figure out why May was after Entei and Suicune. That part is obvious enough. And we already know about the pokemon that attacked Celadon." Ashley replied. "Maybe you could explain why you went with May instead of staying with Lance."

"May needed a translator, and Lance seemed to think it was a good idea for me to be with someone as strong as May too." Rina smiled lightly. "I had no idea she was actually two years younger than me though..."

"That's an easy mistake to make." Melany replied, briefly eying May's chest.

"H-hey! What does my age have to do with anything!?" May asked angrily, then pointed a finger accusingly at Melany. "And you're just jealous because you're flatter than this table!"

_"Urk!"_ Melany winced. _"That's...that's hitting below the neck..."_

"Wait, two years? I thought you told me you were 11?" Ashley asked Rina.

"I did. But that was then, and this is now." Rina replied.

"So then...while we were travelling Kanto...and you didn't even..." Ashley blinked. She then suddenly stood up and slammed her hands down on the table. "Rina! Why didn't you say anything?! You can't be miss out celebrating such an important day!"

"It kinda slipped my mind..." Rina replied sheepishly. "Anyway, I don't think its that big of a deal. I mean, once you're over the age of 10 it doesn't matter that much does it?"

"-What day? What's she talking about?-" Pippi asked her.

"My birthday." Rina said to her.

Ashley sighed and slumped back down in her seat. "I don't get that reasoning at all..." She shook her head, shifting her attention back to the matter at hand. "Anyway, so you went to Johto with her to help her find those pokemon I take it?"

Rina nodded. "Mmhmm! It was the best way for her to figure out where to go after."

"-I think we're forgetting to mention something important that happened in Johto but I can't remember what.-" Pippi said, resting her paw on her chin.

"So then you guys met up with Duke and after dealing with him he mentioned that you should come here, right?" Ashley asked them. Rina and May both nodded to her. "Did he specifically mention why?"

"Umm...let's see..." Rina closed her eyes and thought back to their encounter with Duke. "I think what he said was...'with these pokemon, we can finally take the Battle Frontier!'" Rina opened her eyes and blinked in confusion. "Wait, something doesn't seem right about that..."

"She's right! That doesn't add up!" Melany suddenly blurted out, slamming her hand into the table. "We know they've been here, we've seen them, but we've had the wrong idea all along! They don't have a hideout here! In fact, they're not even planning a takeover!"

"Huwha?! What makes you say that?" Rina asked her in disbelief.

"Think about it, if they wanted to take over the Battle Frontier, then why haven't they been doing anything towards that goal?" Melany said to them. "Like Ashley mentioned, they've been doing the same things here they've been doing in Kanto. Capturing pokemon. Their actions here would have initially suggested that maybe they already had set up here, but what Duke said contradicts that."

"So what are you saying then?" Ashley asked her. "You don't think we've been set up...do you?"

Melany nodded. "I think thats exactly it." She replied. "If they were really after something important at the Battle Frontier, they wouldn't have been so eager to point us here. They only made enough of a fuss here for us to think something was going on, but the whole time their real target was somewhere else. They've just been making sure we wouldn't be snooping around in the meantime..."

"...We should have noticed sooner." Ashley muttered, her gaze lowering to the floor.

"I...I never stopped to think about why Duke mentioned the Battle Frontier." May mumbled to herself. "I was too set on getting Ho-Oh back..."

"Well, hey! Its not like this was a total loss!" Latias suddenly announced, standing up so quickly she knocked her chair over. "Afterall, you guys still have me!" Everyone blinked and looked at her curiously.

"Eh...who are you anyway? Why are you even here?" May asked her.

"Well who else?! I'm the legendary pokemon, Latias, of course!" Latias replied, grinning from ear to ear.

"...Aren't you a human though?"

"Latias, I'll let you explain this one." Melany said with a sigh.

Latias nodded enthusiastically. "Ok!" She hummed thoughtfully to herself then nodded again. "Ok, well, I'm able to take the form of a human and communicate telepathically. In my true form, I'm a dragon-type pokemon. Me and my brother, Latios, were recently captured by those people with the collars but then Ashley showed up and freed me."

"If thats the case, why are you with Melany and not Ashley?" Rina asked her.

"W-well I kinda panicked...and fled..." Latias replied, twiddling her fingers and blushing slightly.

"O-oh..." Rina blinked. "So what about Melany then...?"

"Melany, well, I followed her around because I thought she looked familiar even though she was dressed like a male human." Latias explained. "But then she cornered me and put me on the spot like I was on trial for murder! She even used her sharp wit to trick me into giving her the vital clue that I was actually Latias in a human form!"

"You make it sound like Melany can actually be smart once in a while." May said while looking at Melany with a smirk on her lips.

"Even my overly elaborate plans work sometimes..." Melany thought, sinking back into her seat.

"Oh, she's definitely smart! You should see her grand plan for all of the legendary pokemon!" Latias said, beaming. Melany sunk lower in her seat as the other three girls looked at her suspiciously.

"Grand plan huh?"

"And why haven't you mentioned that plan before now?"

"C-could the real villain be sitting at this table?"

_"Guess I have no choice but to explain now..."_ Melany thought with a sigh. "Fine. I'll get straight to the point then." She said to the three. "I want to make a safe island for legendary pokemon where people won't be able to come and abduct them."

After making her announcement the group, aside from Latias, fell silent for a moment and stared at her increduously.

"I can see why you'd think we could do that, with so many legendary pokemon to ourselves and Groudon and Kyogre especially, but I don't think even we could pull something like that off." Ashley said to her. "We'd need complete approval from each region's pokemon league, funds to start with and continued funding and..."

"I know that already." Melany said, cutting her off. "But even if we just have an island with maybe a housing unit or something to stay in and have the island completely cut off to anyone without a legendary pokemon then we can work on the rest over time."

"Wouldn't funding be easy enough for someone like you anyway?" May asked bitterly. "You're always throwing your money around so I bet you've got more than enough to cover it."

"Eh heh...actually...my allowance was kinda cut off..." Melany replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "After what I did, I don't think my father or even my brother would offer much financial support for such a project..."

"I never noticed you throwing your money around in the first place." Ashley said to her.

"That'd kinda be why. But its not like I threw it around carelessly in the first place anyway." Melany shrugged. "I just ended up covering for May a lot..."

"That would make you a real gentleman...but you're...well..." Rina began, leaving her sentence hanging.

"L-like I care about that!" May growled, turning away. "So what if she covered for me! She was still a jerk! And a pervert!"

"A pervert?" Rina and Ashley repeated to themselves.

"Then Melany is..."

"Of course she is." Ashley said, cutting her off. "If she wasn't, she wouldn't get so flustered from my teasing."

"You...you're really ok with that?" Rina asked her. "I mean, if she is a pervert..."

"H-hey! Hold on! Don't I get a chance to defend myself?!" Melany pleaded.

"Oh, I don't mind." Ashley replied with a shrug. "It just means tonight will be extra fun." She added, shooting Melany a mischevious grin.

_"...I'm going to die of embarassment tonight, aren't I?"_ Melany thought nervously.

"...That's what I'd like to say anyway, but actually I think we should swap." Ashley then said to the group. "May and I can share a room, and Rina and Melany. That way we can take the time to get to know each other better, since it seems we'll be working together from now on." Ashley smiled and looked at Rina. "What do you say, Rina?"

"Well...umm...I don't know..." Rina replied, glancing nervously at Melany. "Would I really be ok sharing a room with someone like her?"

_"What? Even Rina now?"_ Melany thought.

"Don't worry about it, she's not as bad as May said she is." Ashley replied. "If no one came out and said it you probably wouldn't even notice."

Rina smiled and nodded. "Well if Ashley says it'll be ok then I'm ok with it."

"-I don't get what the problem was anyway.-" Pippi said, scratching the back of her head.

"Humans are complicated creatures. Thats why we dedicate entire millenia to studying them." Latias said, nodding sagely.

"Anyway, what if I'm not ok with it?" May interjected.

"Is there a problem with sharing a room with me?" Ashley asked her. "I mean, I think we kinda started off on the wrong foot here, so it'd be for the best if we had some time to get to know each other..."

"Well...when you put it that way..." May sighed. "I guess I can't argue with that reasoning."

_"And here I was worried history would repeat itself. You handled that pretty well, Ashley. I think you'd be a great leader, given the chance."_ Aisha said to her.

"You know, since we're here, we should really order some food." Rina suggested. "And while we're eating, maybe Melany could go into a bit more detail about that island?"

"That sounds like a good idea." Melany replied, nodding in agreement. "Funny no one came to serve us while we were sitting here though..."

Ashley shrugged. "Well its not like we can't just get our own anyway. Let's go."

The girls got up from their table briefly to order some food. When they returned, they further discussed Melany's idea for an island refuge for legendary pokemon and then retired to their rooms for the night. As planned, Ashley and May stayed in one room while Rina and Melany stayed in another.

* * *

Ashley ended up staying in May's room, as the other room was in Melany's name as Alex. When they both got there, they sat down on opposite sides of the bed to chat.

"So you really beat the Kanto Elite Four? And the regional champion? That explains why you were so tough." May said to Ashley. "But why aren't you the regional champion yourself then?"

"Ah...it wasn't an official battle, so it didn't count. I'm not too worried about it anyway." Ashley replied, smiling lightly. "It's pretty amazing though that you're already a regional champion yourself and yet only ten years old..."

"I get that a lot actually..."

"By the way...do you really hate Melany that much?"

May sighed. "I...I don't know. I definitely can't forgive her, and I haven't hit her yet to get back at her for that because I wasn't around her much after finally figuring it out and when I was I was always preoccupied and..."

"So you were more upset that she was dressed as a guy again?" Ashley asked. May immediately clenched her fist.

"That should have been obvious." May muttered bitterly. "If no one had stopped me I would have gladly given her another bloody nose!"

"A-another one? She's really...violent." Ashley thought.

_"And this is toward someone she apparently doesn't hate."_ Aisha added. _"Getting on her bad side could potentially be hazardous to one's health."_

"Anyway...I don't really want to talk about this." May mumbled.

_"Hrm...quite a lot of interesting things happened between you two, didn't they?"_ Haruka said to May. _"Yes, even knowing she was really a girl, I suppose all of that would be too hard to forget. And she obviously..."_

"SHUT UP!" May yelled, clenching her fists. Realizing she blurted it out, she quickly covered her mouth.

"Huh? But I didn't say anything..." Ashley said, blinking in confusion.

"N-nevermind! I was just..."

"Oh, right, you have one of those crystals too, right?" Ashley asked her with a knowing smile. "So if I'm not mistaken, the voice of the one called 'Haruka' speaks to you, doesn't she?"

"Yeah..." May sighed. "She's a bit annoying at times..."

_"I could say the same about you."_ Haruka said bitterly.

"By the way...what were you planning to do to Melany tonight anyway?" May asked her.

"Oh, I was just going to show off an outfit I happen to have with me." Ashley replied with a light giggle.

"An outfit? What kind of outfit?"

"Here, I'll show you..."

* * *

Meanwhile, in Melany's room, Rina sat down on the hotel room bed while Melany recalled Latias.

"Is it really ok for Latias to be in a pokeball?" Rina asked her.

"Well, she hasn't complained yet." Melany replied with a shrug. "Anyway, what about your Pikachu? You're just going to keep her out?" She then asked, pointing to Pippi who was sitting in Rina's lap as usual.

"I don't usually put her in a pokeball unless I have to." Rina replied, smiling lightly.

"Ah...here I assumed your Pikachu just didn't like pokeballs. I've heard of at least one case like that before." Melany replied.

"-I have nothing against them, but its better for me to be with Rina isn't it?-" Pippi said.

"Pippi says she doesn't hate pokeballs either." Rina translated for Melany. "She just prefers being with her trainer."

"...Being able to understand pokemon must be a useful ability, huh?"

"Yep!"

"Huh. But then again, I don't recall my pokemon ever being too talkative to begin with." Melany scratched her head. "Well, except Skarmory, but I know HE doesn't have anything nice to say..."

"By the way...you're definitely not going to hit on me, right?" Rina asked, tilting her head to the side. Her question was more out of curiosity than anything.

"-If she even tries to hit you I'll shock her!-" Pippi said, casting a menacing glare toward Melany with sparks emitting from her cheeks.

"Err...no, definitely not." Melany replied, rubbing the back of her neck. "Why would I? I mean, do you hit on every boy you like?"

_"Have I?"_ Rina wondered, thinking back on the two boys in question. She could remember being somewhat flustered around them, but she was too shy to really say anything.

"So are you saying...you'd be too shy to say anything if you met a girl you liked?" Rina asked her.

"Of course not." Melany replied, chuckling quietly. "If I thought I had a chance, and it was a girl I liked, I'd come right out and say it."

"-Wait! Does this mean two human females can actually reproduce then?!-" Pippi asked, confused by Melany's comment.

"Umm...no, I'll explain later." Rina whispered to Pippi, then looked back at Melany. "So, umm, in the opinion of a girl interested in other girls, what do you think of me?" Rina asked her, blushing slightly.

"How should I put this?" Melany thought for a moment. "If I thought I had a chance with you, I would have left May and Ashley to talk amongst themselves while treating you to a private dinner..."

"R-really?" Rina blinked.

"Well of course." Melany replied, smiling lightly. "You're a cute, outgoing girl and I can tell you're a very kind hearted person."

"...I bet its easier for you to say that since you don't think it matters any though." Rina said, looking off to the side.

"Huh? I don't follow..."

"Well you're definitely not shy but you don't seem to be the kind of person to speak your mind." Rina said, turning to face her again. "Like, say, not telling someone you're really a guy. Or keeping plans secret even from individuals who might need to know it in order to help."

Melany sighed. "Can't argue with that I guess. Why do you bring that up anyway? Is there someone you're interested in?"

"Well...umm..." Rina found her mind immediately wandering to thoughts of Red. "Th-there is...but I have no idea what he thinks of me..."

"I see...but what makes you think I'd think of girls in the same way as a guy would?" Melany asked her. Rina smiled.

"Have you looked in the mirror recently?" She asked. Melany blinked and looked into the mirror on top of a nearby dresser. Still in her 'Alex' disguise, she had an appearance not unlike an androgynous teenage boy.

"...Touche." Melany muttered.

Suddenly, the girls heard a loud voice yelling from a nearby room. **"YOU WERE REALLY GOING TO WEAR SOMETHING LIKE THAT?! WHERE DID YOU EVEN GET THAT OUTFIT?!"**

"Wh-what was that?!" Rina wondered aloud.

"That sounded like May..." Melany noted, blinking. _"I get the feeling that I dodged a dangerous situation somehow..."_

* * *

Author's Notes: I think there was more dialogue I wanted to squeeze in here. I might have to have a breakfast scene at the start of the next chapter for a bit more talking. Thinking back, there's at least two things I'd want to have had them discuss at some point but don't think I could really squeeze them in.

Well, hope those conversations weren't boring anyway. I think the end of Rina's conversation with Melany is a bit more interesting if you keep in mind Rina is based on Yellow from the manga. Specifically, how she too was introduced as a boy.

Anyway, next chapter will definitely have some battles at least and probably get the 'partnerships' back to normal. By the way, if you've been paying attention, you probably know what naughty outfit Ashley had in store...


	56. Chapter 53: The Final Frontier

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Fifty Three**

**The Final Frontier**

"You know, after all we talked about last night, not once did anyone bring up what we're going to do next." Ashley said to the group. It was the next morning and they had gathered in the hotel restaurant for a quick breakfast while they decided on what to do next.

"Right. We established that the...'hunters', as you and Rina call them, aren't actually making any major movements in the Battle Frontier." Melany said, sitting back in her seat and sipping her tea. She had already finished the bagel she ordered. "Still, even so..." She began to say, setting the cup back down on the table again. "We know they're here, capturing pokemon, so there's no point leaving right away."

"So I guess getting this really was pointless." May tossed her Spirits Symbol into the middle of the table. She picked up her glass of orange juice, which she had along with a bowl of cereal, then quickly downed the rest and sighed. "I didn't even plan to challenge any facilities when I got here..."

"I guess that makes two of us then." Rina said, putting down her spoon and reaching into her pocket to pull out her Brave Symbol, received from the Battle Pyramid. She tossed it onto the table next to May's. "I thought the Battle Pyramid seemed like the best place to hide a base or something and ended up challenging the leader so I could keep one of the wild pokemon I found there..."

"I didn't know you even challenged any facilities after we split up." May said to Rina.

"I tried challenging a second facility but..." Rina glanced toward Melany and blushed slightly.

"-That metal pokemon of her's was a terrifying monster to face...-" Pippi said to herself, sitting in Rina's lap as usual. She shivered, recalling her defeat at Metagross' hands. Melany's first pokemon of the match almost took out each of Rina's pokemon on its own before finally being stopped by Flareon.

"What can I say? I was already familiar with that particular battle format." Melany said, grinning sheepishly. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out two symbols of her own, then tossed them onto the table. "Actually, I managed to get symbols from two facilities that used similar rules to Battle Tents I had entered before. I don't think we have any actual use for them."

"Bragging rights seems to be about all they're good for. Its not like the leagues where you beat the gyms and then challenge the Elite Four." Ashley reached into her pocket and took out two more symbols. "Anyway, I've got two myself." She said, tossing the two into the pile with the others. Six gold Battle Frontier symbols were now gathered in the center of the table.

"With those six symbols, that means there's only one facility left unchallenged. That would be the Battle Dome." Melany said.

_"Of course, since you've already established that the Battle Frontier has been a waste of time, you're not going to bother with it, right?"_ Aisha said to them.

"It's still about all we've got." Ashley said with a shrug, ignoring Aisha. "We don't have any other leads at this point other than the fact that they've been showing up at the Battle Frontier. It might be best if we wait to see if they show up again and challenge the remaining facility in the meantime."

"So, the Battle Dome, whats it like anyway?" May asked, looking at Melany expectantly.

"What makes you think I know?" Melany asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because you know everything, Mr. Know-it-all." May replied with a smirk.

_"Know-it-all? Her?"_ Haruka laughed. _"Don't be ridiculous."_

"Only pokemon, and even then pretty much Hoenn only. Pretty sure I said that before." Melany muttered in response. "Anyway, I have no idea. Never really looked into it."

"I think its just a typical tournament-style arena, except you go in with three pokemon and only use two in each match." Ashley explained. "I checked out the different facilities for myself. There's not a whole lot to it really." She shrugged then glanced over at Melany. "So do you really know a lot about pokemon in Hoenn then?"

Melany chuckled and shook her head. "She's exaggerating a bit. I mostly familiarized myself with them and got a general idea of their capabilities so I wouldn't ever be at a disadvantage because my opponent has a pokemon I'm unfamiliar with."

"I guess you didn't have that advantage against me then, huh?"

"True enough, but turns out you can guess a pokemon's type easily enough just by looking at it." Melany replied with a shrug. "Though, anyone who has a pokedex doesn't even need to do that much..."

"I think I'm the only one here without a pokedex." Rina said, breathing a heavy sigh.

"On that note..." May took her pokedex from her belt and opened it up. She quickly scrolled through the list of pokemon, selecting the page of the unknown pokemon in Rina's possession, then showed it to Melany. "I don't suppose thats on the list of pokemon you've memorized?"

"Hmm?" Melany examined the picture briefly then shook her head. "It isn't, but it does look somewhat familiar. I think it was in a report once and believed to be a pokemon that crashed into our planet from space. No one really knows anything about it, but the pokemon has been called Deoxys." Melany blinked and looked back at May. "Don't tell me you've caught a pokemon that looks like that!"

"I didn't. She did." May replied, pointing at Rina.

Melany blinked in disbelief. "Oh..." She raised her hand to her mouth and coughed to clear her throat. "In any case...you'd be better off going to the space center in Mossdeep if you want to find out more about Deoxys."

"Ah, ok! That sounds like a good idea!" Rina replied, nodding in agreement.

"I'll go too then." Ashley said, smiling at Rina. "Its been a while since we've done anything together anyway, and its not like all four of us are needed to enter the Battle Dome anyway."

"So I guess that leaves just me and May." Melany said. Looking back at May, she noticed a malevolent glint in the girl's eye.

_"Just as planned!"_ May thought.

_"Wait, what part of that was planned exactly?"_ Haruka asked her.

_"That's a really uncomfortable look she's giving me..."_ Melany thought, shivering.

* * *

After deciding what to do for the day, the girls quickly cleaned up and left the restaurant. They stopped in the middle of the Battle Frontier before parting ways.

"Ashley, you have a cellphone right?" Melany asked her.

"Yeah, I don't really use it though." Ashley replied, taking the cellphone out of her bag.

"Hmm...but I guess it probably can't register pokenav numbers. Even in Hoenn not all cellphones can do that." Melany thought for a moment. "May, why don't you give her your pokenav just incase we have to get in touch?"

"EHHH?! Better yet, why don't you give her your's?!" May shot back.

"Mine has a pokemon in it, remember?" Melany replied. "Anyway, its not like you ever use your's. Does it still have my number registered?"

"It does, not that it makes much difference." May replied bitterly. "You never answer in the first place!"

Melany sighed. "That's hardly the point..."

"Fine! Whatever!" May took out her pokenav and shoved it into Ashley's hands.

"Thanks. We'll call you if anything comes up." Ashley opened her travel bag again and put the cellphone and pokenav inside. "Ok, later then."

"Good luck at the Battle Dome, you two!" Rina said to them, then left the Battle Frontier with Ashley.

"Later, hope you manage to find what you're looking for." Melany called back after them. "Not like we really need luck anyway." She added, once they were out of earshot, then turned to May. A shiver went down Melany's spine when she the unnaturally sweet-looking smile on May's face. "Wh-what are you smiling about?"

"The last time we battled, and the only time I beat you, you were yourself!" May said to her.

"I...what?" Melany blinked. "What does that...I don't even..." She blinked again. "Ok, wanna explain what you mean by that?"

"You were yourself, rather than Alex. Which means I still never technically beat Alex!"

"But I'm Alex, whether in disguise or not I'm still me." Melany replied.

"But I want everyone to recognize that I'm better than you, whether you're Alex or Melany!" May declared, pointing a finger at Melany. "And now I'll beat you in a crowded arena to prove it!"

"I want to object, because I find that objectionable, but its hard not to see at least some merit to that argument." Melany thought. "As Alex, the record stands with one tie and one win against her for me. She probably realizes there won't likely be another chance for her to settle that score."

"Well, if we're both entering, it can't be helped." Melany replied with a shrug. "Alright! As my last time as Alex, let's settle this in one battle!"

_"Excellent!"_ May thought, hiding a grin. _"She won't stand a chance, because I won't hold anything back! Melany, this time you'll face a powerful pokemon that you've never had the chance to study before!"_

_"You're getting way too into this..."_ Haruka said to her.

_"May's definitely not going to hold back in this case." Melany thought. "So no need for me to hold back either."_ Melany smiled to herself. _"Latias, looks like this will be your chance to get in on a battle!"_

Melany and May turned and headed toward the Battle Dome, each eagerly anticipating their inevitable match against each other.

* * *

"So what were you and May talking about last night anyway?" Rina asked Ashley as they were exiting the Battle Frontier through the main gates. "We could hear May yelling something about wearing something..."

"Oh, that?" Ashley smiled mischeviously. "I was going to wear a certain outfit to tease Melany."

"A certain outfit?" Rina blinked and then gasped when she realized what Ashley was talking about. "Y-you were going to wear THAT?! In front of HER?! But you know she's..."

"Exactly!" Ashley said, winking. "She'd be struggling with her self control and be so flustered she'd probably faint!"

"Ehhh?! What did she say to make you want to do something like that?!"

"She said Latias looked better than me in her human form." Ashley replied, giggling quietly. "Of course, I know that was her attempt to get back at me, but I wasn't just going to sit and take that."

"-Ashley can be scary when she wants to be.-" Pippi noted to Rina. Rina nodded timidly in agreement.

"Other than that we just talked about what we've been through as trainers more or less. What about you? What did you talk about with Melany?"

"Umm...well..." Rina thought back to the night before, blushing slightly as she recalled the conversation and shaking her head. _"I can't tell Ashley about that! She'd definitely take it the wrong way!"_

Unfortunately for Rina, Ashley noticed the blushing and assumed something entirely different. "Hmm...you know, just because you couldn't break through to Red, doesn't mean you should give up on boys completely." Ashley shrugged. "But I guess if you've already made your decision there's no turning back now..."

"Wh-what?! It's nothing like that at all!" Rina shot back defensively, flailing her arms and accidentally dropping Pippi onto the ground.

"-Ow...-" Pippi muttered, sitting up and rubbing her head.

"Of course not..." Ashley smiled and placed a hand on Rina's shoulder. "Rina, I just want you to know that as your closest friend I will support you in whatever you decide to do."

"B-but I'm not doing anything!"

"But anyway, enough about your love life." Ashley said, waving her hand. "We need to get moving already and get to Mossdeep." She then reached down and plucked a pokeball from her belt.

"Waaa...she's not listening to me at all..." Rina whimpered.

"-I think she's doing it on purpose.-" Pippi said, nodding sagely.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Battle Dome, May and Melany had made their preparations and signed up for the next tournament. With only minutes before the first match, they checked over the match listing to find their names.

"Looks like we're in different divisions." Melany noted, then looked over at May. "So it'll be the final round again..."

"Of course. It wouldn't be right for us to battle before then." May said, grinning to herself.

"Looks like you're in the first match too, against some guy named Tucker." Melany shrugged. "Well, good luck then, not that either of us really need it. Most of the competition here has been pretty lame."

"Well, I'm sure this won't take long then." May said, then turned and started off toward the arena. "See you in the finals!" She called back.

"But, you know, come to think of it..." Melany thought, looking back at the matches. "Where does the leader fit in here? Do they challenge the winner or are they in the tournament themselves?" Melany thought it over for a moment and shrugged. Deciding not to dwell on it, she headed toward a waiting room for the trainers. Out on the field, meanwhile, May took up her position on the battlefield but found her opponent had yet to arrive.

_"Well I made it here on time, where's my opponent?"_ May wondered. Suddenly, the arena's lights dimmed, but then another set of lights around the arena came on to illuminate the trainers and the battlefield.

_"I wonder if this would answer your question."_ Haruka said to her.

An announcement blared out through the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, its the moment you've all been waiting for! Introducing the star of the Battle Dome, the Dome Ace Tucker!" Applause and cheering sounded throughout the arena and a spotlight focused on a purple haired man wearing what looked like a purple and white fairy costume.

May's jaw dropped in disbelief. _"Wh-what?! Who the hell is this joker?!" _She wondered. _"He can't seriously be the leader here!"_

The strange man, Tucker, danced around the arena, jumping and spinning while the audience chanted his name. Eventually he made it to his side of the arena and finally stopped. He turned several times, bowing to the audience, before finally turning to address May.

"Do you hear it? This crowd! They're all itching to see our match!"

"I don't know why someone like you is even so popular!" May thought.

"And Tucker's first challenger is..." The announcer went silent for a moment and whispering could be heard, the tone of which suggested the announcer himself wasn't prepared for what he was about to say.

"The first challenger is none other than May Maple!" The announcer finally said over the speakers. "Regional champion of Hoenn and recent victor in the Devon Grand Prix, going so far as to face an ancient and legendary pokemon in the final round! Yes, this girl's achievements are nothing short of incredible!"

"Wh-what?!" Tucker stuttered. The announcement caught him completely off guard, to reveal such strong competition in only the first round. "W-well still! I always make it to the final round! That's why I'm the Dome Ace!"

"Dome Ace, huh?" May repeated with a sly smirk. "But I wonder which title holds more weight, mister Ace? Dome Ace...or Regional Champion?"

"Well we'll just have to find that out!" Tucker reached back, taking a pokeball from under the tail of his outfit. "Let us make this a battle for the audience to remember! Swampert, go!" Tucker held out the pokeball and released Swampert, a five foot tall water and ground pokemon, onto the battlefield.

"I was thinking the same thing!" May called back, likewise grabbing a pokeball. "Roselia, go!" She then called out, releasing a tiny grass pokemon with flowers for hands. At only a foot high, Roselia was hard for some members of the audience to even make out.

"This would seem to give you the type advantage, but can you even win then?" Tucker said to May. "Swampert, attack her Roselia with Ice Beam!" Swampert opened its mouth and fired a blue beam at the diminuitive grass pokemon. The beam fell short of its target, but the ice that spread out from the point of impact still froze over her. The ice then shattered, causing Roselia to drop to the ground in pain.

"Sorry, but the advantage is still mine!" May called back. "Roselia, attack Swampert with Giga Drain!" Roselia stood up and pointed both of her flowers at Swampert. The water pokemon suddenly cried out sharply and several large, green orbs shot out from its body and flowed into Roselia. Swampert dropped to the ground while a blue glow surrounded it, having had a large amount of its lifeforce drained from it, while the energy restored Roselia to full health.

"I see! So your pokemon are every bit as powerful as one would expect from the champion!" Tucker said to May.

"Of course! Why wouldn't they be?" May replied with a smirk. "Ok, Roselia, finish this with Magical Leaf!" With Swampert still struggling to get back on its feet, it was open to attack. Roselia took advantage of this, jumping into the air and spinning around to send several sharp leaves flying toward Swampert. The leaves homed in on Swampert, making the attack unavoidable, and slashed across the water pokemon's body. Swampert cried out in pain and then collapsed again, losing consciousness completely.

"Ha! You are indeed talented!" Tucker said while he recalled Swampert. He struggled to maintain his composure under the pressure mounting on him and was already starting to sweat. "Well, as one might expect, I have saved the best performance for last!" Tucker reached back under his 'tail' and returned Swampert's pokeball, then took another one in his hand. "Metagross, come on!" He then called out, releasing the steel pokemon Metagross onto the field. The fierce looking steel pokemon let out a metallic-sounding roar in an attempt to intimidate its opponent.

"-DESTROY ALL OPPOSITION!-" Tucker's Metagross declared.

"-This won't take too long.-" Roselia said to herself, then smirked. "-Let's see if you can even hit me, big boy!-"

"We'll take on this one too! Roselia, Leech Seed!" Roselia pointed her flowers at Metagross and fired, launching a seed at it. The seed landed on the x-shaped bars on Metagross face and then sprouted vines to latch onto it. The seed immediately began draining away Metagross' health and siphoned it back to Roselia.

"Metagross, Meteor Mash!" Metagross raised its right forelimb back and then shot across the battlefield with a burning aura surrounding it, looking like a meteor falling through Earth's atmosphere. Roselia quickly jumped to the side, taking a glancing blow from the attack that knocked her to the ground. She quickly shook it off and got back up.

"Ok, now use Grasswhistle!" May called out. Roselia turned toward Metagross again and put her hands to her mouth, then whistled. A strange sound filled the air and Metagross suddenly collapsed, falling fast asleep.

With Metagross at a clear disadvantage, Tucker began to fear his impending defeat. _"No! If this keeps up I won't just lose, I'll lose without even beating one of her pokemon!"_ He thought nervously.

_"Now that I think of it, Roselia's grass attacks won't do much damage to Metagross at all, so I'll be relying on Leech Seed entirely like this won't I?"_ May thought, taking Roselia's pokeball in her hand. "Ok, Roselia, thats enough for now then." May said, recalling her pokemon and placing the pokeball back on her belt. She then quickly took another pokeball in her hand.

"Entei, go!" May held out the pokeball and released the legendary pokemon, Entei, onto the field in front of the sleeping Metagross. Entei stood proudly over the steel pokemon.

"Huh? What pokemon is that?" Tucker wondered aloud.

"Entei, attack Metagross with Fire Blast!" Entei turned its head down toward Metagross and opened its mouth. A small fireball formed in Entei's mouth, which it then spat at Metagross. The fireball struck Metagross in the face and began to expand while pushing the steel pokemon across the field. Eventually, after taking the shape of a stick figure, the fireball exploded and knocked Metagross onto its back. The steel pokemon remained unmoving, downed in only one attack from Entei.

"Wh-what?! I lost already? But that isn't fair!" Tucker whined, now sweating bullets. "I'm the Dome Ace but I didn't harm either of her pokemon in the end..."

"Looks like we settled that debate then." May said, sounding rather smug.

_"For someone that was supposed to be a top trainer, that was rather pathetic."_ Haruka said, though to May she didn't sound like she particularly cared.

"But even so, you don't get your symbol yet!" Tucker said to May.

"I don't? But I won fair and square!"

"But beating me isn't enough!" Tucker replied, waving a finger at her. "You need to win the tournament as well."

"Oh, is that all." May said with a shrug, causing Tucker to nearly fall over. "In any case, I guess this battle's over then. Good job, Entei." May held out Entei's pokeball and recalled her pokemon, then turned to leave the arena.

"What a shocking turn of events, folks! Dome Ace Tucker is now out of the tournament after only a single round! Let's hear it for May Maple, who showed off her incredible battle skills here today!" The audience was silent for a moment, but then suddenly burst out into cheering as May finally left the arena.

With the audience having forgotten about him, Tucker fell to his knees. "But...but what about me?!"

* * *

May went on to win the rest of her matches, using Roselia and Entei as her only two pokemon despite having a third pokemon with her. Her matches still went over easily, however, and she eventually made it to the final round.

Likewise, Melany only used two pokemon, choosing to use Magneton and Latias in every match. The two pokemon covered each other's weakpoints well and in particular Magneton handled enemy steel pokemon easily. Latias, however, was able to handle much of the competition on her own due to the power boost from the Soul Dew. As such, Melany had no problem getting to the final round to face May.

"This is it folks, the final match! For the first time ever, our Dome Ace won't be taking part in this match!" The announcer said over the arena's speakers, announcing the next match. "In this round May Maple, the girl who defeated our Ace, will be going up against a relatively unknown trainer by the name of Alex!" With that announcement, the audience cheered and started chanting May's name.

_"Unknown? You'd think at least someone would have heard of 'him'."_ Melany thought, frowning. _"And what's with this crowd? The minute he lost to her, they forget about their 'Dome Ace' and start worshipping May? I mean, geez!"_

"You better not hold anything back, 'Alex'!" May called out from across the arena. "Or else you won't last even five minutes!"

"Like I'd even think about it." Melany shot back, taking a pokeball in her hand. _"I bet she'll finally use Lugia now. She's been holding that one back for the entire tournament, so she must have been waiting to reveal it in this match."_ She thought.

After each match, a trainer could see the three pokemon their opponent would be using. May had entered Roselia, Entei, and Lugia, but had only used Roselia and Entei in her previous matches. Knowing Lugia was a legendary pokemon, Melany had assumed May would be saving it just for this match. Melany herself had taken Skarmory along as well but was able to make due using the same two pokemon in each match.

"Good!" May drew a pokeball from her belt. "Today, I'll finally settle the score with you Alex! Entei, go!" May held out the pokeball and released Entei onto the battlefield.

"Latias, go!" Melany called out, releasing her first pokemon onto the field as well.

_"Alright! We're finally battling May! This will be fun!"_ Latias said telepathically.

"Just don't get too carried away." Melany said to her. Latias nodded and tried her best to put on a determined expression. "Ok! So start off with Psychic!"

"Entei, use Calm Mind!" Entei closed its eyes and focused, maintaining its concentration even as a psychic force surrounded its body. Latias was focusing as well, concentrating her psychic powers to close in around Entei. Entei showed little reaction at first as Latias' power was crushing its body, only grunting in pain when she stopped and attempted to throw Entei back. Entei braced itself against the push but still skidded a foot across the field.

_"That was a pretty powerful attack."_ May thought, then smirked to herself. _"Well, that's to be expected. Latias is a legendary pokemon afterall. I wonder how she ranks compared to Entei then?"_

"Ok, Entei, lets try attacking with Bite now!" Entei nodded and opened its eyes. It charged across the battlefield, baring its fangs.

"Latias, Mist Ball!" Latias gathered a ball of light and fired it at Entei as it charged toward her. Entei stopped in its tracks when it was struck by Latias' Mist Ball attack, but quickly shook it off and kept going. Entei lunged toward Latias and managed to bite into her shoulder as she tried to pull away. The two grappled briefly before Latias managed to pull herself out of Entei's grip.

_"Uwaa...it bit me..."_ Latias whined telepathically, broadcasting her thoughts as if she had muttered it out loud.

_"What is this creature? I don't recall Latias being such a...crybaby in our last encounter."_ Entei thought, recalling when, in ancient times, it had encountered Latias and Odari.

_"I wonder if she's really cut out for battle. She likes to complain a lot."_ Melany thought. Latias had complained whenever she got hit in the previous matches as well. _"Well, that just means we'll need extra training to get her over it."_

"Even though that attack was powered up, it didn't seem to affect Latias much at all!" May thought in disbelief. _"Its a psychic type, right? Or maybe not? Can Entei do anything to it at all? Hmm..."_ May thought for a moment and came up with a new plan of attack. _"I've got it! I'll just leave everything to Lugia and use Entei for the set-up! Melany won't see a plan like that coming at all!"_

"Entei, attack Latias with Leer!" May called out, her enthusiasm evident in her tone of voice. Entei turned its gaze on Latias and leered at her.

_"Th-that look...its really unnerving..."_ Latias whimpered, shuddering.

_"Did she just seriously use Leer?"_ Melany thought in disbelief, ignoring Latias' whining. _"I didn't think anyone ever used that attack before, but if thats what she's doing then we better be careful. Even if its a pretty poor technique, its still lowering Latias' defense slightly."_

"Latias, Recover!" Melany called out, deciding to be cautious. Latias focused briefly and her body shimmered. Energy flowed through her, restoring the damage inflicted by Entei's only attempt to attack her.

"Entei, keep it up! Another Leer attack!" Entei nodded and continued to leer at Latias, causing her to become very uncomfortable.

"It's still doing it..." Latias whined.

_"Again with the whining!"_ Melany thought, clenching her fist. "Latias, just focus on the battle, ok? Attack Entei with Psychic." Melany ordered her, sounding unusually harsh.

_"Y-yes mam!"_ Latias' eyes flashed blue as she focused her psychic powers on Entei again. A telekinetic force surrounded Entei and began to crush it, resulting in a blue glow surrounding its body. Entei growled in pain and was unable to resist the attack nearly as well as it had the first time, due to the damage it had endured since then. Latias ended the attack by sending a strong psychic push at Entei, throwing it backwards. Entei landed hard on its side but was still conscious.

_"Looks like thats the best Entei will do."_ May thought. _"Ok! So one more attack, and then I'll finally show you my ace in the hole!"_ She grinned to herself. _"I might not have been able to get Ho-Oh because of that Duke guy, but I'll show you the power of the legendary pokemon I DID get!"_

"Ok, Entei, give it everything you've got now! Fire Spin!" Entei weakly raised its head and turned toward Latias, then breathed out a cone of flames. The flames formed around Latias like a twister, trapping her inside.

_"KYA! ITS TOO HOT IN HERE!"_ Latias shrieked.

_"When I get some free time, Latias, I will definitely be conditioning you not to complain everytime you get attacked."_ Melany thought. Already she was considering the tough training regimen she would be putting Latias through. "Latias, one more attack! Mist Ball!" Latias swallowed hard and focused on her attack, gathering a ball of light and firing it through the flames. The light struck Entei while it was attempting to get back on its feet, knocking it over again and rendering it unconscious.

"So it seems the first match goes to you, Alex, but thats fine." May said confidently as she recalled Entei. "Afterall, that's just how I planned it!"

_"D-did I just hear May say she had a plan?"_ Melany wondered, then shook her head. _"No, that can't be right, May never comes up with a plan on her own. I'm sure I misheard her over the sound of the flames..."_

"Ok, Lugia!" May grabbed a pokeball from her belt and held it out. "Your turn now! Go!" The pokeball opened up and fired a red beam into the air. The beam materialized into a huge bird pokemon that stood at over 17 feet tall from head to foot. The pokemon, Lugia, let out a loud shriek as it appeared, causing the usually noisy crowd to suddenly go completely silent as they cowered in fear.

"You...you've got to be kidding..." Melany murmured, stunned by Lugia's appearance. "That bird pokemon is...huge! How can it even fly?!"

_"What's happening?! I can't even see what's going on past these flames!"_ Latias cried out telepathically.

"-I don't get whats going on here but...-" Lugia turned its head toward May. "-Without the yellow haired one, I suppose I can't really voice my complaints. She can't understand me like she would be able to understand Ho-Oh.-"

"Ok, Lugia, attack now with Aeroblast!" May called out.

"-I'm assuming she means the pokemon in the flames there.-" Lugia said to itself, turning toward Latias. Lugia opened its mouth and fired a beam-like twister down onto Latias. The flames around her were completely dispersed and Latias herself was pounded into the ground by the attack while the fierce winds tore at her body. She cried out sharply in pain and struggled to get back to her feet after the attack.

_"What?! It was able to attack with that much power?!"_ Melany thought in disbelief. _"I already know Lugia is a more defensively oriented pokemon, I would have thought Latias would be able to endure an attack like that even with the lowered defenses! Is the difference in power between the two just that great? Either way, looks like Latias won't endure another attack like that even if she used Recover. Guess we'll have to try a different approach..."_

"Latias, try weakening that pokemon with a Charm attack!" Melany called out.

_"I...I'll try..."_ Latias replied timidly. She clasped her hands together and winked at Lugia. _"Please be gentle with me, ok?"_

May blinked. "What kind of technique..." She quickly shook her head. "Nevermind! Lugia, finish this with another Aeroblast!" Lugia opened its mouth and blasted Latias with another concentrated tornado attack. Though weaker than the previous attack, thanks to Latias' Charm attack, it still carried enough power when used on Latias to pound her into the ground and knock her out. Melany let out a sigh and recalled her.

_"I may have lost the match, but at least I don't have to listen to her whine anymore."_ Melany thought. She placed Latias' pokeball back on her belt. _"Well, I guess this makes this battle the reverse of the grand prix. My electric pokemon, against her legendary pokemon. But with Magneton's typing and Lugia being weakened by Latias, I might just have the advantage here anyway."_

Melany smirked and took Magneton's pokeball in her hand. "Alright! Magneton, come on out!" She held out the pokeball and released Magneton onto the field. "Magneton, let's hit this one hard from the start! Attack with Thunderbolt!" Sparks of electricity gathered around the magnets on Magneton's body, then fired out and combined into a single bolt. The bolt of electricity struck Lugia in the chest, causing it to growl in pain. Lugia withstood the attack easily, however, as its body was incredibly durable.

_"Attack all you want, you won't make any significant ground against Lugia."_ May thought with a smirk. "Lugia, Rain Dance!" Lugia spread its wings and let out a loud cry, summoning a rain storm over the battlefield. Though the clouds formed near the ceiling, Lugia's head was still only a few feet away from it.

_"Ok, now this is really bearing an eerie resemblance. Why does that pokemon know Rain Dance?"_ Melany thought, then shook her head. _"Whatever. May left herself open with that one."_

"Magneton, now's your chance to strike with a stronger attack! Use Thunder!" Magneton called down a bolt of lightning out of the clouds, directing it toward Lugia with subtle movements of its body. The bolt shot straight down but then made a ninety degree turn to blast Lugia in the chest. Lugia cried out in pain and took a step back from the force of the attack, but again managed to shake it off.

"You still won't be able to harm Lugia with those attacks!" May said to Melany. "Now, Lugia, attack Magneton with Hydro Pump!"

"Hydro Pump?!" Melany repeated in disbelief. Sure enough, Lugia opened its mouth and sprayed out a high pressure blast of water at Magneton. With the rain boosting its power, the water struck Magneton hard. Magneton tried to resist the attack, but was still being slowly pushed back until Lugia could no longer keep up the attack and stopped.

_"What kind of pokemon is that?!"_ Melany wondered, gritting her teeth while she frantically tried to figure it out. _"Its definitely a flying type, right? But it can't be a water type too, or else even as a legendary and durable pokemon it would be at least in pretty bad shape by now. Its still going strong though and can naturally use Rain Dance and Hydro Pump. Is it some kind of storm pokemon?"_

"Ok, now Recover to heal off the damage inflicted by Magneton!" May ordered Lugia. Lugia focused briefly, forcing energy to flow through its body and restore it. Almost all of the damage inflicted by Magneton was quickly healed.

_"Recover too?! This is too much!"_ Melany thought. "Magneton, don't let up! Attack with Thunder again!" Magneton reached out to the thunderclouds raining down on the battlefield again, drawing a lightning bolt down from the clouds and directing it toward Lugia. As expected, with the bolt striking Lugia dead in the chest, there was little noticeable effect from it.

"Lugia, use Hydro Pump again!" Lugia opened its mouth and fired another powerful stream of water at Magneton. Magneton fought to resist the water putting pressure on its body, but eventually could endure no more and fainted. Magneton dropped to the ground and Lugia's attack pushed it along until it came to a stop at Melany's feet.

"THERE YOU HAVE IT! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THIS TOURNAMENT'S WINNER IS MAY MAPLE!" The announcer's voice rang out excitedly once Melany's final pokemon had dropped. "Showcasing an amazing pokemon in the final round, the likes of which has never been witnessed in the Battle Frontier, the trainer that beat the Dome Ace has gone on to win the entire tournament! Congratulations, May!"

The audience burst into applause and cheering, and an attendant arrived on the field to award May with the Tactics Symbol. With Lugia still standing on the field, May raised her hands and waved to the audience that was congratulating her for winning.

"Well, so much for that final match being in my favor..." Melany said with a sigh as she recalled Magneton. "Well, May finally settled the score with 'Alex', so I hope she's happy with that at least." Melany turned and left the field while May was still contending with her newly acquired fans.

* * *

When May was finally able to leave the arena she met up with Melany outside the Battle Dome.

"Well, looks like that's finally settled! I, May Maple, am the better trainer without question!" May said smugly.

"I suppose there's no debating that." Melany replied with a shrug. "Though I maintain that it'd come down to the pokemon we used in battle making the difference in the end."

"Whatever! You lost, and thats that!" May said, pointing a finger at her. "Now, as the loser, you have to treat me to lunch!" May's words were left hanging in the air for several moments while Melany remained silent.

"...I don't recall agreeing to that." She eventually replied.

"Well you have to anyway!" May asserted.

"Fine...I suppose the prices here aren't too bad anyway..." Melany muttered, rubbing the back of her head. "You do realize there isn't anywhere on this island you can get pasta though, right?"

"There...there isn't?" May mumbled. Melany shook her head. "What?! This place sucks!"

"Well, I'm sure you'll find something you like anyway." Melany replied. The two then headed off to find a place to eat, not knowing that two individuals had arrived back on the island and would soon be interrupting them...

* * *

Author's Notes: Originally, 'Alex' was going to use Latias and Registeel in the Battle Dome. However, I realized at the last second that Alex using Registeel didn't make much sense since that was a pokemon known to solely belong to Melany. So, to keep up the facade, Melany wouldn't use that pokemon. Latias, on the other hand, is a pokemon no one's ever seen with Melany before so it was still fair game.

Interesting fact about that pair, though. In my opinion, they make a very good tagteam in the Battle Dome. I actually entered a level 100 Registeel and Latias in the Battle Dome on a whim once and managed to get the silver symbol without any trouble at all. They weren't EV trained and didn't even have proper natures. They just complemented each other that well alongside the AI's refusal to switch. I stopped after getting Silver, though, because I didn't want to test my luck any further than that.

By the way, did you know Lugia is the 7th largest pokemon? And five of the remaining pokemon larger than Lugia aren't actually legendary pokemon. The only legendary pokemon larger than Lugia is Rayquaza, and that's mostly because its a serpent and thus has a long body. Lugia is just that damn big. Ho-Oh, by comparison, isn't even in the top 10.


	57. Chapter 54: Truth Revealed

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Fifty Four**

**Truth Revealed**

While May and Melany were busy at the Battle Frontier, Ashley and Rina finally arrived at Mossdeep riding Pidgeot and Knight respectively. Once they landed, they hopped off and thanked their pokemon before recalling them.

"So this is Mossdeep, huh? I can kinda see why its called that. From the air it looked like a big, green rock in the middle of the sea." Ashley said as she scanned the island. She immediately spotted the large building with the rocket set up nearby and rolled her eyes. "Gee, I wonder if thats the Space Center?"

"The rocket is kind of a dead giveaway huh?" Rina said to her. Pippi, who Rina was holding in her arms as usual, looked up and down the distant object curiously.

"-Umm...what is that thing used for?-" Pippi asked Rina.

"Its...umm..." Rina paused and thought about how to explain it. "Its something people hope to use to get into space eventually." She eventually explained.

"-Oh.-" Pippi blinked then looked up at Rina. "-What's space?-"

"That'd take a while to explain I think..."

"Isn't is amazing though?" Ashley said, turning toward Rina. "With all the strange gadgets and such we use in our everyday life, we're only now starting to get into space! Space travel must be just that hard, I bet even now it'll still be decades before we're even able to get to the moon!"

"The moon huh?" Rina said to herself, looking at the rocket in the distance. "I wonder if...the moon is made of moonstones?"

"We won't know until we get there, right?" Ashley replied cheerfully. "Anyway! Let's go check this place out already!"

Rina nodded to Ashley and the two of them set off toward the Space Center. Along the way, they passed by brown haired man, appearing to be in his early twenties, wearing a labcoat. He was kneeling next to a white rock at the bottom of a hill leading up to the space center and seemed to be mumbling to himself. Curious, they decided to stop and see what he was doing.

"Umm...excuse me? What are you doing exactly?" Ashley asked him.

"Wishing for our success today." The older man replied without turning to face them. "To the people at the space center, this rock represents that wish."

"But it's just a rock..." Ashley replied. The man chuckled and slowly stood up, then turned to face them. Ashley and Rina could then see the nametag he was wearing on his coat, which said 'Roland'.

"What's the matter? Never heard of a lucky charm?"

"Well usually there's something special about a lucky charm, but no matter how you look at that...it's just a rock."

"Supposedly there's something unusual about it according to our local rock expert." Roland said to them. "I don't know the exact details myself, but he assured us it was special when he placed it here a few years back."

"Well that makes a bit more sense I guess." Ashley replied.

"So you work for the space center? Then, have you ever heard of a pokemon called Deoxys?" Rina asked him.

"Deoxys?" Roland thought for a moment and stroked his chin. "Kinda rings a bell...why do you ask?"

"Well...umm..." Rina paused and thought for a moment. She knew if she mentioned that she had caught Deoxys, or even saw it, they'd be want to see it or know where she found it. "I heard about it once and was kinda curious, and wasn't the space center looking into a pokemon by that name?"

"You may be right, but I don't know anything about that." Roland replied, chuckling quietly.

"Oh." Rina sighed.

"You girls seem to have a few questions you'd like answered, perhaps you would like to accompany me into the facility?" The man said to them, gesturing toward the space center above them. "I'm sure our 'rock expert' is there as well, he usually is."

Pippi snapped her fingers. "-Oh! I get it now! Its called a rocket...because it uses rocks! That's why they have the rock expert there!-"

"I don't think thats how it works..." Rina whispered.

"Are you really allowed to take us in there though? There's no top secret government projects or anything being hidden there that the public shouldn't know about?"

"Of course not." Roland replied with a smile. "They're all stored underground." Ashley and Rina stared at him incredulously. "Kidding, kidding." Roland said, holding up his hands. "We allow visitors within certain areas of the facility. We frequently get young trainers dropping by to see the rocket."

"Ah! So its ok for you to show us around then?" Rina asked.

"Of course, just follow me."

Roland headed up the flight of stairs leading up the hill to the space center and then went inside. The girls followed along behind him and were amazed to see the very first room they entered was filled with drafting tables, computers, and similar equipment. Scientists, most of whom were astronomers and such, were busy discussing various aspects of the rockets they were launching. Few even looked up from their work when the girls entered and no one seemed particularly concerned with their arrival at all.

"Wow, they really are pretty lax about visitors." Ashley observed.

_"Or they're simply more concerned with their work."_ Aisha said to her. _"You could stand to learn a thing or two from them."_

"If you would like to see if there's anything about Deoxys in our database then your best bet is to ask that girl over there." Roland said, directing them to a young blue haired lady sitting in front of one of the computers. "She's the one that usually handles that stuff. As for the rock outside, our rock expert is probably on the observation deck gazing at the rocket."

"Well, that rock is starting to bug me now." Ashley mumbled to herself. "So where's the observation deck?"

"Up those stairs there." Roland replied, pointing to the flight of stairs in the corner. "Directly up from there actually."

"Ok." Ashley nodded and turned to Rina. "I'll go see this rock guy while you look into Deoxys, alright?"

"Is that rock really that important all of a sudden?" Rina asked her.

"Not really, but..." Ashley sighed. "I'm dying to know the story behind it now..."

"Well, you can't miss him." Roland said to Ashley. "He has silver hair and wears a purple and black business suit. He'll stick out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of us."

"Ok, I'll catch up with you two later then." Ashley said to Rina and Pippi, then headed up the stairs.

"Well, I'm sure you can handle yourself from here." Roland said to Rina. "I have to get to work. Good luck with your search."

Rina nodded. "Ok, thanks for your help Roland." Roland then left the two, starting up another computer for his own work. Left on her own, Rina approached the blue haired lady Roland had directed her to. The woman was busily typing away at her keyboard. Rina couldn't really tell what she was doing, being

"Excuse me?" The woman stopped typing and turned her head to face Rina, looking slightly annoyed. "U-umm...I was wondering if you could tell me anything about Deoxys?" The woman remained silent, staring at Rina intently for a moment and then turning back to the computer and typing away again.

"-She doesn't seem very friendly...-" Pippi noted to Rina. "-I don't think we'll...-"

"Deoxys is the codename given to a pokemon believed to have come from outer space." The woman replied flatly after bringing up the appropriate file. "The name is derived from the long name for DNA as the pokemon itself is thought to be a mutated virus. Attempts to find the pokemon after its descent uncovered a strange triangular object on an island near Kanto that has since disappeared. Further investigations into this incident have since ceased until information on the pokemon's whereabouts is available."

"So they are looking for it...but that's all I've managed to find out here aside from the fact that they know even less about the pokemon itself than I do." Rina thought, then let out a sigh. "Thanks, I was hoping there might be more info than that though."

"We can't help not knowing much about this pokemon." The woman replied with a shrug, not even looking back at her. She then closed out the screen on Deoxys and went back to her previous task, vigorously typing away as if trying to make up for the wasted minute.

"I guess thats true." Rina said. "Coming all the way here just to hear that kinda feels like a waste though. Maybe Ashley will find out something interesting about that silly rock." The woman at the computer suddenly twitched and stopped typing.

"-Uh oh...I don't think you should have said that...-" Pippi said, quickly moving behind Rina and sitting on top of her backpack.

"Wh-what did I say?!" Rina said in confusion as she slowly backed away.

"I won't tolerate anyone calling that rock 'silly'!" The woman growled. She quickly stood up, knocking her chair over in the process. She roughly grabbed Rina by the hand and dragged her toward the door, then shoved her outside and slammed the door shut behind her.

Rina turned and stared blinking in disbelief for several moments before letting out an exasperated sigh. "Now I'm getting curious about that rock..."

"-Do humans always get touchy over these things?-" Pippi asked Rina.

"Sometimes you never know what will set someone off..." Rina replied, sighing again.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the observation deck...

_"That must be the guy over there."_ Ashley thought. Staring out the large window lining the wall of the observation deck was the silver haired man Ashley was told to seek out. _"What's with that suit though? It looks so...tacky." _She shrugged to herself and then approached the man.

"Excuse me, are you the rock expert?" Ashley asked the man.

"That would be me." The man replied, running his fingers back through his hair as he turned to Ashley. "I am Steven Stone, the...'rock expert' as you put it." He paused for a moment. "I assure you my fascination with rare rocks and stones has nothing to do with the name..."

_"I wasn't going to say anything about that, but now that you point it out that is a bit suspicious."_ Ashley thought. Before she could say anything in response, another thought struck her.

"Wait, Steven Stone? Melany's older brother?"

"You've met her?" Steven chuckled. "Well that comes as a bit of a surprise. She's usually the least recognizeable in our family, though she has managed to stir up quite a bit of trouble recently."

_"Well isn't that quite the coincidence."_ Aisha said to a dumbfounded Ashley.

"That IS quite the coincidence..." Ashley mumbled under her breath.

"I hope she hasn't been causing you too much trouble." Steven said, smiling lightly.

_"Tell him if he's willing to listen I've got a long list of complaints about that girl."_ Aisha said in a very bitter tone.

"Oh, no! We've been helping each other out a lot lately!" Ashley replied, ignoring Aisha's request. "Anyway, I was hoping you could tell me about that white rock outside." Ashley thought for a moment. "Also...what's a 'rock expert' doing at a space center anyway?"

"That rock...hmm..." Steven looked out the window at the rocket, currently being worked on by several engineers. Panels along the rocket's fuselage were left open, exposing the working parts inside. "Well...to put it bluntly, that rock wasn't formed by natural causes." He replied. "In fact, after running some tests, we have found what seems to be a crystal inside the rock. The rock itself seems as though it might be a disguise of sorts, somehow formed by the crystal."

_"A crystal? Was there another one aside from the Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald?" _Ashley asked Aisha.

_"There were many crystals, but most had very limited powers."_ Aisha replied. _"Even in my time, those crystals were beginning to lose their powers. They most certainly couldn't create a rock large enough to hide in, nor would there likely be any spirits residing in the crystals to do such. It is likely this one is something different entirely."_

Ashley nodded slightly, accepting Aisha's answer, then decided to try to get more information from Steven. "Steven, how big would you say that crystal is?"

"It would be slightly over a foot in length and about half as thick." Steven replied, remembering the crystal's size quite well. He smirked to himself and turned back to face Ashley. "Legend has it that there is a powerful pokemon that awakens only for seven days, once every thousand years. While it sleeps for a millenia, this pokemon takes the form of a crystal."

"So then...you think this crystal might be that pokemon?"

Steven shrugged. "Its a possibility, but we have way of knowing at this time. To be on the safe side, we left the rock intact and kept this information to ourselves. Though we have no way of knowing when it will next awaken, it might not even be in our lifetime, its for the best that no one knows."

"Then why are you telling me?"

Steven chuckled and brushed his hair back before replying. "Well, silly me..." Steven's voice suddenly grew dark. "I suppose I'll have to kill you now to make sure this doesn't get out!"

"Wh-what?!" Ashley yelled, taking a step back in shock. Steven laughed and patted her on the shoulder.

"Just kidding! Though I will have to ask you to keep this to yourself." Steven said to her. "And especially don't tell Melany, or else she will almost definitely try to crack it."

Ashley let out a relieved sigh. "Right...I'll keep that in mind..."

"As for your other question, the reason I'm here..." Steven turned to look out the window for a moment, drawing out his response. A smirk formed on his lips and he crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, isn't it natural that a 'rock' expert is involved with 'rock'et science." He eventually replied, putting emphasis on the word 'rock'.

"Urk..." Ashley twitched and clenched her fists tightly. _"I should have known we weren't getting out of here without someone making a rock joke..."_

_"What do you mean? This rocket has nothing to do with rocks? Then why is it called a rocket?"_ Aisha asked Ashley.

_"Nevermind..."_

"No? Not even a snicker?" Steven chuckled to himself and looked back at Ashley. "Well I thought it was a good one. In any case, the reason I'm here is because I have a personal interest in the space program. For that reason I've been providing them with some funding and supplies."

"So your involvement with the space center isn't because they need the expertise of a rock expert."

"Of course not, they have no need for such expertise. Though they were impressed with the lucky charm I gave them." Steven chuckled to himself. "In any case, were there any other questions?"

Ashley shook her head. "No, I think that's everything. I was just curious really, I didn't expect to find out there could be some kind of legendary pokemon sealed inside."

"Well, you never know where a legendary pokemon will show up these days. They've become rather...common lately." Steven winked at her. "Wouldn't you say?"

"Err...well...I guess that's kinda true..." Ashley quietly admitted. There was no denying that pokemon that had previously only appeared in legends were suddenly showing up everywhere. Especially not while she had four such pokemon herself. "Well anyway, I should probably get going now! Thanks for telling me about the rock!" Ashley turned and quickly left the observation deck and Steven couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

"Quite common indeed..." He said to himself, turning to look out the window again and folding his hands behind his back. "It seems the pokemon sleeping in that rock may very well wake up soon..."

* * *

Having been kicked out of the space center and still waiting for Ashley, Rina decided to check out the strange rock again. Kneeling in front of it, with Pippi beside her, Rina stared at it intently for several minutes and then let out a sigh.

"No matter how I look at it...its still just a rock." She said.

"-Maybe it powers the rockets?-" Pippi suggested, still knowing next to nothing about how rockets actually work.

"I don't think that's it..." Rina replied, smiling sheepishly. Looking at the rock again, she let out another sigh. "Still, I don't see what's so special about it..."

"Perhaps the real secret is inside the rock itself."

"Huh?" Rina blinked. Thinking it over, she squinted her eyes at the rock. "You know, I never thought about it that way before..." After staring at it for a moment, she frowned. "How would anything have gotten inside? I don't know if I can believe that..."

"Don't believe it? Yet, there is undoubtedly something special about this rock, correct?"

"Yeah, I guess thats true." Rina replied, nodding in agreement.

"The only logical answer is that 'something' is something you cannot see just by looking at it."

"That makes sense I guess." Rina gave a slight shrug. "Well, if there's anything special about it, Ashley will find out."

"One more thing..."

"Hmm?"

"Who is it you've been talking to all this time?"

Rina blinked. Until now, she hadn't given it any thought, carrying an entire conversation with an unfamiliar voice. She quickly stood up and turned around, finding herself face to face with a mysterious cloaked figure. The man was accompanied by none other than Duke, the ex-champion of Kanto.

"You...! Who are you?!" Rina demanded. Pippi quickly moved in front of Rina to protect her. Sparks shot across Pippi's cheeks, indicating she was already charged and ready to fire an electric attack.

"I am someone who will be taking that rock." The cloaked figure replied calmly.

"Heh. Boss, you want me to deal with this one?" Duke asked him.

"No need." The figure replied, waving him off while reaching into his cloak with his other hand. "Her pokemon is of no threat."

"-No threat?! I'm not going to sit back and take that!-" Pippi growled. She fired a Thunderbolt at the cloaked figure, but suddenly a pokemon appeared before him to take the attack instead. A pokemon with a rock hide appeared and took the Thunderbolt attack to its gut, but was seemingly unharmed. Sand then began to billow out from its body, creating a sandstorm around them.

"What kind of pokemon is that?!" Rina exclaimed in shock.

"As I said, your pokemon are of no threat to me." The cloaked figure said to her. "Now, I suggest you stand down."

"No way!" Rina shot back. "Pippi, that pokemon's obviously a ground type! Hit it with Surf!"

"-Got it!-" Pippi replied affirmatively. She summoned up a wall of water from under her and rode on top of it as it moved across the field. She jumped off at the last second, just as it came crashing down on the rock skinned beast. The pokemon grunted in pain but easily withstood the attack.

_"What kind of strength does that pokemon have?!"_ Rina wondered in disbelief.

"Tyranitar, Hyper Beam." Tyranitar turned its head toward Pippi and then fired a massive energy beam from its mouth. Pippi cried out and disappeared from view, her body completely engulfed by the beam. Rocks and dust were sent flying in every direction from where the Hyper Beam attack hit the ground, leaving a fair sized crater with an unconscious Pippi lying in the center.

"Pippi!" Rina cried out in dismay. She quickly grabbed Pippi's pokeball and recalled her. As she reached for another pokeball, however, she suddenly found a pair of green hands grabbing each of her arms. A Sceptile had managed to sneak up on her and grab her. _"When did he..."_

"There is no escape for you now. The final piece of the puzzle is in place." The cloaked figure said. He then snapped his fingers. "Tyranitar, grab the rock."

"The rock?" Rina watched in confusion as the Tyranitar, after recovering from Hyper Beam, moved toward the rock. The sandstorm surrounding it enveloped Rina as Tyranitar moved closer, forcing her to close her eyes. She could still hear the pokemon grunt from the effort of lifting the white rock that was behind her. With the sandstorm around her, and Sceptile still holding her hands, Rina couldn't even open her mouth to call for help without breathing in sand.

Though she was now unable to do anything about it, Rina was finally starting to realize that there was more to the space center's lucky charm than meets the eye. _"That rock...there's definitely something special about it then! And this guy is stealing it!"_ She thought. _"He said its the 'final piece of the puzzle'...is this what we've been trying to stop all along? Does this mean...we failed?"_

"Rina!" Ashley finally arrived on the scene. Exiting the space center's main door, she could the situation Rina was in below. The cloaked man happened to look up at her, giving Ashley a glimpse of his face. _"That guy...where have I seen him before?"_

"Seems we have company." The cloaked figure muttered to himself. "Duke, I will be taking my leave now. Clean up here."

"Alright, you're the boss." Duke replied with a nod. The cloaked figure reached into his cloak and pressed a button on a remote he had hidden away. The cloaked man and his pokemon disappeared, taking Rina and the mysterious rock with them. The sandstorm died down as well.

"RINA!" Ashley cried out in dismay.

"I wouldn't worry about her, you have your own problems to deal with." Duke said to Ashley. "Even without any enslaved pokemon with me, I am more than a match for you."

_"I already know I can take you down easily enough."_ Ashley thought, recalling her previous battle with him. Though he had used Mewtwo, she had also faced three of his own pokemon and defeated them with little effort. "Charizard, I choose you!" She called out, holding out a pokeball and releasing Charizard. She aimed down the hill, releasing him near where the white rock was and then running down a set of stairs in front of the space center to join him. Charizard let out a roar as he appeared, looking eager for a fight.

"Heh heh heh. Not too bright, are ya?" Duke said mockingly. He quickly took aim at Charizard with a slave collar launcher attached to his wrist. "Slave collar, I choose you!" Duke called out as he fired a collar at Charizard. The collar snapped around Charizard's neck, giving Duke full control over it.

"Damn it! I forgot about the slave collars!" Ashley growled under her breath.

_"This could end badly..."_ Aisha said.

"Now, Charizard, attack..." Before Duke could finish the command, the device on his wrist was suddenly crushed. "What the?!" Duke held up his arm, staring at the broken device in disbelief. With the launcher, which doubled as the control unit for the collars, destroyed, the collar on Charizard's neck was rendered useless. The fire pokemon let out a growl and snapped the collar off.

"-Damn it...can't believe I was almost enslaved again...-" Charizard grumbled.

"Now, now. That's hardly fighting fair, is it?"

"That voice!" Ashley looked up and saw Steven standing at the Space Center entrance with a Metagross standing in front of him.

"Damn it...so you're here too, huh?" Duke growled as he quickly reached for a pokeball. "Fine! I'll take you both on then! Ninetales, go!" Duke held out the pokeball he grabbed and released Ninetales onto the field.

"Both of us?" Steven chuckled. "I'm not convinced a trainer like you could handle either of us. Metagross..." Steven stretched out his hand, gesturing toward Ninetales. "Meteor Mash." Metagross hovered off the ground and took off toward Ninetales. With one claw-tipped limb held out and a fiery aura surrounding it, Steven's Metagross shot toward Ninetales like a meteor.

_"Can Steven actually take on Duke?"_ Ashley wondered. _"I mean, attacking a fire pokemon with a steel attack is kinda..."_

Before Ashley could finish that thought, Metagross' attack connected. Ninetales cried out in pain, but the cry quickly diminished as it was tossed back by the tremendous force of the attack. The fire pokemon bounced along the ground, falling down several cliff faces until finally skidding to a stop in the shallow water on the sandbar surrounding Mossdeep island. With one attack, which Ninetales was supposed to be resistant to, the fire pokemon was down for the count.

_"I...I guess...he can..."_ Ashley thought, her jaw hanging loosely as she stared in shock. She quickly shook her head, snapping out of her shock. _"Well if that's the case..."_

"NINETALES!" Duke called out to his pokemon. From where he was standing he could just barely see its unconscious form lying in the water.

"I would be more worried about yourself." Steven said to Duke.

Duke quickly turned around, looking as if he was going to say something back to Steven, but found Ashley's fist connecting with his jaw instead. Duke grunted and staggered back from the blow, but then suddenly started laughing

"Hahaha...you've got guts coming after a tough guy li-OY!" Duke's voice left him as Ashley followed up her punch with a swift kick to the crotch. The 'tough guy' dropped to the ground in tremendous pain.

"Where. The. Hell. Did. You. Take. Rina!" Ashley demanded, punctuating each word by stomping on Duke's crotch. Naturally, he was unable to muster up any response at all while Ashley attacked him. His attempt's to speak came out only as a high pitched whine.

"He won't be able to reply if you keep that up." Steven said to Ashley as he walked down the flight of steps going down the hill. "If you intend to learn anything from him, perhaps you should give him a chance to respond first?"

"Fine." Ashley grumbled. She quickly reached down and pulled off Duke's pokeball belt, then tossed it over near Charizard and stood back. "Now, tell me where your buddy took Rina or else I'll make sure there's never a Duke junior!"

"Trainer...hill..." Duke wheezed in response. "He took her... to Trainer's Hill... said he'd need... insurance... for when you guy's... show up... "

"Hmph. So, he's the one calling the shots then." Ashley muttered to herself, then turned to Steven. "Hey, can you get the police here to take this guy in?"

Steven nodded to her and smiled. "Of course, I didn't have anything important to be doing anyway." Ashley nodded and walked off out of earshot of Steven while taking out the pokenav given to her by May.

"-Damn it. I was really looking forward to a fight after that.-" Charizard grumbled, snapping his fingers.

_"Interesting. Looks like things are finally coming to a close here."_ Aisha said to Ashley.

"The sooner the better." Ashley muttered to herself. "If that rock is what Steven said it is, then Rina getting kidnapped again might be the least of our worries..."

* * *

Author's Notes: Was going to have Ashley actually battle it out with Duke, but the end result would have been more or less the same. Only with Duke's Pokemon getting beaten by Ashley's Pokemon instead of Duke getting beaten by Ashley.

I think this is the closest to an actual battle Steven's been shown in throughout either this saga or the Hoenn saga. Though its probably pretty obvious from what his Metagross did, the strength of Steven's pokemon is based off his post Elite Four appearance in Meteor Falls.

On another note, any guesses as to who the cloaked guy is and why Ashley might recognize him from somewhere? Also, naturally, there is a pokemon in that rock. No doubt you can tell what it is now. We're fast approaching the final showdown now!


	58. Chapter 55: Like Dominos

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Fifty Five**

**Like Dominos**

From the top of the Battle Tower, the highest structure on the Battle Frontier Island, Jessica and Vito were scanning the ground below through a pair of binoculars. After a short while, Jessica managed to spot Melany and May. "There they are. Seems there's only two of them here now." She said. Vito moved over to the edge of the tower she was scanning from to see for himself.

"They're the only two that matter anyway." Vito said. He lowered his binoculars and clenched a fist. "Melany...this time I'll end it for sure!"

"Strange that we were asked to do this without bringing any enslaved legendary pokemon with us." Jessica noted, also lowering her binoculars. "Only our own pokemon and a launcher. It'll be more than we need to deal with them, but..."

"Heh." Vito grinned and flicked back his hair. "It hardly matters what we have to use. We've come too far to lose to them now."

Jessica nodded slightly in agreement. "It would still be for the best if we manipulated the odds in our favor." She reached up and pushed her glasses back, getting a slight glint from the afternoon sun. "Naturally, being the brains of this operation, I've already come up with a plan."

"Oh? And what would that be?" Vito asked, sounding only mildly interested.

"Simple. We'll lure them into a situation where we have the advantage." Jessica stood up and pointed down at the ground below. "We'll go down there and start causing trouble. Other trainers will release their pokemon, providing a perfect opportunity to capture their pokemon." Jessica patted the launcher mounted on her left arm.

"Those two do-gooders will come running when they hear people panic and charge into the situation without thinking. Even if we waste all of our collars before then, we'll still have them outnumbered."

"And if the other trainers decide to help them? What then?" Vito asked her.

"They won't." Jessica replied. "After having so many of their pokemon stolen, they'll try to flee. By the time Melany and May try to intervene, they'll want to be anywhere but there."

"I see..." Vito smirked. "Well if that's the case, then we can't lose!"

"Of course not, my plans are flawless." Jessica said, adjusting her glasses again. "Now, let's get to work."

* * *

"Its been a while since we've been together like this, hasn't it?" May commented idly as she and Melany walked through the Battle Frontier, slowly approaching the Battle Tower. The facility happened to be the closest to the hotel/restaurant where they'd be going for lunch.

"Technically the last time probably would have been when we were fighting Groudon and Kyogre at Sootopolis. That does seem like it was long ago." Melany replied.

"You also ditched me without saying anything that time." May said coldly, glaring at Melany out of the corner of her eye. "I suppose now I know why you wanted to disappear." She then stopped and turned to face her. "Why didn't you just tell me the truth from the start anyway?!"

Melany stopped in her tracks and thought about it for a moment, then sighed. "Why? Because at first I was hoping to avoid dragging you into what I thought was solely my problem. As time went on it just became harder and harder for me to tell you the truth..."

"If I ran into Team Aqua or Team Magma, I would have faced them regardless of whether or not I was with you and, in fact, I did."

"Yeah, well, hindsight is 20/20..." Melany muttered, rubbing the back of her head. "Anyway, the way you put it you make it sound like we're here on a date." She then said teasingly. Her body tensed, expecting to be punched, but May reacted quite differently than she had expected.

"Back then...maybe I would have liked that..." She mumbled sadly, looking toward the ground. A tense silence fell between the two for a moment before Melany's curiosity got the better of her.

"What was so great about him anyway?" She asked May. "I never thought I was that great as a guy, but then again maybe thats because I'm not interested in guys..."

"I...I don't know..." May muttered. She folded her arms over her chest and looked off toward the Battle Tower. "It was just how I felt being around you...I guess..."

Melany sighed. "Well that doesn't really..."

"Though, come to think of it, you were always trying to act 'cool', you often bought things for me, and I'm pretty sure you've been flirting with me before too..." May looked back at Melany with a suspicious glare. "Acting like that kinda made it hard not to fall for you!"

"Maybe I did overdo it a bit..." Melany admitted sheepishly. "Still, so its that easy to win you over, huh?" She then added, earning her a swift jab to the stomach. She grimaced in pain, but it was only a light hit and quickly went away. "Do you always hit guys you like?" She asked jokingly. She was surprised to see May actually thinking about it.

"...I guess I do." She replied quietly, as if deep in thought.

"Huh?" Melany blinked. "Was there another guy you liked?"

"There was...but I was only a kid then, so it doesn't really matter." May replied with a shrug. "I haven't even seen that boy in years. He was a year or two older than me and I never saw him again after he set out to become a trainer..."

"You're a trainer now too, and you've been to Johto, couldn't you have gone looking for him?"

"Like I said, I was only a kid then. Its not like there was actually anything between us." May replied. "Anyway, why do you even care?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Melany shrugged. "I was just curious, thats all."

May shrugged. "If you say so. Anyway, so long as you're dressed like that, we're making this a date." May walked past Melany, grabbing her by the hand as she did.

"Wh-WHAT?!" Melany quickly pulled her hand back in protest. "You can't be serious!"

"I am serious." May replied sternly, grabbing Melany's hand again.

"But why? I mean, you know I'm not really..."

"But you are, for now at least." May said, a smirk forming on her lips. "So long as you're here at the Battle Frontier, you're Alex. Since Alex is the one I really like, it means I can spend time with him while Melany is forced to sit and watch knowing even though she likes me, I'll never see her as anything other than a friend."

"Eh...heh..." Melany hung her head in defeat. "You've been talking to Ashley quite a bit, huh?"

"She taught me well."

"But..." Melany raised her head and smiled. "At least now I know you still think of me as a friend."

"Hmph!" May let go of Melany's hand and turned her back to her. "So what if I do! Don't even think for a second that it means I've forgiven you! You're going to atone for what you did by taking me on a date as Alex!"

_"Has she even thought this through, I wonder?"_ Melany thought to herself.

_"So, let me see if I understand this." _Haruka said. _"When Melany was disguising herself as Alex, you started to develop feelings for her thinking she was a boy. Now, knowing she's a girl, you want to go on a date with her, while she's crossdressing as a boy again, so you can date her male persona while somehow torturing her?"_

_"Thats pretty much it." _May replied.

_"I don't think I'll ever understand human relationships in this era. How DO you continue as a species?"_ Haruka said, sounding confused.

"Well, if we're doing this, let's go grab..."

"HELP!" A voice called out in the distance before Melany could finish speaking. May and Melany looked at each other and then, almost instinctively, ran toward the source of the cry for help. Rounding the corner of the Battle Tower, they saw Jessica and Vito attacking several trainers and enslaving their pokemon.

"What?! Why does this have to happen now?!" May growled, clenching her fists.

"Well its only natural that something like this would happen after making plans." Melany said, a slight smirk crossing her lips as she turned toward May. "It kinda was tempting fate, given our track record, don't you think?"

"Whats that even supposed to mean?!"

"Well, whether its an idiot detective, misguided environmental terrorists, wayward legendary pokemon, or pokemon thieves with a hidden agenda, it seems like we're always battling someone, doesn't it?"

"That's true I guess..." May sighed. "I'll be glad when this is over and we finally beat up whoever's behind it all this. I thought for sure it was over when we stopped Kyogre and Groudon..."

"So long as legendary pokemon exist, people will abuse their power. Thats why I want to use the pokemon we have to make a sanctuary for them." Melany said to May. "Anyway, this is obviously a trap meant to lure us out."

"What do we do then? We can't just let them steal more and more pokemon!"

"Did you forget who you're talking to?" Melany asked with a slight smirk. "Afterall, I'd never rush into something like this without a plan."

* * *

"Where are they?! I'm almost out of slave collars here!" Vito growled while loading another collar into his wrist-mounted launcher.

"Use them more sparingly then. We don't have to capture every one of their pokemon, afterall." Jessica replied. Around the two trainers was a crowd of enslaved pokemon, all of which were fully evolved. They had managed to enslave powerful pokemon from the Battle Frontier trainers, including the likes of Salamence and Dragonite.

"Looking for us?" Vito and Jessica turned toward the source of the voice and grinned when they saw Melany, disguised as Alex, and May standing nearby.

"About time you two got here. You kept us waiting." Jessica said to them. "While you were wasting your time getting here, we were making sure we'd have you outnumbered." She made a gesture with her hands, motioning for the enslaved pokemon to move in front of her and Vito. As predicted, the rest of the trainers were already fleeing the scene even with some of their pokemon now being enslaved.

"You should just surrender now, else you'll surely lose the fight!" Vito said smugly.

"Yeah...about that, we're not too keen on fighting you guys while you have those things on your arms." Melany said to them. "We'll be taking those away from you now." Melany snapped her fingers. Alakazam then teleported in next to her and May and quickly focused a Psychic attack on each trainer's collar launching devices. In the blink of an eye, both devices had been crushed and the collars on the enslaved pokemon rendered useless.

"NO! This was supposed to be MY trap!" Jessica growled. She frantically pressed the teleport button on her launcher, but there was no effect.

"Looks like there's no escape for you this time, and those pokemon you had enslaved don't look too happy either!" May said. The pokemon that Jessica and Vito had enslaved turned toward the two. They growled at Jessica and Vito, baring their claws and fangs.

"Hmph. Like we're afraid of a few pokemon belonging to a bunch of nobodies." Jessica scoffed.

"We're still top tier trainers, afterall." Vito added, flicking his hair back. The two of them then reached for their own pokeballs.

"Shedinja, go!"

"Alakazam, go!"

Jessica and Vito held out their pokeballs, releasing Shedinja and Alakazam respectively. Jessica was planning to forestall the enemy pokemon with her Shedinja's ability, while Vito intended to escape on his own with Alakazam's Teleport.

As expected, though, the pokemon that had been enslaved by then attacked as soon as Jessica and Vito released their own pokemon. A Gengar jumped out of the crowd of pokemon and attacked Jessica's Shedinja with a Shadow Ball, knocking it out instantly. Even the attacking Gengar seemed surprised by this, it had only attacked as it recognized Shedinja as a ghost pokemon and knew ghost-type attacks would be effective on it.

"Damn it...lucky shot..." Jessica growled, then recalled Shedinja.

The rest of the pokemon, a Dragonite, Salamence, Meganium, Torkoal, and Stantler, attacked Vito's Alakazam with a flurry of physical blows. Alakazam tried to use Teleport to get away, but a Hypnosis attack from Stantler held it at bay. After only one round of attacks from the remaining four pokemon, being a physically frail pokemon, Vito's Alakazam went down as well. The pokemon attacking it chose to use physical attacks after recognizing it was Alakazam's weakpoint.

"-I'm embarassed to be the same species as that one.-" Melany's Alakazam muttered to herself, shaking her head in dismay.

"Tch! Its as if these pokemon know what they're doing!" Vito said as he recalled his pokemon.

"Of course they know what they're doing." Melany said to them. "Even though most of the trainers here are pushovers compared to me and May, they're still top tier trainers themselves and their pokemon have plenty of battle experience."

"You two just got lucky...again!" Jessica shot back.

"Damn it! We didn't count on getting screwed over so easily!" Vito said through gritted teeth. "If we had those legendary pokemon we enslaved we could have won!"

"I wonder why they don't have them?" May mused.

Melany shrugged. "They probably got demoted." She suggested.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT!" Jessica yelled angrily.

"YEAH! There's nothing we could even get demoted to anyway! There's only three of us!" Vito added.

"Three huh? That's an interesting number." Melany said thoughtfully.

_"Indeed. Its almost as if their boss knew what they were up against."_ Haruka said.

_"Huh? What do you mean?"_ May asked her.

_"Three henchmen, three crystals."_ Haruka explained. _"Not only that, but you two in particular have some rivalry with these two. It seems likely that whoever is behind all of this convinced those two to join by promising them a chance to get back at the two of you."_

A smirk began to form on May's lips. "...Now I get it." She said to herself.

"Get what?" Melany asked her.

"Those two are only working for...whoever it is because they want to beat us, no matter the cost." May replied while staring intently at Jessica and Vito. "Its because when we beat them at the Grand Prix, we hurt their pride."

"Oh?" Melany smirked. "Well, in that case, instead of just turning them in now, let's settle this here once and for all with a double battle. Three pokemon each."

"Heh, are you actually willing to give up your advantage and think we'll fight fair in return?" Vito laughed and ran his fingers back through his hair. "Don't be so naive, girl, we'll..."

"Accept." Jessica said, interrupting him. "Double battle, three pokemon per trainer." She adjusted her glasses, catching a glint from the sun. "We'll prove we're the superior trainers here."

"Alright then. That settles it." Melany clapped her hands together. "The rest of you pokemon, thanks for your help, but we'll take care of these two now. So why don't you go find your trainers?" The group of pokemon looked at Melany, narrowing their eyes at her.

"What she means to say is we'll make sure these two are brought to justice!" May said to the pokemon, showing much more enthusiasm than Melany did and giving them a thumbs up. "So just leave this to us! I'm sure your trainers are worried about all of you!" The pokemon looked at May now, their expression softening a bit, then looked at each other. They begrudgingly agreed to let it slide and wandered off to find their trainers.

"I can't believe they're actually going through with this!" Vito quietly said to Jessica with a wide grin on his face.

"Of course. They think they're the 'good guys' here, which is why they'll play by the rules." Jessica replied. "Of course, neither of us have any intention of sticking to the three pokemon limit."

"Of course." Vito said in agreement. Vito, Jessica, and May each drew a pokeball from their respective belts.

"Wobbuffet, go!"

"Dusclops, go!"

"Heracross, go!"

May's Wobbuffet, Jessica's Dusclops, and Vito's Heracross each materialized in front of their respective trainers. Melany would be using Alakazam as her first pokemon, which was already out of its pokeball.

"Think you know how to handle that one in battle?" Melany quietly asked May.

"Of course, all I have to do is bounce their attacks back at them." May replied with a shrug. "I know how to use my own pokemon, sheesh!"

_"Well, that's probably the best strategy to use in a double battle like this." _Melany thought to herself. _"Ok, Alakazam, let's support May and Wobbuffet then." _Alakazam nodded and moved to stand next to Wobbuffet.

"Starting out with such a type advantage...its strange to have luck on my side for once." Jessica said to herself with a grin. "Dusclops, attack Wobbuffet with Will-o-Wisp!" Dusclops held out its hands toward Wobbuffet and released a purple flame toward it. However, before the wisp could reach Wobbuffet, Alakazam stepped out in front and then dispersed the wisp with a quick Psychic attack.

"You've left yourself open now! Heracross, attack Alakazam with Megahorn!" Vito yelled out eagerly. Heracross lowered its horn and charged across the field, aiming to strike Alakazam. At the last second, Alakazam teleported out of the way and moved behind Wobbuffet. Heracross' attack struck Wobbuffet instead of Alakazam. Wobbuffet's feet remained firmly planted, but its body bent back from the attack and Wobbuffet cried out sharply in pain.

"Wobbuffet, Counter!" Wobbuffet quickly bounced back and headbutted Heracross, striking back with double the power of its Megahorn attack. Heracross was thrown back across the field by the attack and knocked out instantly.

"Why you!" Vito growled and quickly recalled Heracross, then took another pokeball in his hand. "Shiftry, go!" He called out, releasing a tree-like grass pokemon with white fur covering its head and back. "Shiftry, attack that pokemon with Shadow Ball!" Vito called out, pointing toward Wobbuffet.

"Vito! Don't attack so recklessly!" Jessica scolded him, but it was too late. Shiftry focused a Shadow Ball attack and threw it at Wobbuffet.

"Wobbuffet, Counter!" Wobbuffet braced himself. The Shadow Ball attack hit him in the head, causing him to bend backwards while his feet remained firmly planted on the ground. The Shadow Ball attack then suddenly turned yellow as Wobbuffet snapped back, launching it back at Shiftry with twice as much power. Shiftry cried out in pain as the attack hit it in the face and dropped to the ground, unconscious.

"Damn it!" Vito cursed under his breath, recalling Shiftry.

_"Well that went well. Two of Vito's pokemon are down for the count now." _Melany thought with a smirk. _"Ok, Alakazam, let's start powering up. Use Calm Mind."_ Alakazam nodded and closed her eyes, clearing her mind to increase her power.

"Vito, just shut up and do what I say from now on." Jessica scolded him. "Dusclops, lay a curse on Wobbuffet." Dusclops nodded and a dark aura surrounded it. The darkness formed into a pin that stabbed Dusclops through the chest, cutting its lifeforce in half. The dark aura then faded, but another one appeared around Wobbuffet and placed a curse on it.

"-I feel funny all of a sudden, mommy...-" Wobbuffet muttered as it felt the curse starting to sap its strength.

"Her Wobbuffet won't be able to take another hit now." Jessica said to Vito. "Send out your next pokemon and attack, but don't go overboard."

"Fine, we'll do it your way then." Vito grumbled as he took another pokeball in his hand. "Gyarados, come on out!" Vito held out his pokeball and released Gyarados. Without a body of water to hold the length of its body, Gyarados coiled up like a snake.

_"Wobbuffet looks like he's in pretty rough shape, but let's take down one more!"_ May thought. "Wobbuffet, use Destiny Bond!"

"Gyarados, Hydro Pump!" Wobbuffet held out its hands toward Gyarados and a black circle formed under each pokemon, joining their destinies together while Gyarados attacked with Hydro Pump. It released a high pressure stream of water, finally knocking Wobbuffet over and fainting it. However, due to Destiny Bond, Gyarados fainted as well. May and Vito recalled their pokemon.

"Damn it again!" Vito growled, reaching for another pokeball even though three of his pokemon had already been defeated.

"Vito, you're useless, getting defeated so easily and leaving me to fend for myself." Jessica said loudly enough for Melany and May to hear her, then whispered to Vito. "Don't release another pokemon until I tell you to. When I give the word, send out Electrode and have it use Explosion."

"Hmph. Have it your way then." Vito muttered.

"Dusclops, use...huh?!" While Jessica was distracted dealing with Vito, her Dusclops had come under attack. Its body gave off a blue glow, revealing the attacker to be Alakazam. Dusclops groaned in pain as Alakazam attacked. The ghost pokemon fainted before Alakazam could even deliver the final blow, so the psychic pokemon chose to release it instead.

"I guess it can't be helped." Jessica recalled Dusclops and then took two more pokeballs in her hand. "Since this is a double battle, I'll be releasing both of my remaining pokemon. Zangoose, Swampert." She held out the two pokeballs and released her pokemon, sending out the ground and water type Swampert alongside her prized Zangoose.

"Ok, for my next pokemon I'll use..." May took a pokeball from her belt. "Crawdaunt!" She held out the pokeball and released her pokemon, sending Crawdaunt out onto the field. The mean looking crayfish pokemon appeared next to Alakazam and cast a menacing glare at Zangoose and Swampert.

"Zangoose, attack Alakazam with Quick Attack!" Zangoose nodded and took off toward Alakazam, striking the psychic pokemon with blinding speed to prevent Alakazam from attacking. Alakazam grunted in pain and dropped its spoons as it fell to the ground. Zangoose managed to land a strong hit on Alakazam, but Alakazam was still conscious and sat up while rubbing its forehead.

"Crawdaunt, finish it in one blow! Guilotine!" Crawdaunt moved and grabbed Zangoose by the neck shortly after it had attacked Alakazam. Zangoose was caught off guard by the attack and unable to defend itself. Both Crawdaunt's pincers had Zangoose firmly held by the neck and snapped shut around it with a powerful crushing force. It was too much for Zangoose, or any pokemon, to bear. It fainted while in Crawdaunt's grip.

"ZANGOOSE!" Jessica cried out in dismay. "D-damn you! I won't forgive this!" Jessica growled as she recalled Zangoose. Meanwhile, Melany's Alakazam had managed to get back on its feet and opened up with a Psychic attack on Swampert. Swampert growled in pain as a blue glow formed around it, a psychic force crushing its body. Alakazam then thrust Swampert back before losing her focus, but only managed to knock it over onto its back.

"Damn it...I thought I could do more damage to them on my own than this!" Jessica growled, clenching her fist. "Guess I have no choice then...Swampert, Protect!" Swampert stood up and held out its hands, forming a transparent blue barrier around itself.

"Protect? What's she doing that for?" May wondered aloud. "Stalling for time?"

"She must be up to something, stay alert." Melany said.

"Vito, now!"

"Electrode, go!" Vito called out, quickly releasing the pokeball-like pokemon into the middle of their battlefield. "Electrode, Explosion!" The pokemon's body began to glow, preparing to use Explosion.

"Crawdaunt, use-" May's voice was cut off by the sound of an Explosion as Electrode unleashed its power. A burst of energy expanded in every direction from Electrode's body, engulfing the remaining three pokemon. This happened in the blink of an eye, sending up a cloud of dust and debris around the battlefield as the concrete surface was torn up and blasted into dust.

"Now, don't either of you even think of sending out another pokemon." Jessica said to Melany and May. The dust finally began to settle, clearing on Jessica and Vito's side of the battlefield first to reveal Swampert still standing. "If you do, my Swampert will be forced to attack you."

"Guess we should have known this would happen, but even so..." Melany muttered. She held Alakazam's pokeball in her hand, waiting for the dust to settle so she could recall her.

"I wouldn't be so sure you've won yet!" May called out across the field. As the rest of the dust finally settled, May's Crawdaunt was revealed to still be standing. A transparent blue barrier was surrounding the pokemon, blocking even the dust from touching it. "Looks like Crawdaunt was able to use it in time afterall." She said with a sly grin.

"What?! Then our desparate gambit was for nothing?!" Vito yelled in dismay, clenching his fists tightly. He slowly raised one shaking hand to recall Electrode, which had fainted in the process of using the attack.

"Phew...I thought we had it there for a moment." Melany breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to May and smiled. "Nice one! Looks like you and Crawdaunt managed to pull through."

"Well of course, I AM the strongest trainer in Hoenn afterall!" May replied smugly.

"No! I won't accept this!" Jessica growled. "Damn it, Maple! Why is it always you who manages to foil my plans? Why does luck always favor you over me?"

"I could say why, but it doesn't make any difference." May replied with a shrug. "Feel free to call it quits if you..." As May turned to look at Jessica and Vito, she noticed the two of them taking their remaining pokeballs in hand and sighed. "Of course THEY wouldn't want to do it the easy way..."

"That's fine. We'll just have to beat down the rest of their pokemon too." Melany said with a smirk. She finally recalled Alakazam, who wasn't able to survive the explosion, and then took a yellow and black pokeball from her belt and held it out. "Regirock, go! Let's finish this!" She called out, releasing the rock golem pokemon Regirock into the middle of the destroyed field.

"Ninjask, Breloom, go! We're giving this everything we've got!"

"Dodrio, go! We'll help too!"

One by one, the three pokemon that Jessica and Vito had remaining between them joined Jessica's Swampert on the battlefield. Once all of their pokemon were released they immediately went on the attack.

"Swampert and Breloom, attack Regirock with Hydro Pump and Sky Uppercut! Ninjask, attack Crawdaunt with Silver Wind!"

Swampert opened its mouth and fired a strong blast of water at Regirock, forcing the rock pokemon back. Breloom charged in under the water and then jumped up, striking across Regirock's torso with its fist and then finishing with a blow to the head. Regirock staggered back, easily shrugging off the hits.

"Dodrio, attack Crawdaunt with Drill Peck!"

May's Crawdaunt came under attack from the two faster pokemon among their opponents. From a distance, Jessica's Ninjask pulverized it with a gust of wind carrying strange silver particles. Dodrio then charged across the field with a cone of air swirling around the beaks of each of its three heads, then attacked Crawdaunt with a triple Drill Peck. Crawdaunt growled in pain as he endured the drilling, but then collapsed as soon as Dodrio stopped.

"That's one down." Vito said, grinning darkly. May recalled Crawdaunt, seeming strangely indifferent to her loss.

"I'm sorry, but this is where it ends." Melany said to them. "Regirock, take them all out now! Explosion!" Regirock's body began to glow as energy began to build up in its body. Before any of Jessica or Vito's pokemon had a chance to react, Regirock released the energy in a powerful blast in every direction. Regirock fainted in the process, but when the dust settled again every one of Jessica and Vito's pokemon had been knocked out by the blast.

"No..." Jessica whimpered, falling to her knees. "After all this...after all we've been through...after all my planning and schemes...they just brush us aside?!"

"If only he had let us use those legendary pokemon! This battle would have been so easy for us to win!" Vito said bitterly.

"You could have brought whatever you wanted along and you still wouldn't have beaten our unstoppable combination!" May said to them.

"I've been wondering about that, actually. Why were you..." Melany was interrupted by the sound of her pokenav ringing. The tone made a sound as if saying 'ignore' over and over. "That must be Ashley..." She said as she took the pokenav from her belt and held it up to her ear.

"What kind of ringtone is that and why was it set to my number?!" May angrily demanded.

"Hey, did something happen there too?" Melany asked Ashley through the pokenav.

"DON'T IGNORE ME!" May yelled. Melany did just that, however, while she took the call from Ashley. "Fine...whatever..." May turned back to Vito and Jessica. "Anyway! Neither of you are getting away with this now! You took your stupid grudges too far so we're not letting you get away! We'll be turning you two over to the police!"

"If we didn't come out and attack the other trainers this time, they wouldn't even have been able to charge us with anything." Vito muttered, shooting Jessica a glare.

"I didn't hear you complaining about that before." Jessica shot back bitterly.

"I'd like to hear more about this..." Melany said as she switched off her pokenav and turned to the two. "But for now, seems we'll just be turning you in. Something's just come up."

"Why? What happened?" May asked her.

"Rina's been kidnapped, apparently by the guy who's behind all of this." Melany replied. "Also, it seems he's the only one left. Ashley encountered the third henchman entirely by chance and beat him. Their boss has holed himself up in the Trainer's Hill apparently."

"Trainer's Hill? Why does that ring a bell?" May wondered.

"That'd be the place where you slept in the lounge that time because you had trouble sleeping at the hotel you stayed at in Mauville." Melany replied. "Seems that's where this guy's base of operations is, Ashley is already heading there so we should move out quickly."

"Don't remind me...my back hurts just thinking of that hotel..." May muttered, rubbing her back involuntarily. She quickly stopped herself and then grabbed Melany by the scruff of her shirt. "Don't think for a second that this means you're getting out of going on a date with me!"

"DATE? YOU TWO?!" Jessica and Vito shouted in disbelief.

"You know, if you say that around anyone who knows who I really am, they'll get the wrong impression for sure." Melany said to May. May released her grip on her and clenched her fists tightly.

"ITS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" May yelled at the other two trainers.

"Anyway, I guess we'll just take a raincheck on the 'date'." Melany said with a shrug.

"Huh?" May blinked and looked at Melany in surprise.

"You said I need to do this to 'atone', right? So does that mean you'll forgive me for deceiving you if I go through with it?"

"I...I...well...umm..." May blushed slightly and quickly turned away. "I-I might! But only if I really enjoy it!"

"Well, if that's the case, I'll do my best." Melany replied, smiling lightly.

"It better seem like a real date then!" May shot back, turning to face her again. "And you'll have to dress like that again too!" She added, pointing at her.

"What on Earth is going on between those two?" Vito muttered in confusion.

"Weirdos." Jessica grumbled.

* * *

Author's Notes: I feel like I might have been being a bit silly with that date thing. In any case, with Jessica and Vito curbstomped as well, things are really starting to wrap up now. We're heading into the final battle, which will likely take place over the course of several chapters and will probably have at least one Star Wars quote snuck into it for no other reason than because it fits.

Forgot to mention this in last chapter's notes, but originally Vito, Jessica, and Duke were all going to be at the final battle. In my very first plans for this confrontation, all four girls would have been going in together. Outside, Rayquaza and Vito would be waiting so Melany would stay out and battle them. Jessica and Latios would have been on the first floor, where May would stay and battle, and Duke and Mewtwo on floor three where Ashley would stay. Rina would continue on alone and face their leader while the rest dealt with their personal battles. Also, as mentioned, Duke was originally going to leave Rina in a much more critical condition than she was. However, after his defeat at the hands of Ashley, an extremely pissed and now free Mewtwo would have turned on him and used its psychic powers to literally turn him inside out. A gruesome end indeed and one I wouldn't have been describing in great detail in order to maintain a teen rating.

One final note. When this is over, rather than skipping straight to the Sinnoh saga, I plan to start a series of sidestories to cover potentially important events that occur between this saga and the next. Mostly I plan to use it for character development, with maybe a few battles. I've got 18 such chapters planned so far and have a forum topic dedicated to the project for those who visit the forums. Some of these sidestories should clear up a few questions you may or may not have and give some insight into what these people do that isn't somehow related to pokemon.


	59. Chapter 56: Easy Victory

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Fifty Six**

**Easy Victory**

Rina slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to look at her surroundings. She could only vaguely recall being knocked out when she was abducted. The room she was in now was completely round and fairly large. A typical battle arena was situated in the middle of the room and several workbenches lined the wall. Rina immediately recognized the devices on the workbenches as being incomplete slave collars, though each one looked slightly different. As if they were all prototypes of some sort.

_"What is this place?"_ Rina wondered, blinking repeatedly to clear the haze out of her eyes. Staring directly across the room she could see, sitting on a stool from one of the workbenches, a large glowing crystal. Shards of rock littered the floor around it. On the wall behind the chair was a large window, which her captor was standing in front of.

_"Right...I've been kidnapped again..."_ Rina thought with a nervous laugh. _"I wonder if this guy is going to beat me up like Duke did and take away my..."_ Rina blinked, her eyes widening in surprise as her hand reached down to her waist. She felt a smooth, round object and looked down to see she not only still had her pokeball belt but all of her pokeballs as well.

_"What? Why did he...?"_

"So you're finally awake." The cloaked man said, his voice echoing throughout the room as he turned to face Rina. He took a few steps away from the window to stand in front of the chair. "No doubt you have noticed you still have your pokemon with you."

"Why...?" Rina slowly stood up while leaning back against the wall behind her. "Who are you...?"

"Who I am is no longer relevant. Soon I, along with every other pitiful human on this planet, will cease to exist." The cloaked man replied in a flat tone. "As for why you still have your pokemon, I see no need to relieve you of them. As you are no doubt now aware, your pokemon are of little threat to me. With them, at least, you might provide me with some mild amusement."

"What?!" Rina shrieked. "What do you mean humans are going to disappear? Just what are you planning?!"

The man shook his head and sighed. "Really now, I don't feel like explaining this to you." He turned his back to her and waved her off. "I'm sure you can figure it out on your own now anyway." He then folded his hands behind his back and looked at the glowing crystal on the chair.

Rina clenched her fists tightly, staring intently at the strange man. _"How would I be able to figure out something like that on my own?"_ She thought in frustration. _"There's no way one crazy guy trying to act mysterious is going to be able to wipe out the entire human race, and he's trying to make it sound easy!" _She then followed his gaze to the glowing crystal.

_"Wait! What was it he was saying earlier?"_ Rina thought back to her absent minded conversation with him earlier, when she was analyzing the white rock. _"He was after that rock and knew there was something inside. It must be that crystal."_ Rina gulped nervously. _"Is he going to use it somehow to kill every human on Earth? Can it really have that kind of power in it?"_ She then shook her head. _"No! Nevermind how he's going to do it!"_

"Why would you even want to do something like that? What could you possibly gain from killing every human if you die too?!" Rina asked him, sounding both confused and angry.

"Why? Hmph." The man slowly turned to face Rina again. "Why does that even matter to you?" He asked in an agitated tone. "Shouldn't you have other concerns? Like trying to stop me or escape? You have your pokemon with you, afterall."

_"He...he's trying to talk me into battling him!"_ Rina thought. _"I don't get this guy! Is he really the one who's been pulling the strings this entire time?"_

Hearing several pokemon cries outside, the man quickly walked over to the window. Upon seeing what was happening, a wicked grin spread across his face. "Seems I might get my entertainment either way. The final battle begins now."

* * *

Outside Trainer Hill, meanwhile, Zapdos came in for a landing near the tower's entrance with Ashley riding on its back. She hopped off once Zapdos had landed and looked up at the tower before her.

"So this is Trainer Hill...reminds me of the place I fought Duke back in Hoenn." Ashley muttered to herself. "I wonder if these things were just a front the entire time..."

_"Ashley, be careful! I can feel the Emerald's power nearby!"_

"Well that's practically a given, this is the last place they could be hiding it!" Ashley quickly jumped back on Zapdos back, expecting she could be attacked at any moment. Her intuition turned out to be right. Rayquaza, still holding onto the Emerald's power, appeared high in the air over the tower after having been hiding behind it.

"-This must be the welcoming party.-" Zapdos noted dryly. Zapdos quickly flapped its wings, moving back just as Rayquaza fired a Hyper Beam attack down toward it. The ground where Zapdos had been standing was ripped up by the blast, prompting Zapdos to take off and fly away from the tower. Zapdos skimmed along the ground at top speed while Rayquaza followed along behind it with its Hyper Beam attack, almost catching up with Zapdos before it was no longer able to sustain the attack and forced to back off. Zapdos landed and turned to face any potential new threats while Ashley hopped off and took a pokeball in each hand.

"Ok, what kind of power does that Rayquaza have now?" Ashley asked Aisha. Holding out the two pokeballs, she released Articuno and Moltres to stand by Zapdos.

_"Its offensive and defensive capabilities are at least doubled, and it will continually regenerate any damage inflicted on it."_ Aisha explained to her. _"Also, using any sort of weather effect now is pointless. Rayquaza's ability to nullify the weather is enhanced as well."_

"Sounds like its got quite a bit of power then." Ashley muttered, wincing.

"Melany and May managed to stop Groudon and Kyogre while they had similar capabilities, I am sure you can manage this." Aisha reassured Ashley. "Incidentally, don't you have Groudon with you?"

"Good point." Ashley said, nodding. She took another pokeball from her belt. "Ok, Groudon, come on out!" She called out, holding out the yellow and black pokeball she grabbed and releasing it. Standing about twice as tall as Ashley, a red, dinosaur-like pokemon with large claws appeared standing before her.

"-Finally! I thought I would never be free!-" Groudon growled. Spotting Rayquaza hovering near the top of the tower ahead, Groudon let out another low, more menacing growl. "-Rayquaza...and it has the Emerald's power too. Hypocrite.-"

"-It's interesting how the tables have turned.-" Moltres quietly said to Zapdos and Articuno. "-Last time we were involved with these pokemon, it was Groudon causing trouble and Rayquaza we were siding with.-"

"-We? What's all this 'we' stuff?-" Zapdos squawked at Moltres. "-I was the only one there!-"

"-Zapdos! Moltres! Now is not the time!-" Articuno scolded them sharply. The other two birds dropped the conversation and focused on Rayquaza, which had yet to make another move.

_"Come to think of it, this is the first time I've actually used Groudon in battle."_ Ashley thought to herself. _"Of course, even if it doesn't listen to me, I've still got Rayquaza outnumbered four legendary pokemon to one."_

_"I wouldn't be so sure."_ Aisha said to her. Ashley blinked and looked back toward the tower. Two other flying pokemon, Ho-Oh and Latios, emerged from behind the tower closer to the ground. The main door of the tower then burst open from a telekinetic thrust, knocking the doors off their hinges as Mewtwo walked out and joined the two. Rayquaza then flew down from the top of the tower to join them, leaving Ashley facing a group of four legendary pokemon.

"Great..." Ashley gulped nervously. "Talk about tough competition."

_"I suggest calling out your other two pokemon as well."_ Aisha said to her. Ashley nodded in agreement and took her final two pokeballs from her belt.

_"I gathered up all my legendary pokemon for this, but I've got two others anyway."_ Ashley thought as she held out the two pokeballs. "Venusaur! Snorlax! Go!" The pokeballs opened up, releasing Ashley's Snorlax and Venusaur. The two pokemon materialzed next to the group of legendary pokemon that Ashley had already released.

"-Whoa now. This is quite the gathering.-" Venusaur said, looking at the pokemon standing next to him. Looking across the dirt plain leading up to the tower and seeing their opponents, Venusaur narrowed his eyes. "-That's it then, huh? So what's this? Final battle number three now?-"

"-Whatever. Just stay out of my way, I don't need any help to take these guys.-" Groudon said, pounding its fists together.

"-They're about to attack.-" Articuno noted, observing the group of pokemon ahead, then turned its head to address Groudon. "-If you think you can take them all, then by all means feel free to take all four of their attacks.-" Groudon lowered its claws and growled, but said nothing.

Meanwhile, as Articuno noted, the other four legendary pokemon were getting ready to attack. Rayquaza reared its head back, preparing to fire another Hyper Beam attack at the group but holding it rather than firing, while Latios, Ho-Oh, and Mewtwo raced toward them to get at a better range to attack.

"We have to survive this round of attacks!" Ashley said to her pokemon. "If we focus on just one of them at a time and break their collars, they'll probably help us to destroy the rest too!" Ashley's pokemon nodded and prepared to counter with their own attacks.

Mewtwo, using its psychic powers to hover across the ground faster than the other pokemon could move, was the first to get into range. It came to a complete stop and made its move, attacking the pokemon it thought it could take out the easiest. Mewtwo's eyes turned completely blue as it held out a hand toward Venusaur, focusing its power on him. A blue aura surrounded Venusaur and he felt a crushing force weighing down on his body, then he was suddenly thrown back and landed on his side. He was still conscious, though, and managed to gather enough strength to roll back onto his feet. A green glow surrounded Venusaur's body briefly, indicating his Overgrow ability had become active.

Latios was the next to attack, opening his mouth and firing a beam of light at Articuno. It had chosen the ice bird thinking that it posed the greatest threat to him. Articuno took the hit to the chest and staggered back, but easily shook it off and fired back with an Ice Beam attack. Latios growled in pain and dropped to the ground as ice formed over his body. It shattered on impact, causing Latios a fair bit of pain as shards of ice jabbed at his body.

After Articuno had made its attack, Ho-Oh attacked next. The giant fire bird came to a stop and opened its mouth, launching a fireball at Articuno. The fireball expanded and took the shape of a stick figure, then smashed into Articuno and pushed it back until the fireball finally exploded and knocked Articuno to the ground. Though it was a hard hit, and dealt a fair bit of damage to the ice bird, Articuno managed to get back up and shook it off.

With their leader being attacked, Zapdos and Moltres decided to retalliate. Since both Latios and Ho-Oh were resistant to fire attacks, Moltres spread out its wings and started to gather energy and focused on Latios. It was preparing to use Sky Attack. Zapdos, meanwhile, fired a Thunderbolt from its body at Ho-Oh. Ho-Oh winced in pain but, despite being weak to the attack, easily withstood it. Groudon then dug into the ground rather than attacking, moving under the field to get closer to Rayquaza.

_"Maybe I should have been commanding them from the start."_ Ashley thought, twitching nervously. She quickly regained her composure to call out attacks for her remaining pokemon. "Snorlax, power up with Belly Drum so we can attack these guys with full power!" Snorlax nodded lightly as though half asleep. She pounded hard on her stomach like a drum, causing a tremendous power to flow through her while she inflicted damage on her body.

"Ok! Now, Venusaur, aim a Frenzy Plant at Mewtwo and crush that collar!"

"-Got it! I won't miss!-" Thick, brown vines shot out of the base of the plant on Venusaur's back and dug into the ground. The vines travelled through the earth until they reached Mewtwo, then sprang up and wrapped all around the pokemon's body. They wrapped especially tightly around the collar on Mewtwo's neck. The vines then squeezed Mewtwo with all their strength, causing Mewtwo to grunt in pain. The crushing force of the vines bent the collar, destroying the circuitry inside it and shutting it down.

_"Release me at once!"_ Mewtwo sharply commanded Venusaur. Knowing that Mewtwo was now free of the collar's influence, Venusaur gladly retracted his vines. Mewtwo then focused its psychic powers and levitated high into the air.

"Wait!" Ashley called out to Mewtwo. "Aren't you going to help us free the rest?!"

Mewtwo snorted. _"Not a chance."_ It replied telepathically. _"I thank you for releasing me, but you humans have caused me nothing but trouble. I will have no part in this."_ Mewtwo then shot off through the air, flying past the tower and Rayquaza without so much as taking a quick shot at either.

"What kind of attitude is that for a pokemon?!" Ashley growled, clenching her fist.

"-We can do this without that one's help. The others will surely pitch in when we free them.-" Articuno assured the rest of the pokemon.

"-By the way, isn't it odd that Rayquaza hasn't attacked yet?-" Zapdos noted.

Rayquaza wouldn't be holding back any longer, however. It finally let loose with its Hyper Beam attack, firing it at such an angle to strike Ashley's pokemon. Venusaur was hit first. Already weakened by a powerful psychic attack from Mewtwo and barely staying conscious, Venusaur was knocked out by the slightest nick from Rayquaza's Hyper Beam attack.

The beam then moved across the three legendary birds that stood next to Venusaur, knocking them all to the ground. The beam lingered on them briefly, pinning them to the ground while inflicting further damage. The three birds cried out in pain while slowly being pushed into the ground. Rayquaza's Hyper Beam was destroying the soil under them, digging a hole. The beam eventually stopped and moved on, allowing for Zapdos and Moltres to fly out of the hole. Articuno, however, remained inside. The attack had knocked it unconscious.

Snorlax was the last of Ashley's pokemon to be attacked. The initial blast threw her onto her back, but it didn't linger on her for long after that. Though Snorlax was still conscious, the damage had been done. Being so massive, it was difficult for Snorlax to move quickly and even standing up took some effort. It left Ashley completely unprotected as the beam moved toward her.

"EEK!" Ashley shrieked and tried to run when she realized the beam was targeting her next. It was a useless gesture, Rayquaza could reposition its line of fire faster than Ashley could run. The beam soon engulfed her, lasting only a few seconds before Rayquaza could no longer sustain it. A small crater, the same width as the beam, had been blasted into the ground where Ashley had been standing previously.

"And this is why you should have regrouped with us rather than trying to confront them all on your own."

Ashley blinked and looked around. She was still alive and was surprised to find herself in the arms of a large green lizard. Melany, still dressed as Alex since she didn't have time to change, and May were standing next to her. Several meters ahead, Ashley could see the spot she had been standing only seconds before.

"Its funny, I never would have thought you to be the one to rush in so recklessly." Melany said to Ashley.

"My hero!" Ashley jumped out of Sceptile's arms and hugged Melany tightly. "You came to save me! You really do care about me!"

"...I see this hasn't hurt your ability to tease me though." Melany muttered bitterly.

"Though you say we should have attacked together, weren't you the one who said to stay out of sight and watch her?" May said to Melany, giving her a quick jab in the side with her elbow. "Really! You were planning to swoop in like this from the beginning! Stop trying to act so cool all the time!"

"WHAT?!" Ashley yelled, quickly letting go of Melany. "You almost let me get hit by a Hyper Beam just so you could show off?!"

"Hey! I moved as soon as I realized Rayquaza was targetting you!" Melany shot back. "Anyway, is this really the time to be arguing about something like this?!"

At that moment, with Rayquaza recharging after firing another Hyper Beam, Groudon burst from the ground under it and grabbed Rayquaza by the tail. Groudon gripped Rayquaza's tail with all its might and smashed the serpentine dragon pokemon into the ground. Groudon then proceded to move toward Rayquaza's head and slashed Rayquaza with its claws, which were powered up with a draconic aura. Rayquaza roared in pain but still didn't have the strength to fight Groudon off.

"On that note...Melany, do you have a plan for freeing Rayquaza yet?" Ashley asked.

"I do. But first things first." Melany took her remaining pokeballs from her belt, two in each hand. Though there was a sixth pokeball, it contained a pokemon she didn't have access to. "Registeel! Regirock! Regice! Latias! Go!" Melany called out one after the other, releasing each legendary pokemon from their pokeballs to join Ashley's pokemon on the field. Sceptile then moved forward to join them, crossing his arms over his chest in an x-shaped position and activating his leaf blades.

"Ok, Lugia! I'll let you handle it from here!" May called out while grabbing four pokeballs from her belt. Lugia suddenly dove down from the sky, where it had been out of sight and waiting for an order to attack. Lugia immediately took aim at Ho-Oh, blasting it into the ground with an Aeroblast attack from above. Lugia then landed in front of Ashley and Melany's pokemon and stood up, its large body protecting them from any attacks the remaining three pokemon could launch at them. Ho-Oh quickly recovered from Lugia's opening attack and stood to face it.

"-I swear it, Ho-Oh, I will see that collar removed from your neck somehow.-" Lugia said to it. Ho-Oh gave no response, the collar wouldn't allow it to.

"Suicune! Entei! Raikou! Blaziken!" May called out, pressing the buttons on each of the pokeballs she held to release her pokemon. One by one, Suicune, Entei, Raikou, and Blaziken appeared next to Melany and Ashley's pokemon. The gathered group of pokemon, consisting mostly of pokemon thought to only exist in legends, seemed like overkill compared to the remaining opposition.

"Regice, Registeel, Regirock, take aim at the collar on Rayquaza's neck with Lock On. Latias, see if you can break your brother's collar somehow." The three golems' eyes flashed and, in the distance, three red bullseyes appeared on Rayquaza's slave collar.

_"Got it! I'll hold it with a Psychic attack!"_ Latias said telepathically. She focused a psychic attack directly on the collar around Latios' neck, causing a blue aura to surround it while she tried to crush it. The collar proved surprisingly resistant to the attack, but Latios found itself held in place as well and unable to move closer to attack.

"Moltres, nows your chance! Go!" Ashley called out while recalling Venusaur and Articuno. She then remembered Snorlax. "Snorlax, use Rest!"

Snorlax closed her eyes and fell asleep, restoring her body to full strength. At the same time, Moltres took off toward toward Latios with a fiery aura surrounding its flaming body. With Latios held firmly in place by Latias' Psychic attack, it was easy for Moltres to target Latios' collar. A sharp cracking noise pierced the air as Moltres smashed into the collar, knocking Latios to the ground while rushing past him. Latias quickly rushed to her brother, hovering over him.

_"Latios! Are you ok!?"_ Latias cried out telepathically. To her relief, he was able to weakly prop himself up and float into the air.

_"I'm...fine, thanks..."_ Latios replied, offering a weak smile. _"It'll take more than that for me to stay down..."_

Meanwhile, while the girls' pokemon renewed their offense, Rayquaza recovered its strength and knocked Groudon aside as it flew back up into the air. The dragon pokemon then summoned a twister around Groudon that tore at the land titan's body. Ho-Oh chose this moment to launch a counter-attack against Lugia as well, opening its large beak and launching a fireball. The fireball expanded until it hit Lugia and exploded, but Lugia barely moved from the attack and quickly shook it off.

"-Your Fire Blast attack is useless against me.-" Lugia said to Ho-Oh. "-Allow me to remove that infernal device so you may think clearly.-" Lugia spread out its giant wings, firing a barrage of star-shaped rays from them. The rays initially shot past Ho-Oh, but then circled back toward it one by one. Each ray struck Ho-Oh's collar in succession, homing in on the exact same spot until finally the collar cracked in two and fell aside.

"-Your help is certainly appreciated, Lugia.-" Ho-Oh said, now free of the collar's influence. "-Though I am surprised to see you fight alongside my servants.-"

"-I did so only to repay the debt, as you had freed me previously.-" Lugia replied. "-However, I will see out the rest of this battle. While your own goals do not concern me, it seems this battle concerns all pokemon.-"

"-Indeed it does.-" Ho-Oh replied, nodding lightly.

_"Ok, this looks like my best chance to attack without Groudon getting caught in the crossfire."_ Melany thought. "Registeel, Regirock, Regice, attack Rayquaza with Hyper Beam!" Their eyes flashed again and the three golems raised their hands, or what passed for hands, and held them together. A large energy beam fired out from each and immediately homed in on Rayquaza's neck, engulfing it and the collar around it. The combined energy from the three beams reduced the collar into dust and overpowered Rayquaza's defenses, causing it to drop back to the ground.

"-Damn it, I could have handled that on my own.-" Groudon grumbled as it stood back up.

"-After all these millenia, it seems you still have not gotten past your arrogance.-" Rayquaza replied as it rose back up as well. Thanks to the Emerald's power that still coursed through it, Rayquaza's stamina was quickly recovered.

"-And YOU still seem to think you're better than us!-" Groudon shot back angrily, then turned and slowly walked back toward the group.

"-Perhaps with good reason.-" Rayquaza said quietly. Rayquaza flew past Groudon to join up with the group. "-Melany, it seems this reunion was quite overdue. Allow me to return the Emerald's power.-" Melany nodded and took the Emerald out of her backpack, then held it out toward Rayquaza. A green glow surrounded Rayquaza and then disappeared as the power flowed back into the Emerald.

_"DAMN IT! How could you be so careless?!"_ Odari scolded Melany.

Melany handed the Emerald off to May. "Hold this. Its being noisy..."

"Err...sure?" May replied, blinking in confusion as she held the Emerald in her hand.

_"Great, now I'll have to put up with her instead."_ Haruka said bitterly.

Mewtwo, meanwhile, had stopped on top of a rocky hill separating the barren route north of Mauville from the desert. From there, it could observe the battle. _"They don't even need my help anyway."_ Mewtwo thought with a shrug. It shuddered as it recalled its treatment at the lab on Cinnabar, where the scientists continually performed experiments on it, followed by its enslavement by Duke. _"Like I would ever help humans after what they put me through..."_

"Well that was surprisingly easy." Ashley said. "Even with a supposedly unstoppable Rayquaza on their side, we've already freed all the legendary pokemon with strength to spare."

"Of course! You'd need an army to try to oppose us, even if you do have a lot of powerful pokemon on your side." May said, grinning widely.

"About that..." Melany pointed toward the tower. The main door, as well as two other doors along the front were starting to open up. Inside, they could see a swarm of enslaved pokemon waiting to move out.

"WHOA!" Ashley cried out. "Where did all those come from?!"

"They must have been enslaving even more pokemon all this time." May said through gritted teeth. "They were carrying a lot of collars at any time, they could have enslaved any trainer's or wild pokemon they thought would be worth their time! Thats what Duke did when we were in Johto!"

"So much for this being over then." Ashley muttered, then turned to May. "May, why don't you release Kyogre? You have it with you, right?"

"I do, but I don't think that'd be a good idea with Groudon out." May replied, pointing at Groudon as it walked toward them.

"We might not have much of a choice." Melany said to May, watching as the enslaved army of pokemon started to charge out of the tower. "This battle's just getting started..."

* * *

"It seems your friends honestly thought the battle was over." The cloaked man said to Rina, observing the scene from his window in the tower.

_"What's going on out there?"_ Rina wondered.

"The legendary pokemon they freed were only the appetizer, so to speak." The man continued. "They will now have to face the army of pokemon that my underlings enslaved for me these past months. Strong as they may be, your friends will be helpless against so many."

"They'll pull through somehow!" Rina said, clenching her fists. "We won't lose to someone like you!"

"I'm afraid thats exactly what will happen, young lady." The man replied casually. "This isn't some fairytale where the 'good guys' always win. I have been planning for this moment ever since I came across the drawings depicted in the Spear Pillar. I ensured this battle, even if a loss, will be drawn out to the point where I will still achieve my goal. The only variable I didn't account for then is here in this room, helpless to stop me."

"You! Your overconfidence is your weakness!" Rina yelled across the room.

"Your faith in your friends is your's." The man replied calmly, turning to face her. "Or have you decided not to rely on them?" He added, noticing she had already grabbed a pokeball from her belt.

"I...I don't care how much stronger than me you are!" Rina yelled, her hand shaking as she clutched her pokeball tightly. "I'll find some way to stop you! I'll make sure my friends won't lose by stopping you and freeing all the pokemon you've enslaved!"

"Oh really?" The man replied, completely unfazed by Rina's fervor as he reached into his cloak for a pokeball as well. "Then let's see you try. But even if you can manage it somehow, do you have enough time? The clock is ticking..." With his other hand, the man gestured toward the crystal sitting on the stool. Rina hadn't noticed it before, but the glowing had gotten a bit brighter...

* * *

Author's Notes: I don't know why I wanted to put that quote in really, it just seemed to fit somehow.

This is, more or less, part one of the final battle, which will end up being three parts overall with the final part being the final chapter in the saga. And just for a quick idea of what the group will be up against in that "army", you've already seen some of the pokemon they've made off with. Two Machokes, a Jolteon, Vaporeon, Flareon, five Noctowls, and an Armaldo. As one might expect, there's more pokemon than that there.

Fun fact, the only pokemon missing from this fight right now is Celebi. I didn't actually have any plans to drag Celebi into it, though I didn't realize before now that it was the only legendary pokemon being left out. Whoops. Might try to remedy that, but I'm not sure how it could even be fit in at this point. Maybe add it to the list of sidestory ideas...

Was going to use a different title originally but I think it'd be more appropriate for the next chapter. I like "Easy Victory" because its misleading in a way, don't you think?


	60. Chapter 57: Desparate Struggle

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Fifty Seven**

**Desperate Struggle**

Lugia and Ho-Oh stood their ground as a barrage of electric attacks were fired at them. Two Jolteons, a Raichu, and an Electabuzz each fired a Thunderbolt attack at the two birds that were trying to shield the rest of May, Ashley, and Melany's pokemon with their durable bodies. The two giant birds grunted in pain as they each endured two Thunderbolt attacks.

"-Hey! Don't overdo it, you two!-" Raikou said as it and the other two of Ho-Oh's servants moved out in front of them. "-You might be tough, but this many attackers will still knock you out!-"

"-Yes, let us thin the herd a bit.-" Suicune added.

Suicune, Entei, and Raikou then went on the attack. Entei and Suicune aimed their attacks at the group of electric pokemon. Entei attacked first, breathing out a swirling cone of flames and dragging it across each of them. Suicune followed up with Hydro Pump, but by then the two Jolteons managed to move back out of the line of fire. The Raichu and Electabuzz were still hit by Suicune's attack, taking enough damage to knock the two of them out. Raikou then fired off a Thunderbolt attack, aiming for a group of Noctowl approaching them, but the bolt suddenly curved and struck a nearby Rhydon's horn instead with no effect on it.

"-Damn it! It would be my attack that misses, wouldn't it?!-" Raikou growled.

The Rhydon was soon joined by two Steelix that burst from the ground beside it. All three pokemon then slammed the ground with their feet/bodies, sending a shockwave toward Raikou, Suicune, and Entei. An Earthquake erupted around the three pokemon, cracking the ground sharply and launching them back. The combined triple Earthquake struck with enough power to knock Raikou and Entei out, due to being weak to the attack, but Suicune managed to endure although in a weakened state.

"Getting two of my pokemon taken down so quickly doesn't seem fair somehow!" May complained as she took two pokeballs in her hand, recalling Raikou and Entei.

"Well we're certainly not dealing with a mindless army of enslaved pokemon." Melany noted grimly. "We'll have to take them down as quickly as we can, or else they'll manage to gain an advantage over time."

"So we'll just take as many out in a single attack as we can!" Ashley said in response. "Groudon, show them a real Earthquake!"

Groudon grinned widely. "-Heh. With pleasure!-" Groudon raised one foot and slammed it into the ground hard, sending a massive shockwave toward the three pokemon that had just attacked. The ground around Rhydon and the two Steelix began to crack and rupture, heavily injuring the two pokemon. Their strong defenses allowed them to endure the attack, but when it ended they were all knocked to the ground and struggled to get back to their feet. One of the two Jolteons, also caught in range of the Earthquake, was knocked out immediately.

"-WHAT?! How dare you survive my Earthquake!-" Groudon growled.

"This would be easier if there was some way for us to just disable all of their collars at once!" May said in dismay. "Do we really have to knock out all of them?!"

"There's probably a control mechanism in the tower somewhere, but getting to it is going to mean going through these pokemon anyway." Melany said to May. "We don't have any other choice, really."

Latios and Latias went on the attack next, targetting the two Steelix that had survived Groudon's Earthquake. They each attacked with their signature techniques, Latias firing a ball of light at one Steelix and Latios firing a beam at the other. The two Steelix had barely survived Groudon's attack and were immediately knocked out.

_"Well they went down pretty easy!"_ Latias said gleefully.

_"Well of course they went down easy for you! You have the Soul Dew!"_ Latios retorted, turning to his sister. _"When's it going to be my turn already?! You've had it for days now!"_

While Latios and Latias argued, the five Noctowl flying overhead dove down to attack them. The owl pokemon moved so silently that Latios and Latias didn't hear a thing, only looking up when they heard the sound of a Hyper Beam firing off. Rayquaza blasted all five of the Noctowl with a strong Hyper Beam attack, knocking them all out instantly.

"-I long for a better ranged attack than this.-" Rayquaza grumbled quietly. He then glanced down at Latios and Latias. "-You two should be more careful. Fortunately for you, Moltres and I have dealt with your attackers.-"

"-Moltres?-" Latios and Latias repeated in confusion. A stream of flames then suddenly shot past them, completely engulfing a Heracross that had been moving toward them. When the flames died down, the Heracross collapsed.

"-As Rayquaza stated, you should be more careful. Afterall, you are-" Moltres screeched in pain as it was suddenly struck by a barrage of rocks. Having a crippling weakness to rock based attacks, the surprise attack was more than Moltres could endure. It was knocked out immediately. The attacker, an Armaldo, was now standing next to the Rhydon that Groudon had failed to knock out earlier.

"We seem to be losing legendary pokemon at an alarming rate here." Ashley noted bitterly as she recalled Moltres.

"Well I guess that one was going to show up eventually." Melany muttered, then looked to Sceptile and nodded. "Ok, Sceptile, we'll take this one out. Go in and attack with Leaf Blade."

"Blaziken, you attack that one too!" May called out, pointing at Armaldo. "Use Blaze Kick!"

Sceptile charged toward Armaldo first, slashing in an x-shaped pattern across Armaldo's chest. Sceptile then quickly ducked out of the way as May's Blaziken jumped into the air behind it. With his foot engulfed in flames, Blaziken came down toward Armaldo and struck him with a flaming drop kick. Armaldo grunted in pain and fell back, but was still conscious.

Sceptile and Blaziken's assault on Armaldo was incapable of knocking it out, but unfortunately it also left the two pokemon wide open for attack. The Rhydon and Jolteon that were still nearby. Jolteon fired a bolt of electricity in a wide, low arc. The bolt was drawn toward Rhydon's horn, but the angle it was released at allowed it to hit Blaziken instead.

Rhydon, meanwhile, charged into Sceptile from the side and managed to catch him off guard. Rhydon threw its body into Sceptile, knocking it to the ground. While Jolteon and Rhydon stood victoriously, Latios and Latias took the chance to attack. They both attacked with Dragonbreath, hitting their targets with a stream of blue flames and knocking them out.

_"If we keep this up we'll win without any problems!"_ Latias cheered.

_"I still say its my turn to use the Soul Dew."_ Latios muttered, pouting.

_"You seem distracted."_ Aisha commented to Ashley, who had been far less involved in the battle since Ashley and Melany showed up. _"Still thinking about that man you saw earlier?"_

_"Yeah."_ Ashley replied, nodding to herself. _"I remember why he seemed familiar now. One of dad's old pictures, that guy was in it, looked like they were friends at the time too. They were standing shoulder to shoulder and smiling. I can't figure out why dad would have a picture like that though."_

_"Well, there will be time for figuring that out when there's no longer an army of pokemon to defeat."_

_"Kyaa!"_ Latias screeched as an attack suddenly struck her, seemingly out of nowhere as the pokemon that attacked her moved too quickly for her or Latios to see it. As Latias fell to the ground, a Dragonite was seen standing in her place.

_"LATIAS!"_ Latios moved to aid his sister, forgetting about the Dragonite that was now next to him. Unfortunately, the Dragonite didn't forget about Latios. It already had a Dragon Claw attack ready and slashed Latios across the side. Latios grunted in pain and fell to the ground, losing consciousness almost immediately.

_"LATIOS! You idiot! I told you to use Recover before!"_ Latias cried out, shaking off the Dragonite's attack and floating back into the air. Before she could launch a counter attack, a cold blue beam and a bolt of electricity shot past her and struck the Dragonite. The dragon pokemon cried out in pain and dropped to the ground next to Latios, rendered unconcious by the combined attacks of Ashley's Zapdos and May's Suicune. However, even with the Dragonite's defeat, two Machoke and two Houndoom were already moving to continue the attack.

_"Something else is bothering me, these pokemon are way too well co-ordinated to be acting on their own."_ Ashley thought, speaking to Aisha. _"There must be someone calling the shots, but I doubt we can get to them from here."_

"May, I have a plan to thin their numbers a bit. Have Ho-Oh and Lugia use Whirlwind." Melany said to May. May nodded in agreement.

"Ok, you heard her!" May called out to them. "Hold those pokemon back with Whirlwind!" Lugia and Ho-Oh nodded and began flapping their large, broad wings. Latias, Sceptile, and Blaziken quickly moved behind the two to avoid getting caught up in it, with Latias dragging her unconscious brother with her. The wind the two bird pokemon were generating then finally picked up, striking Armaldo and the rest of the enslaved pokemon with enough force to blow them all the way back to the tower. Lugia and Ho-Oh continued flapping then, keeping the army of pokemon pinned back as Melany had intended.

"Ok! Regis, go join the rest of those pokemon!" Melany called out, pointing to the pinned army of pokemon. The eyes on the three pokemon flashed, indicating they had received their command. They walked out in front of Lugia and Ho-Oh, at which point the strong winds knocked them over and pushed them across the field until they were pinned along with the enslaved pokemon.

"Melany? What are you planning?" Ashley asked her.

"Taking them all down in one go!" Melany replied, then called out loudly to her pokemon. "Registeel! Regirock! Regice! EXPLOSION!" The three golem pokemon began to glow as energy built up in their bodies. The energy was then released in a violent burst around them, catching the entire army in the blast radius and blasting out parts of the walls of the tower behind them. The dust and debris was quickly blown away by Lugia and Ho-Oh's continuous Whirlwind, which they finally stopped when the entire group of pokemon were revealed to be fainted.

"Wow...so that's it, huh?" May said, blinking in disbelief. She then scowled and turned to Melany. "Hey! Couldn't you have done that sooner then?!"

Melany shrugged. "If I thought they'd cause us this much trouble then I would have. I didn't think we'd really take so many losses against uncoordinated, weaker pokemon."

"Actually, I think someone really was commanding them from somewhere." Ashley said, looking up at the tower. "Probably from somewhere in the tower at any rate..."

"I don't think it matters anymore. They seem to be out of pokemon." Melany said. "There must have been about two dozen or so in total, so I doubt they had more than that."

"I don't think so! Look!" May called out as suddenly a purple creature shot past the fainted pokemon and moved across the field. It stopped and hovered over their pokemon, just behind Lugia and Ho-Oh, where they could finally see that it was a Gengar that had survived.

"No! I didn't even think about the possibility of a ghost pokemon!" Melany cried out. At the same time, the ground under Gengar burst open and a Golem emerged unharmed. Both pokemon began to glow and released a burst of energy from their bodies, catching each of the girls' remaining legendary pokemon in a double Explosion. Blaziken and Sceptile, however, had managed to distance themselves with Quick Attack to move outside the blast radius.

All of the legendary pokemon were thrown to the ground by the explosion, even the most durable of them being unable to remain standing. Ho-Oh and Lugia, who had suffered some damage prior, were knocked out, as were Suicune, Zapdos, Latias, and even Groudon. Ashley's Snorlax, which had yet to move since using Rest and was at full health still, managed to just barely endure and rolled back onto its feet. Rayquaza, likewise, was able to endure due to being at full strength prior to the attack as well. Unfortunately for the girls, Rayquaza was the only legendary pokemon still standing now.

"I can't believe we fell for the same trick we just used against them!" Ashley said, taking out two pokeballs to recall Groudon and Zapdos. "We should have spread out our pokemon from the beginning, it was too easy for them to inflict damage on multiple pokemon like that."

"Well at least we still have one legendary pokemon left." Melany intoned bitterly, looking up at Rayquaza.

Suddenly, from the tower, a pokemon shot out and sped toward the group. Looking like a pair of spinning stars, a Starmie hit the ground hard in front of them and dug in on an angle. Before anyone had a chance to react, the Starmie fired an Ice Beam attack up at Rayquaza. Rayquaza groaned as the Ice Beam hit it in the chin and fell to the ground in a heap with a layer of ice on its jaw.

"MELANY! SHUT UP!" May yelled, shaking her fist at her. "Everytime you say something they pull out more pokemon!"

"Duly noted." Melany muttered, taking out two pokeballs and recalling Latias and Rayquaza.

Sceptile and Blaziken dealt with the Starmie that had attacked. Sceptile armed his Leaf Blade and struck Starmie while shooting past with a quick attack, knocking Starmie flat. When it got back up, it found itself facing May's Blaziken. Blaziken slashed Starmie across the face, inflicting enough damage on it to knock it out.

"Snorlax, use Rest." Ashley ordered once the Starmie was gone. Snorlax nodded lightly and then drifted off to sleep, fully restoring itself. With the surprise attack by Starmie, and Snorlax barely conscious as it was, Ashley wasn't taking any chances.

May took a pokeball in each hand, recalling Lugia and Suicune. After placing them back on her belt, she took an empty one out of her fanny pack and tossed it at Ho-Oh. Though she felt Ho-Oh might not be happy to be caught in such a way, she felt it was the safest place for it. Ho-Oh was caught without any struggle and then the pokeball May used disappeared, sending Ho-Oh off to storage. With her pokemon taken care of, May took yet another pokeball from her belt.

_"Well, at least I still have a legendary pokemon left. Since Groudon won't be an issue now, I can send Kyogre out without any issues."_ She thought, holding out the pokeball. "Kyogre, go!" The pokeball opened and released a giant blue whale pokemon with red lines going across its body. Clouds immediately began to form overhead and rain poured down. Within a matter of seconds, the girls were soaked.

"Ok, maybe that was a bad idea." May mumbled to herself.

"-Well now, seems I missed quite the battle.-" Kyogre noted in an amused tone. "-Though that leaves me to wonder why I've been summoned here in the first place.-" Kyogre shifted its eyes as if to look back at May, though even with its eyes on the sides of its head it couldn't see her behind it. "-Surely you don't intend to use my great power...for cleanup duty?-"

_"Kinda wish I knew what it was saying."_ May thought.

_"You want to hand over the sapphire's power to it then?"_ Haruka asked sarcastically. _"No? Didn't think so."_

"Looks like even that isn't the last of them! Look!" Ashley pointed to the second level of the tower, where another hatch opened. About a dozen pokemon, three flying, exited from the tower. The nine non-flying pokemon hopped down onto the unconscious pokemon below and charged across the field toward Kyogre, Snorlax, Blaziken, and Sceptile.

"Oh come on already!" May growled. "Kyogre, attack with Hydro Pump!" Kyogre opened its mouth and fired, releasing a wide stream of high-pressure water at the oncoming pokemon. The two lead pokemon, a pair of Houndoom, were struck first as Kyogre sprayed across the front of the pack. They were knocked out immediately. An Arcanine behind them, however, was spared as a Vaporeon shot in front of it and absorbed the water.

"We might be outnumbered, but we've still got a heavy hitter left." Ashley said as her Snorlax began to stir. "Snorlax, attack that group of pokemon with Hyper Beam!" Snorlax stood up and opened her mouth, then fired a massive beam of energy at the remaining pokemon. She first aimed at the Charizard approaching from the air, then hit the Swellow and Xatu that were with it. All three pokemon were knocked out and crashed into the ground. Snorlax finished the attack by hitting Vaporeon, the pokemon that had absorbed Kyogre's last attack, knocking it out before finally being forced to stop and take a rest.

"Ok, let's get ready for another attack and take them out as soon as they get close!" May called out, then waited for the remaining seven enslaved pokemon to get closer. They suddenly came to a stop, however, and stared ahead blankly as if they didn't know what to do next. "Huh? What are they doing?"

"Whatever it is, they're leaving themselves open to attack." Melany said. "Sceptile, go! Attack that Quagsire in behind with Leaf Blade!" Sceptile nodded and charged toward the group of pokemon, moving past the front lines and stopping in front of a Quagsire that was standing in the back. None of the pokemon made any movements to stop Sceptile as he slashed Quagsire with his glowing green blades, knocking the water and ground-type pokemon out instantly and removing another pokemon that could potentially block further attacks from Kyogre.

"Kyogre, wait for Sceptile to move out of the way and then use Surf! Blaziken, finish off any survivors!" Kyogre and Blaziken nodded, and Kyogre waited briefly while Sceptile moved out of the line of fire. Kyogre then summoned a wall of water under itself, rising on top of it. The water moved toward the group of pokemon and crashed down on top of them like a wave, knocking out six of the remaining seven pokemon. The only remaining pokemon, a Meganium, was quickly finished off by a Flamethrower attack from Blaziken, inflicting enough damage to knock it out despite the downpour.

"Something seems odd about the way those pokemon were acting." Melany said. "They could have easily taken out another pokemon or two if they continued the attack, so why stop?"

"Either way, this looks to be our best chance to get into the tower! Let's go!" Ashley quickly recalled Snorlax and started off toward the tower. May and Melany recalled their pokemon as well and followed suit, with Melany only stopping briefly to recall the three Regis and her Armaldo that were left unconscious near the tower entrance.

_"For those pokemon to stop like that...did something happen to whoever was controlling them?"_ Melany wondered before continuing into the tower.

* * *

Inside the tower, in a hidden room filled with a vast array of electronic equipment and a platform that looked like a transporter out of Star Trek, an Alakazam was watching the battle between the girls and the army of enslaved pokemon. The Alakazam itself was hooked to a machine that was hanging down from the ceiling, yet able to slide across the room between the platform and monitor. The equipment consisted of a metal plate around Alakazam's head, with four thick wires attached to it. The device granted the Alakazam an immense boost to its psychic powers as well as allowing it to control the enslaved pokemon directly, directing their actions on the battlefield.

Just then, with Alakazam moving its final pokemon to attack, the far wall of the room suddenly cracked open and debris shot through the room. Alakazam could sense its attacker's presence and turned around to see Mewtwo floating through the hole.

_"This is quite the interesting setup you have here. It must be providing you with...what? Five times your normal power? Ten?"_ Mewtwo said to Alakazam, then glanced about the room. _"Yes, I remember this place well. It was your increased power that let you use Teleport and bring those foolish slavers here whenever they were in trouble."_

"-More than enough to defeat you.-" Alakazam replied gruffly.

_"Is that so? Then let's fix that."_ Mewtwo stretched out a hand toward the machine on the ceiling, focusing its psychic power on it and then making a downward motion with its hand. Alakazam tried to counter, pushing back up with its enhanced psychic powers, but was too slow. By then, Alakazam had lost its enhanced power as the device was ripped out of the ceiling. Ceiling tiles rained down to the floor and the device itself floated in front of Alakazam, held in place by Mewtwo's psychic power and hardly even flinching as Alakazam tried to move it with its own.

Even though it was now seemingly powerless next to the incredibly powerful Mewtwo, Alakazam remained unfazed. "-It doesn't matter what happens to me now. I've already fulfilled my purpose.-"

_"Good. Then you've outlived your usefulness."_ Mewtwo thrust its hand out toward Alakazam, throwing the large metal device at it so hard that Alakazam was knocked into the monitor and equipment behind it. The monitor was smashed and the control panels below it destroyed, with Alakazam ending up embedded about a foot into one panel. Alakazam yelled in agony as electricity shot through its body from the disabled control panel, arcing across its body to the metal cap on its head and the power booster pressed against its chest. A fuse eventually broke, cutting power to the control panel, and Alakazam fell silent.

_"Well I've done my good deed for the decade now."_ Mewtwo thought bitterly, then turned and exited the tower.

* * *

"Berg, go!" Rina called out, releasing Berg from his pokeball. Without a word, the cloaked man released his own pokemon, sending out a Sceptile that had slightly darker skin than most. Rina saw the cold glare the Sceptile was giving her and Berg, sending a shiver down her spine.

_"I can tell this guy's pokemon are ruthless."_ Rina thought nervously. _"He has the type advantage too. Should I switch to another pokemon or could Berg catch it off guard with Blizzard?"_ Rina debated switching for a moment, then shook her head. _"No, I think I can manage this."_

"Berg, attack with Blizzard and make sure to hit the floor with it!" Berg nodded and took aim at Sceptile. He then lowered his aim slightly, so the attack would hit a large area of the floor, then fired an intensely cold blast of air and snow at Sceptile. Sceptile quickly jumped back, getting itself out of range of the attack. The angle of Berg's attack resulted in the floor being the only thing to get hit, creating a large sheet of ice across the battlefield that reached to Sceptile's feet.

"I'm afraid that won't work." The man said calmly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rina asked, looking slightly annoyed by his statement.

"You were thinking 'his pokemon relies on speed, so a slippery surface will hinder it', correct?" Rina gasped in shock. He was right, that was what she was man chuckled and shook his head. "You greatly underestimate my pokemon. Sceptile, Leaf Blade."

Sceptile crouched down and stretched out its arms. From the upper leaf on each forearm, a long, glowing green blade sprouted. The Sceptile then took a great leap into the air, clearing the ice field in a single bound. Its jump was planned perfectly, bringing it down toward Berg and knocking the water pokemon to the ground with the force of its descent while slashing Berg across the chest with each of its blades. Berg was knocked out instantly.

_"No way! I know this guy's pokemon are powerful, but this is insane!"_ Rina thought, shocked by how easily Berg had been defeated. Even with the type advantage, Rina would have expected Berg to be able to endure at least one hit. The Sceptile, standing on her unconscious Blastoise, shot her a look that sent another shiver through her spine and then started to slowly walk toward her. "What...what's it doing?" Rina wondered. She soon had her answer, her eyes widening in fear as it stopped and raised one of its blades over her head.

"That's enough, Sceptile." The man called out to it. The Sceptile looked at him questioningly. "We're not playing for keeps right now, old friend." The pokemon nodded and backed away, lowering its blade.

_"Playing for keeps?! It tried to kill me!"_ Rina was still shaking from the experience, knowing full well what would have happened had the trainer not called off his pokemon. Realizing what that meant for her, however, she calmed down immediately. _"Wait a second...he said he wasn't playing for keeps, so he probably isn't taking this battle very seriously."_ She thought. _"Well as long as he keeps underestimating me I still have a chance to catch him off guard!"_

Rina took Berg's pokeball in her hand and recalled him, then placed it back on her belt and grabbed another one. "Ok, this one should be able to take on his Sceptile if he keeps it out anyway, but if he has a dragon or ice pokemon I'll recall him immediately."

"Knight, go!" Rina called out, holding out the pokeball and releasing her greenish-skinned Dragonite. Sceptile immediately hopped back, giving Knight some room, but was then recalled by its trainer. In its place, the cloaked man sent out a fat, pink pokemon with white frills near its arms and around its waist. Rina stared blankly at the pokemon.

_"A...Blissey?" Rina thought, recognizing the pokemon instantly. "Why is a guy like him...using a Blissey?"_ Rina thought for a moment and then shook her head, deciding not to dwell on it. "Knight, start off with Substitute!" Knight

"Blissey, Ice Beam." Blissey brought her stubby hands together and fired an Ice Beam at Knight before it had the chance to complete its Substitute technique. Knight grunted in pain and stumbled back as the beam hit him in the chest, ice forming over his body and partially covering his arms. The ice then shattered, inflicting more damage. It was more than Knight could take. The dragon pokemon fell to his knees and then dropped to the ground.

_"Ice Beam! I didn't expect that from a pokemon like Blissey!"_ Rina thought, taking out Knight's pokeball again and recalling him. She then placed the pokeball back on her belt. _"Still...I bet Knight would have been able to survive that from any other Blissey. Just like Berg would have survived a Sceptile's Leaf Blade. Are his pokemon really this far out of my league? And if I'm struggling this much against them, would Ashley and the others even be much better off? I mean, they're about as strong as me, right?"_

"Hmph. This is hardly entertaining at all." The cloaked man said gruffly. "You're incredibly predictable. You could at least try to make things interesting."

_"What's he saying? Did he know what I was planning again?"_ Rina wondered, narrowing her eyes at him. She thought for a moment, then took another pokeball from her belt. _"Ok then, let's see how he handles this one!"_

"Clyde, I choose you!" Rina called out, holding out the pokeball and releasing Clyde the Clefable onto the field. _"Ok, physical attacks are Blissey's weakpoints, but first I'll wait and see if he's switching pokemon."_

The cloaked man did just that, holding out Blissey's pokeball and recalling her without a word. He then reached into his cloak, putting the pokeball back inside and taking out another one. From the pokeball he grabbed, he released the poison pokemon Weezing. Lighter than air due to the gas filling its balloon-like body, Weezing floated off the floor but remained at a height level with its trainer's head.

_"I think that pokemon has pretty good defense, but how did he know Clyde would use physical attacks?"_ Rina wondered. In general, Clefable were more capable with special attacks than physical. Rina's Clyde was a bit of an oddity, prefering a straight up fight with physical attacks.

"Right now, you are no doubt wondering how I knew your Clyde was a physical attacker." The man said to Rina, as if he could read her mind. "The fact that Blissey can take special attacks is well known, so no trainer of your caliber would send in a special attacker to deal with it. Especially not now that you know your pokemon are at a disadvantage." He chuckled. "So, knowing that, what will you do now? Switch to one of your psychic-type pokemon? I'm sure you have at least one with you."

"Wh-what?!" Rina stuttered, shocked by the man's statement. _"Is he reading my mind somehow? ...No, if he could do that, he'd know I have Deoxys and Mew with me."_

"You're far too predictable, Rina." He said to her. "In fact, I already know you won't send out your Mew. You'll try to catch me off guard with luck instead and use Metronome." The man smirked. "Well, go ahead. Spin the wheel. It's the best chance you have, afterall."

_"That's...that's exactly what I was thinking..."_ Rina thought, hanging her head in defeat.

"-Well this one is certainly a peculiar fellow.-" Clyde said, then turned to face Rina. "-Is that what we're going to do then? Or should we try a different approach?-"

"No, that's what we're going with." Rina replied, straightening up. "Even if he knows what we're going to try, he couldn't possibly know what'll happen." Clyde nodded in agreement and turned to face Weezing. He raised his hands, holding up two fingers on each, and waved them around to initiate the attack. He then lowered his hands as the attack began. He slowly levitated into the air while pink sparks shot out from his body, surrounding him in a glowing sphere of energy.

"Alright Clyde!" Rina cheered, recognizing the attack. "We'll get him good now!"

The sphere around Clyde continued to build up in energy until it reached full power, at which point Clyde fired the sparking ball of psychic energy at Weezing and fell back to the ground. The attack, Psycho Boost, hit Weezing head on and exploded with enough power to knock it to the ground. Even after Weezing hit the floor, a few sparks still danced around its body.

"Quite the lucky break on your part, but I'm afraid you'll need to do more than that to defeat one of my pokemon." The man said to Rina, at which point Weezing floated back into the air. The poison pokemon still looked ready for more. "Weezing, return fire with Sludge Bomb."

The largest of Weezing's heads opened its mouth and fired a large ball of sludge at Clyde. The ball exploded when it hit him, splashing a strong purple poison all over his body and knocking him onto his back. Still conscious, he tried to get back up but slipped on the sludge splattered on the ground around him and fell onto his face.

"Finish this with Sludge." The cloaked man commanded. The same head then spat out a ball of sludge as Clyde was making another attempt to get back up, hitting him in the face and knocking him onto his back again. This time, Clyde wasn't moving at all after he was hit. Rina took out Clyde's pokeball and recalled him.

_"Even a Psycho Boost didn't gain me much ground...and I'm down to my last two pokemon."_ Rina thought. _"Can Mew or Deoxys really make that much of a difference? Will Deoxys even listen to me?"_ Rina put Clyde's pokeball back on her belt and took Mew's pokeball in her hand. _"I'll save Deoxys for last then and see if I can gain some ground with Mew somehow."_

"Mew, go!" Rina called out, releasing Mew from its pokeball. Mew smiled and twirled around in the air, happy for the chance to fight. Weezing was then recalled by its trainer and a beautiful, serpentine pokemon with a beige upper body and long, red hair was released next. With the bottom half of its body scaled like a fish, the pokemon reminded Rina of a mermaid and she wondered if the pokemon she was looking at now was what inspired them.

_"Ok, that's definitely a water pokemon."_ Rina thought. _"If I have Mew use Transform, then it'll be just as strong as his pokemon. Even if I don't know what attacks it has, and it'll come down to a war of attrition either way, I'll at least be able to fight on the same level as him!"_

"Mew, use Transform!" Rina called out. Mew nodded and then began the transformation, its body shifting. It suddenly gained a large amount of mass to expand to Milotic's size and take the shape of its opponent. Shortly after, however, Rina's opponent recalled his Milotic and sent out a Jolteon in its place.

"Again, I have already anticipated your moves, Rina." The man said to her.

"Oh yeah? Well I have a pokemon that's just as strong as your's now!" Rina shot back. "Mew! I don't know what attacks you have in that form, so I'm leaving this to you!"

"-Ok, Rina! You can count on me!-" Mew replied, nodding affirmatively.

"Cute. But you forget, you're at both a type disadvantage and lacking knowledge of your pokemon's current form." The man replied. "Jolteon, attack with Thunderbolt." Sparks shot across Jolteon's fur and then fired out in a bolt of electricity. Mew cried out in pain as the bolt struck it and electricity passed through its body.

It took a moment for Mew to shake off the hit, but when he did he immediately fired back with a Hydro Pump attack. Jolteon, with its incredible speed, almost managed to avoid the attack by moving to the side but the stream of water fired by Mew still struck a glancing blow along Jolteon's flank and knocked it to the ground. Jolteon quickly stood up and shook off the water from its body, still ready for more.

"Pathetic. Even your own pokemon can't use its new form well." The man said, chuckling darkly. "I will say this, my Milotic had much better responses to an attack from a Jolteon than that. One of which could have knocked it out."

"It did?" Rina blinked and looked at Mew curiously. "Mew?"

"-I...have no idea what attack that would be.-" Mew replied, hanging its head in shame.

"Ok. Revert and we'll take it from there, then." Rina said. Mew nodded and quickly reverted, its body shrinking back down and returning to its natural form.

"Jolteon, finish it now. Thunderbolt." The man ordered as soon as Mew had finished. Jolteon's fur bristled with electricity and the pokemon fired another Thunderbolt at Mew. Although no longer weak to the attack, Mew didn't have the strong defenses that his previous form did. It cried out in pain as the bolt of electricity shot through it and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"No way..." Rina mumbled in disbelief. "You...you planned for that too, didn't you?!" She demanded, clenching one fist tightly.

"You have yet to do anything thus far that I did not anticipate." The man replied. "Now send out your last pokemon so we can finish this. Or will you use your Pikachu too, despite it having little time to recover from that last battle?"

_"Pippi...would she be able to fight by now?"_ Rina wondered. _"Even if she did, though, she wouldn't have had time to really recover. Any hit would finish her off, but then again thats how its gone for the rest of my pokemon too..."_ Rina clenched her teeth together. _"How can this guy be so strong? I don't have any choice now, I'll have to use Deoxys! I just hope it'll listen to me..."_

Rina recalled Mew, then put its pokeball back on her belt and took Deoxys pokeball in her hand. "You claim I haven't caught you off guard yet, but I'll definitely surprise you with this one!" Rina called out. "Deoxys, go!" She held out the pokeball, releasing the alien pokemon. It quickly, jitterishly looked around the room, scared and confused by its unfamiliar surroundings.

"That you have Deoxys is certainly a surprise, but nothing I am not equipped to deal with." The man replied, recalling his Jolteon. "Judging by its nervousness, however, you are not capable of controlling it yet."

"He's right about that." Rina thought. "Deoxys! Listen to me!" Rina said, getting the pokemon's attention. It turned to her and tilted its head to the side, observing her curiously. "I need you to trust me!" She pleaded. "This guy and his henchmen are responsible for enslaving countless pokemon against their will and I need your help to stop him! You're the only one I can count on now!"

Deoxys paused for a moment and nodded its head. It could remember how it had been enslaved once as well, forced to follow the commands of a woman named Galactica. It could also tell from Rina's tone that she was being sincere, and so it decided it would willingly follow the girl's commands to defeat the human before it. As Deoxys turned to face the man again, it was greeted by a blast of sand hitting its face.

"He's using Tyranitar no doubt." Rina said to herself. "Ok, Deoxys, switch to your strongest attacking form!" Rina called out. Deoxys nodded and began to change, its body becoming slightly thicker and each of its arms turning into a pair of tendrils.

"You seem to know that pokemon's forms well if nothing else." The man said to Rina. "Regardless, this will be another short battle. Tyranitar, Hyper Beam!" Tyranitar, nearly completely concealed within the sandstorm, opened its mouth and fired a massive energy beam at Deoxys. Deoxys quickly moved to the side, easily evading the attack. Although it was in its strongest offensive form, it was still incredibly fast. Faster than almost any other pokemon. The beam hit the wall behind Rina, narrowly missing the girl herself. The wall held strong, though large cracks shot through it and chunks fell away.

"Our turn now! Deoxys, attack with Superpower!" Due to its experience with Galactica, Deoxys already knew what attack Rina was referring to. The room shook as it gathered an immense amount of energy in its body. It then shot through the swirling sandstorm to meet Tyranitar and plant its four tendrils on Tyranitar's face. Deoxys released the power it had built up in its body, engulfing Tyranitar in a massive energy beam and scattering the sand. Tyranitar was pinned to the ground within the blast and was rendered unconscious by the time Deoxys had finished. The man then recalled his pokemon, seemingly undisturbed by the loss.

"Alright! Way to go, Deoxys!" Rina cheered. "Even his pokemon couldn't withstand an attack like that coming from you!"

"Yes, Deoxys does have quite a bit of power in its attack form, and Tyranitar has a crippling weakness to fighting-type attacks. However..." The man held out a pokeball and released Jolteon again. "Quick Attack." Jolteon shot toward Deoxys in a burst of speed, moving too fast for Deoxys to follow. It let out a pained buzzing noise as Jolteon struck it and fell to the ground, where it laid unmoving.

"Deoxys?" Rina called out to the pokemon with no response. Her eyes widened in shock. "No way!"

"As I was saying..." The man continued. "It has quite a bit of power in its attack form, but unfortunately the weakest defense. On top of that, Superpower would weaken its defense further."

"So you're saying you planned that out too." Rina said to him as she recalled Deoxys. "You're saying you let your Tyranitar be defeated by Deoxys so you could defeat it with Quick Attack?"

"Precisely." The man replied. "Even if I am reduced to five pokemon, it hardly matters. I've already won. You can't possibly make a comeback now with one heavily injured..."

"Pippi, go!" Rina called out, releasing Pippi from her pokeball. The weakened Pikachu nearly fell when she appeared, but managed to regain her balance and strengthened her resolve.

"Pikachu." The man chuckled and shook his head. "Is this truly humanity's last stand?"

"-I don't know what's going on here...but if you're still fighting, I'll fight too!-" Pippi said to Rina.

"Right." Rina said, nodding in agreement. "We'll win somehow...we have to!"

"Then by all means, take your best shot." The man replied, gesturing to his Jolteon. "I'll give you a free opening to attack, but know that my Jolteon will endure whatever your Pikachu can throw at it and defeat it with a Quick Attack after."

"He's right...there's not much Pippi CAN do now!" Rina thought. "There's Surf, but given how strong his pokemon are I'll need more power than that to defeat it! There has to be some way..." Rina thought hard, desparately trying to come up with a way to defeat Jolteon. Meanwhile, the crystal was glowing even brighter now. The crystal itself was barely visible under its own glow.

While Rina debated her next move, a stream of flames suddenly burst through the glass behind her opponent. He turned in surprise as a Charizard shot through the hole created by the flames, flying past him and trying to land on the ground in front of him. It was unable to stop on the icy surface that remained from Berg's earlier Blizzard attack, however, and only managed to come to a stop and turned to face him when it reached the center of the battlefield and the end of the ice. Red then hopped off the Charizard, his back to Rina.

"RED?!" Rina shouted in disbelief.

"Quite the dramatic entrance." The man said flatly. "Should I take this to mean you have decided to join me afterall, my son?"

"SON?!" Rina and Pippi both shouted this time.

_"No way! That...that guy is Red's father?!" _Rina thought, staggering back in shock. _"But that means Red is...Red is..."_ Rina looked at Red, unable to even speak. She anxiously waited for his response, part of her fearing she wouldn't like the answer. Red still remained silent with a look of grim determination.

* * *

Author's Notes: I know what you're thinking...

"Wait, a horizontal line? Author's notes? NOOOO!"

Yep. Red's response will wait until next chapter, which will likely be the final chapter of this saga. Expect an inspirational speech somewhere in the next chapter leading up to the climax. I'll be trying to get the first sidestories chapter ready for next week as well, as part of my usual (and hopefully continuing) plan of releasing the first chapter of the next saga the same time I release the final chapter of the current one. So something else to look forward to as well, though compared to Red's response to his father's question that's probably going to look like peanuts. Oh well.


	61. Chapter 58: A Wish

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story! **

**Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga**

**Chapter Fifty Eight**

**A Wish**

After dealing with the army of enslaved pokemon outside and only barely enduring, Ashley, May, and Melany entered the first floor of the tower. The first floor was the same as it was when Melany and May had visited it previously on their journey through Hoenn. It served as both a reception desk and a pokecenter, providing the usual PC and pokemon restoration services. The first thing the girls did upon entering was to try them out.

Ashley tried entering a few commands on the PC and a progress bar popped up on the screen, filling over and over to show its attempts to connect to her account. Eventually an error message displayed. "No good. The PC here is running, but I can't connect to anything." She said to May and Melany, then shut it down.

"Looks like the pokemon restoration machine isn't working either." May said, repeatedly pushing the green button to turn it on but without any effect. Checking the device out, she could see it was plugged in but still wasn't turning on. "Looks like whoever we're up against made sure we couldn't heal or switch our injured pokemon after that battle."

"Whoever we're up against obviously isn't an idiot. He made sure we wouldn't get any breaks even if we beat that army." Melany walked past the reception desk, where an elevator waited. Normally, the elevator would take trainers up to challenge the tower. Melany tried pushing a few buttons on a panel next to it, but the elevator didn't budge. "Elevator's out too. Looks like we're taking the stairs."

"That should be expected at this point." Ashley muttered bitterly. She walked over to where Melany was in front of the elevator and was followed close behind by May. "Well, let's get going then. There's nothing here that's going to help us." Melany and May nodded in agreement and the girls started on their way up the flight of stairs next to the elevator. They would take the stairs all the way to the top, where they expected their opponent to be waiting for them.

* * *

"I didn't come here to join you, I came here to stop you." Red said flatly.

Rina sighed. _"That's a relief...I don't know what I'd have done if Red was on his side!"_

Red's father, however, seemed less than pleased. "Red, my son, you've seen humanity's crimes for yourself, you claim to love pokemon, why would you side with them now?"

"Because your methods are too extreme!" Red shot back. "There are bad people in this world who hurt and abuse pokemon, there's no denying that, but there's good people too! People like Rina and her friends!" Red held his arm back, gesturing toward Rina.

"They didn't come here to try to stop you from removing humans from the world, they didn't even know anything about that! They came here because of your methods, because you were harming and enslaving pokemon! They're doing their best not for themselves or even humanity, they're doing their best to help the pokemon you've harmed!"

"I did nothing of the sort." Red's father replied, folding his hands behind his back. "I merely hired on a few underlings and gave them the means to do so. What they did, the crimes they committed, were of their own violation."

_"Wait a minute...what's this guy saying?" Rina wondered. "All this time we thought we were after a power hungry madman, but instead he's someone who wants to remove humans because of the harm people inflicted on them?"_ Rina narrowed her eyes. _"Red's right! Even for the sake of pokemon, that's too extreme!"_

"I don't believe that." Red said to him. "Even if that is the case, you gave them the slave collars. Devices made solely to enslave pokemon and force them to obey orders against their will. One way or another, you can't deny your role in their suffering."

"Perhaps that is true, but it won't make any difference." His father replied with a shrug. "I acknowledge that I've wronged pokemon as well, and I don't intend to exclude myself when I wish for humans to be erased from existance. The end result, a world only for pokemon, justifies any means I must use to achieve it."

"So the end justifies the means? That's pretty twisted." Rina said to him.

"-I don't care what you say, I won't let you remove Rina or her friends from this world!-" Pippi yelled with sparks shooting out of her cheeks.

"-I will protect Red with my life if it comes to it.-" Red's Charizard growled, glaring at the man. "-Whether humans stay or go is not your decision to make!-"

"Hmph. So your pokemon are siding with you as well." Red's father shrugged and unclasped his hands. "You don't have very long to try to stop me as it is, the crystal is only moments away from releasing the wish granting pokemon Jirachi. At which point, I will place a slave collar around it to prevent it from denying me. Human life on this planet ends today."

"Just try to stop us!" Red yelled, then pointed at Jolteon. "Charizard, attack with Flamethrower!" Charizard opened its mouth and breathed out a stream of flames down at Jolteon, but the faster electric pokemon dodged in a flash of movement with Quick Attack.

"Jolteon, fire back with Thunderbolt." Red's father commanded. His Jolteon then responded to Red's attack, firing a bolt of electricity at Red's Charizard. Charizard growled in pain and fell to its knees, nearly collapsing but putting its hands down to catch itself.

Rina stared with her mouth open in shock at the damage Jolteon inflicted on Charizard. _"His pokemon can do that much damage to Red's?!"_ Rina thought. _"Red's pokemon are really tough though!" _As Rina thought this, she noticed Red reaching into his left pocket and discretely pulling out a small white orb. _"Huh? What's that?"_ She wondered.

Pippi noticed the strange object as well. _"That...ball, I can feel something from it for some reason!"_

_"Sorry to do this, Charizard, but if I time it right..."_ Red thought before calling out his next attack. "Charizard, this time we'll get it for sure! Flamethrower!" Charizard stood up and let out a roar. Its body glowed briefly and the fire on its tail grew larger before it attacked. Charizard opened its mouth and released a large stream of flames at Jolteon, this time managing to land a glancing blow before Jolteon shot out of the way with a Quick Attack. Jolteon growled, looking like it was in a fair bit of pain when it stopped to the side of Charizard, but was still standing.

"I am afraid that was a foolish move on your part, Red." Red's father said flatly. "Jolteon, finish this." Sparks ran along Jolteon's backside to the front of its body, then fired out in a bolt of electricity at Charizard. Charizard growled in pain as the electricity flowed through it and then collapsed into a heap on the ground. Holding Charizard's pokeball in his right hand, he recalled his pokemon. Still holding the white orb in his left hand, he dropped it to the floor behind him.

"And with that, it seems you have wasted what remaining time you had." His father then said, turning to the crystal. "Jolteon, keep an eye on him. The Pikachu shouldn't cause you any trouble." Jolteon nodded and focused intently on Red, watching his movements. Red's father approached the stool the glowing crystal was sitting on and took a slave collar in his hand. The crystal was slowly floating into the air.

"Now, humanity's final dark chapter on this planet is written." Red's father held the collar ready as the crystal began to change shape in the air. It took the form of a white pokemon, only a foot in height. A pair of yellow wing-like appendages hanging down from its back, and the top of its head looking like a yellow hat with three points, the glowing pokemon resembled a star.

While the crystal was transforming, Red hit the ball he dropped with the back of his foot, sending it rolling toward Pippi. She stopped the pall with her paw and looked at it for a moment before picking it up and turning to Rina. "-Rina! I think I can beat them with this!-"

"What?" Rina blinked. "What is that?"

Before the star-shaped pokemon could even open its eyes, a collar was placed around its neck to ensure its loyalty. It suddenly stopped glowing and fell back onto the stool, standing with a blank look in its eyes.

Rina realized they didn't have much time left and nodded to Pippi. "Ok Pippi, go for it!" Pippi nodded and turned toward Jolteon, who wasn't taking much interest in what Pippi and Rina were doing. Pippi held the ball against her body and winced in pain as it was absorbed into her, sending white sparks along her body. Her usually red cheeks suddenly turned white once the ball was absorbed and Pippi could feel her power growing.

"Pippi! Attack with Surf!" Rina called out. Pippi nodded and raised her hands into the air, calling up a wall of water and rising up on it. The ice remaining on the battlefield shrivelled up as the water in it was used to form the attack. Pippi then rode the wave toward Jolteon, catching it off guard and jumping off the wave as it came crashing down on top of it. Jolteon cried out in surprise but was quickly silenced as the water surrounded it, knocking it out.

_"What!?"_ Red's father cried out, turning around quickly when he heard the sound of water. Seeing Pippi standing before him, he immediately noticed her white cheeks. _"Is that...a Light Ball?"_ The man clenched his fists. _"When did she get that?!" _The distraction was all Rina and Red needed to continue with their plan.

"Ok, Pippi, you know what to do now! Volt Tackle!" Pippi grinned and nodded enthusiastically. Electricity poured out of the white sacs on her cheeks, billowing around her as she charged toward Jirachi. Red's father moved out of the way, realizing he was directly in the line of fire, leaving Jirachi to take a direct hit from Pippi's Volt Tackle. The attack managed a direct hit on the collar around Jirachi's neck, smashing it into pieces as both pokemon were knocked to the floor. The impact knocked Pippi out, but Jirachi was able to sit up while in a daze and look around.

"That hurt..." The pokemon muttered, speaking as though it were human. Spotting Pippi and blinked in disbelief, remembering that it had been the one to attack it and break the collar. She didn't look that strong to Jirachi, but there was no denying that her Volt Tackle had taken quite a toll on it.

"I won't let this stop me..." The cloaked man muttered as he slowly stood up. He moved toward Jirachi, towering over it. Jirachi looked up at him and felt afraid, seeing the dark look in the man's eyes. "Listen up you, I have a wish to make..."

"Espeon, I choose you!" Red called out, releasing Espeon from its pokeball. "Espeon, grab Jirachi with Psychic and pull it away!" Espeon's eyes flashed and a blue aura surrounded Jirachi. Before Red's father could make his wish, Jirachi was pulled away from him by Espeon's Psychic attack. Jirachi floated through the air, too surprised to fight back, and was sent flying toward Rina when Espeon suddenly released it. Rina threw out her arms and caught it, but was knocked over herself.

"Hold up! Just what the heck's going on here?!" Jirachi cried out, waving his arms frantically while he sat on Rina's stomach. Rina sat up, rubbing the back of her head.

"Sorry, but we had to stop him from making his wish..." Rina said apologetically, then took out her pokeball and recalled Pippi. Jirachi watched curiously as Rina recalled her.

"So my power was going to be used by a bad person again..." Jirachi said sadly, looking at the cloaked figure who had tried to make a wish. Though his plans had been foiled, he didn't look too concerned. Jirachi could tell by the look he had on his face before that he was not a good man.

"What do you mean by that?" Rina asked Jirachi.

"Its my curse..." Jirachi replied, its shoulders drooping. "For 1000 years at a time, I'm sealed away. I'm released for only 7 days after that and have to grant any wish asked of me. Humans always have nothing but selfish demands for me..."

"Then grant my wish and they will be removed from the world." Red's father said, having overheard Jirachi. "If there are no humans left, then there will be no one to make such selfish requests!"

"Even if I did that, I'd still be sealed away after seven days." Jirachi shrugged. "Do whatever you want, it makes no difference to me." It then raised its right hand and flicked at one of the ribbons hanging from its head. "But you'll have to write it on one of my ribbons for me to grant it."

"It really makes little difference to me whether or not I make that wish now. I have contingency plans in place to ensure my plan succeeds today." The man smirked. "I am prepared to use my trump card and rewrite history so my wish will be granted."

_"Rewrite history? Did he manage to enslave a pokemon that can travel through time?"_ Rina wondered. Thinking back, she remembered hearing about such a pokemon from Suicune. _"That's right! Suicune said it used a pokemon that travelled through time to go back and get a wish granted from Jirachi! This guy must have enslaved that pokemon too somehow!"_

"Jirachi, when this is over I promise I'll find some way to end this cycle for you." Rina said to Jirachi. The pokemon looked up at her in surprise. "But first I need you to grant a wish for me!"

"Ok." Jirachi nodded. "Just write it on one of my ribbons."

"Err...well..." Rina blushed and rubbed the back of her head. "I don't actually have anything to write with, come to think of it..."

"Oh..." Jirachi sighed.

_"We almost had him there too..."_ Red thought, shaking his head.

"You won't be making any wishes today." Red's father reached into his cloak and pulled out a pokeball, then released his Sceptile. Sceptile growled and brandished its Leaf Blades. "Leaf Blade!" Sceptile shot toward Red's Espeon and brought one blade toward it from the right, throwing it aside with a strong Leaf Blade attack. With Espeon out of the way, Sceptile continued toward Red.

"RED! NO!" Rina cried out.

A door near Rina suddenly opened and a creature shot through in a blur of movement. As the Sceptile moved in and brought its blade toward Red, aiming to stab him straight through the heart, the creature smashed into the Sceptile and pushed it back. A second Sceptile had appeared, ramming the first with Quick Attack while simultaneously stabbing it in the chest with Leaf Blade. The dark green Sceptile was knocked back but was practically unharmed, shaking off the attack easily.

Rina blinked in disbelief. "A...another Sceptile?"

Shortly after the second Sceptile appeared, another creature shot through the door. Moving in with a Quick Attack, a Blaziken stopped just in front of the dark green Sceptile and delivered a flaming uppercut to the pokemon's jaw. The pokemon flipped through the air and landed hard on its back, this time taking a hard blow but still got right back up again.

"A Blaziken too? Then that means..." Rina looked over toward the door just as May, Melany, and Ashley entered the room one by one. "Ashley! You guys made it!"

"Rina!" Ashley quickly ran to Rina's side and kneeled down next to her. "Are you ok? You're not hurt anywhere are you?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine!" Rina replied, smiling.

Ashley breathed a sigh of relief. "Well that's good...by the way..." Ashley looked over at Jirachi, still sitting on Rina's stomach. "Who's this little guy?"

"And who's that guy there?" Melany and May asked, with Melany pointing at Red and May pointing at Red's father.

_"You'd figure they'd have at least heard of me."_ Red thought to himself, looking back at the new arrivals. _"At least we have reinforcements now."_ He looked back at his father. _"Even with only four pokemon left, this guy is tough enough to still be trouble. Damn it! If only I was stronger than this!"_

"I've already figured out who that guy is." Ashley muttered, looking across the room at Red's father and pointing at him. "You're Drake! Red's father!"

"The other guy is Red." Rina then said to May and Melany. "Don't worry, he's on our side. And this pokemon is Jirachi, the wish granting pokemon."

"Friends of your's? Are they trying to stop this Drake guy too?" Jirachi asked Rina. Rina nodded.

"It can talk?" May pondered.

"I guess that's necessary for a wish-granting pokemon." Melany said to her.

"Hmph. I expected to have long since wiped out humanity by now." Drake said to the group. "But don't think you've stopped me yet. I still have my contingency plans, and I do not intend on allowing any of you to leave this tower alive. Sceptile!"

Drake's Sceptile charged past Blaziken and Melany's Sceptile, moving before they could react to attack the trainers themselves. It was suddenly frozen in place before it could even reach Red, though, as a blue glow surrounded its body.

"Looks like you forgot about my Espeon!" Red said with a smug grin.

Red's Espeon stood off to the side, where the Sceptile had knocked it earlier, focusing on it with its psychic powers. With Sceptile frozen in place, Blaziken turned and fired a stream of flames at it from his beak. Sceptile was completely engulfed in flames, but still conscious when Blaziken finished. Melany's Sceptile then moved in for another attack, spinning around to smack the other Sceptile with its tail. Espeon then finished the attack by slamming Drake's Sceptile into the floor, finally knocking it out. Drake finally recalled it, but already had another pokemon ready to go.

"Weezing, Explosion." Drake calmly ordered his pokemon while releasing the poison balloon pokemon. As soon as she saw Drake releasing another pokemon, Ashley took a pokeball in her hand and released Snorlax, ready to attack in place of the rest of their pokemon currently on the field. When Weezing started to glow, preparing for an Explosion, Ashley quickly ordered an attack.

"Snorlax! Hyper Beam!" Snorlax opened its mouth and fired, releasing a powerful energy beam at Weezing. The beam pushed the pokemon back toward the far end of the room where it finally exploded, obliterating the rear wall. Its unconscious form fell to the jagged edge of the floor after, which was now open to the rain coming in from outside. Drake narrowed his eyes and took out another pokeball, recalling his Weezing.

"If only I had something to write with I could stop his plans for good..." Rina said quietly to herself. Shortly after, a black pen was held out in front of her.

"I always carry a pen and notepad on me." Melany said to her, smiling. "I don't know what you have planned but good luck."

"Great! Thanks, Melany!" Rina quickly took the pen from her, then took one of Jirachi's ribbons in her hand. "So whatever wish I write her, you'll grant, right? You won't try anything like taking it too literally will you?"

"Your wish would be granted as I understand it, I can't do anything like take it too literally or interpret it in a way that's not as intended if I know what was intended." Jirachi said to her.

"Ok, here goes then!" All eyes were on Rina as she started to write down her wish on Jirachi's ribbon. "If I wish for this...then all our problems should be solved!" Rina finished writing the wish and then the ribbon she wrote it on burned up.

"Ok! Your wish has been granted!" Jirachi said to her.

"Huh?" Ashley looked around the room. "But nothing happened!"

"That's because there's no enslaved pokemon here." Rina said, smiling. "My wish was for all enslaved pokemon to be freed and returned to their rightful place or trainer!"

"We already beat all the enslaved pokemon, what difference does that make now?" Melany asked her.

"Apparently quite a bit...look!" May said and pointed at Drake. For the first time, Drake's usual calm composure had been shattered.

"You...you fool! Do you have any idea what you just did!?" Drake growled, clenching his fists.

"Yep! I just destroyed your contingency plan!" Rina replied, grinning widely. "You had an enslaved pokemon able to travel through time to change the past if things didn't go your way, but because you rely on enslaving pokemon so much its been freed and returned to wherever it was you found it now!"

_"D-damn it! I had everything planned so perfectly!"_ Drake glared icily at Rina. _"That girl...she's somehow become the wrench in my plans! Because of her, Red turned against me! Because of her, I couldn't make my wish! And even though Galactica is still free to get Celebi back, she'll have to enslave new pokemon before she can even do that! There's no telling how long that could take! I was poised to alter history if my plans somehow failed and yet she even foiled that! How? Why has this happened?!"_

"You were a fool to think something like this would work out." Red said to Drake. "Even if humans are sometimes cruel to pokemon, we both belong together in this world. And no matter what kind of power you have managed to gain, fate will always conspire against you if you try to remove either. Pokemon and humans exist for each other, to work alongside each other as partners and companions. Someone like you has no right to destroy that bond, no matter the reasoning."

"Don't you dare try to act high and mighty!" Drake shot back, reaching into his cloak, he realized he only had two pokeballs left. _"Damn! There's too many of them to take on with just Milotic and Blissey, I'll have to use them as a distraction instead!"_ Drake took out the pokeballs and released his two remaining pokemon, Milotic and Blissey. _"Even if I am to fail here, none of you are leaving alive!"_

"No matter how strong you are, you can't win with just those two!" Red took several pokeballs from his belt while his Espeon moved in front of him to protect him from any attacks. "Pikachu! Venusaur! Go!" Red called out, releasing his Pikachu and Venusaur from their pokeballs. His immediate goal was to defeat Drake's Milotic, which he assumed to be the most dangerous of the two.

"-Even without the light ball, I'm still strong enough to handle this!-" Red's Pikachu said, charging electricity in her cheeks.

"We'll help too! Sceptile, attack the Milotic with Leaf Blade!"

"Blaziken, attack Blissey with Double Kick!"

"Snorlax, attack Blissey with Body Slam!"

"Should I attack too?" Jirachi asked Rina. Rina shook her head.

"No, I think they can handle these two on their own..."

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Milotic! Venusaur, use Razor Leaf! Espeon, attack Blissey with Psychic!"

The group's pokemon unleashed their attacks on Milotic and Blissey. A barrage of sharp leaves struck both of them, followed by Sceptile striking Milotic with his Leaf Blade and a bolt of electricity fired from Pikachu striking it. Milotic was knocked out, and Blissey soon followed. Espeon's Psychic attack crushed Blissey while Blaziken kicked it twice and Snorlax jumped up and landed on top of it, causing the floor to crack from its weight. When Snorlax rolled off her, Blissey was knocked out as well.

While his pokemon were under attack, Drake managed to slip away and grab a remote from one of the workbenches along the wall. He then turned and quickly recalled Blissey and Milotic. "As I said...none of you are leaving here alive!" Drake said to them, then pushed a single button on the remote. The tower shuddered and an explosion could be heard below them.

"What was that?!" Rina cried out. Suddenly, everyone could feel the tower starting to lean. "ACK! The tower's collapsing!"

"What?! Are you insane?!" Red yelled at Drake. "You'll die too!" Drake grinned, but said nothing.

"I don't think we have any pokemon left that can get us out of this one!" Ashley cried out. Meanwhile, everyone else started recalling their's.

"Even if we don't make it out of this, our pokemon might be able to survive somehow!" May said as she recalled Blaziken. The rest of their pokemon were recalled as well, leaving only Jirachi out of a pokeball. The tower continued to slowly tilt, a loud creaking and cracking could be heard in the distance. It was as if the top half of the tower was breaking away from the lower half.

_"If only I could help them somehow! But I can't do anything unless they wished for it, and they wouldn't be able to write it in time!"_ Jirachi thought. Jirachi held on to Rina tightly. _"I wish there was some way they could be saved!"_

The back part of the wall, near Rina, was suddenly torn away and a blue glow surrounded the girls and Red. While the top of the tower continued to fall away, they all found themselves floating in the air. They could now see the damage to the tower, which looked as if a giant creature took a bite out of it. The top half, where they had been, fell onto the lower half and finally snapped the remaining piece holding it in place and then tipped over and fell straight down to the ground where it smashed into pieces.

_"I believe this makes us even now."_ A voice echoed through the group's head. They looked around and spotted Mewtwo floating nearby.

_"That...that pokemon saved them..."_ Jirachi thought, smiling in relief.

"Wha! I never would have expected that pokemon to save us!" Rina cried out in disbelief.

_"I could drop you if you'd like."_ Mewtwo said to her. Rina quickly shook her head.

"What is that pokemon?" May wondered aloud.

"Either way, looks like we've managed to survive again..." Melany said to her. "Fate really does seem to have our backs, huh?"

_"...Guess we got lucky then."_ Red thought, looking down at the remains of the tower below. _"Dad...no...Drake. He lost it back there. But it looks like we won't have to deal with him anymore..."_

Mewtwo slowly floated down to the ground next to the tower, bringing the girls and Red down with it and setting them down on the ground. Once it was finished, Mewtwo turned and was about to fly off.

"Mewtwo! Wait!" Ashley called out to it. Mewtwo stopped and looked back at her. "Mewtwo...you don't like humans, right? You want to find some place where you don't have to deal with them?"

_"...What do you know?"_ Mewtwo replied.

"Well it just so happens we might know an island where not only won't there be any humans, they won't be able to get there at all!" Ashley said, then turned to Melany. "Right, Mel?"

"Wh-what?" Melany blinked. "You're not talking about that sanctuary idea I mentioned are you?"

"Ah! That's right!" Rina said, grinning widely. "If Jirachi's power really can do anything, then we could use a wish to make that barrier!"

"A barrier?" Mewtwo turned to face them. _"Well, if this barrier can really keep humans out, then I suppose it'd be better than that cave I was in before."_ Mewtwo thought, then narrowed its eyes. _"I don't want to owe these humans anything, but I'll hear them out."_

"A barrier to keep out humans?" Jirachi let go of Rina and floated a few feet away. "I've never done anything like that before but I don't see why it wouldn't work. But what about the island? Don't you need to wish for that too?"

"We can build the island ourselves." May said, holding up a pokeball. "I have Kyogre, Ashley has Groudon, and Melany has Rayquaza. We can use Kyogre and Groudon to build the island and Rayquaza will keep them both in line."

"I can call in a few favors and get our island set up to work as a pokemon storage location specifically for us, too." Ashley added. "I'm acquainted with Bill back in Kanto, and his friend Celio."

"I've been saving up my allowance just for this actually, if its going to work out afterall then I can pay for any building materials or supplies we'll need." Melany said thoughtfully. "Within reason of course."

_"Wish I had that kind of an allowance..."_ May and Ashley thought.

_"That doesn't sound human free at all."_ Mewtwo thought. _"Then again, these ones seem different than the other humans I had encountered..."_

"Alright. I'll go along with this. But I expect to be left alone." Mewtwo said telepathically.

"Right." Ashley replied, nodding.

"Ah! I can hardly believe this! We're really going to make a safe haven for legendary pokemon!" Rina said, jumping up excitedly. "This is amazing!"

_"I wonder if this is what fate had in store for the three of you all this time."_ Aisha said to Ashley.

"Well, it sounds like you four are all set then." Red said to them. "I'll be heading off..." Red turned and started to walk away.

"Red! Wait!" Rina called out after him. "Where are you going?"

"I'm not happy that I wasn't able to handle guys like him and Duke on my own." Red replied without looking back. "So...I'm going to train until I can."

"Red..." Rina watched sadly as he left, until Ashley put an arm around her.

"Don't worry about him, he has a lot on his mind right now." Ashley said to her. "Afterall...he came here just to fight his father, after he had been gone for so long. That's probably weighing heavily on him..."

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Rina replied.

"Hey! You guys better get started on that island!" Jirachi said, waving its arms frantically. "I only have seven days before I'm sealed away again!"

"Well, there's no reason we can't get started right away." Melany said. "First we'll heal our pokemon, then Rayquaza can go with Ashley and May to oversee Groudon and Kyogre raising the island. It shouldn't take us more than a day or two to get the island together, and it'll be ready for the barrier then. After that, we'll have more to do of course, but Jirachi's part can be done anyway."

"Right! Then we can see about getting Jirachi freed from that curse!" Rina replied, nodding enthusiastically.

The girls then set out from the tower, taking one last look at the rubble that almost became their grave. Mewtwo accompanied them, but stayed out of sight. They headed straight for Mauville, the nearest city to them, to make their preparations.

* * *

One day later, in the ocean far north of Mossdeep in Hoenn...

Through Groudon's efforts, the island had been raised out of the ocean. It was completely barren, for the lack of vegetation, but had an inland lake and rivers flowing out to the ocean that gave the island the shape of a pokeball. It rose up high in the middle and sloped down toward the ocean at the edges, giving it the appearance of a large mountain from sea level. The island itself was a kilometer and a half in radius, with a sloped shelf continuing into the sea for another half a kilometer to provide a beach front. On the island, the four girls and the pokemon they needed to make the final arrangements had assembled.

"Ok, we have a special storage PC and transfer machine here, courtesy of Bill. He's already made the changes to our accounts." Ashley said, looking at the large computer in front of her. It had a pad for transferring pokemon in pokeballs, which was also designed to retrieve them automatically if a person had more than six with them.

"And we have food supplies, and building supplies to create a headquarters for us to stay in and to store the supplies in." Melany added, gesturing to two large shipping containers resting nearby. "With our pokemon helping, it'll only take a few more days to get this island complete and the building construction. We have seeds, and have trees and such to plant though they're not here yet."

"Right, but we can send Ho-Oh and Lugia to retrieve those later." May said. "Rayquaza could do it, but we need that one here to keep Groudon and Kyogre from affecting the weather. Or attacking each other for that matter." Groudon and Kyogre, who were standing nearby, cast a glare at each other but said nothing. They were being forced to co-exist by having Rayquaza constantly watching them.

"So all that's left is the wishes!" Rina said, then turned to Jirachi. "Melany will have to make her wish first so the barrier can be made, and then I have a wish to make to finish things."

"Ok." Jirachi nodded, then floated over to Melany. "Just make sure you word it right if this is going to be complicated."

"It shouldn't be too complicated." Melany replied, taking a pen in hand. She then took one of Jirachi's ribbons in her other hand and wrote out her wish. "Ok, done!" She announced, letting go of the ribbon. "The barrier created should cause anyone without a legendary pokemon with them to pass through the barrier and come out on the other side of the island, as if the island wasn't even there."

The remaining side ribbon hanging from Jirachi's head burned up and the air all around the island could be seen to shimmer. The barrier itself was invisible, to keep people from knowing it was there. May and Ashley would be testing it later by having one girl leave the island without a legendary pokemon and one girl with. If the girl without a legendary pokemon was moved to the opposite side of the island, they would know it worked.

"Ok! My turn now!" Rina took the pen from Melany and took Jirachi's ribbon in her hand. "Ready, Jirachi? This last wish...I'll be wishing for you to lose your wish-granting powers, is that ok?"

"If it means no one will abuse my power anymore and I won't have to go back to sleep, then yes." Jirachi replied with a nod. Rina then set to work, writing out her wish on the final ribbon. Her wish for Jirachi to no longer be sealed away for a millenia or be forced to grant wishes. The final ribbon burned away, granting Rina's wish. Though Jirachi didn't seem any different, Jirachi itself could feel a great weight lifted from it.

"Thank you...Rina. I think it worked." Jirachi said, smiling widely.

"GREAT!" Rina cheered. "Now you'll get to stay here on the island with us!" She and Jirachi then hugged each other tightly.

"Ok, now that that's all taken care of, we need to make this island habitable." Ashley said, smiling widely. "Then we can invite Mewtwo and Latios here, since they're the only legendary pokemon that haven't actually been caught by anyone."

"Actually, Lugia is free now too." May corrected her. "It asked me to release it, but it'll still stay here."

_"I can hardly believe this is all working out..."_ Melany thought, smiling to herself. _"Somehow...the four of us are actually making an island, a safe haven for legendary pokemon, a reality. We couldn't do this without their help, without the power of the legendary pokemon themselves. It must have been our destiny all along to bring them together like this."_

"By the way..." May said, snapping Melany out of her thoughts. "I heard on the news that, while they were searching the ruins of the Trainer Hill, no deaths were reported."

"Ack! That's not good!" Melany said.

"Eh? What's wrong with that?" Rina asked.

"There should have been one..."

* * *

Author's Notes: Note for future protagonists, there's two things you should never do when you've defeated a bad guy. First, never say "there's no way he could have survived that!" and, second, never leave the body unchecked. If you don't find one, look for it. Especially if you said he could never survive. If you don't do both of these, it could come back to haunt you when you least expect it.

But don't worry, there's no way Drake could have survived that! Even if they never found the body!

Anywho, that's it! Another saga over, and Sanctuary Island, which will be central to any future sagas I do for obvious reasons, has been created. Hope you enjoyed reading it, my next project will actually be the Pokemon Legends: Sidestories series to cover the three year (in the story) gap between the Kanto and Sinnoh saga I have planned.

And a quick note here, you might recall that May still has a masterball and so does Rina. Originally, they were both going to be used in the final battle but because of the way it turned out compared to my original plan there was no need. The situations that would have required them never occurred.

I know I said I'd have the first sidestory ready this week, but I got a bit tied up and wasn't able to finish it. However, it IS almost finished, and I think you'll find the first one interesting! I should have it up tomorrow, as if it were a late finish, but all sidestories after that will be up on Sunday as usual unless I'm unable to finish on time. Considering the two chapters combined (this one and the sidestory) will likely total 30+ pages, more than I've ever done for one week, that's probably not too bad.

Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it, and look forward to the sidestories and future sagas!


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